Abstract
Climate change, global energy demand, and greenhouse emissions from energy (formerly CO2 emissions from fuel combustion) have emerged as the most serious threats to humans, particularly in densely populated cities. As a result, there are calls to reconnect with nature and draw inspiration from its mechanisms as well as to use clean renewable energy resources. Thus, this paper presents a biomimicry approach—a strategy for achieving ecological balance—to biofuel using algae in a building facade, and considers a case study building in Giza city as an example of a populated city in Egypt for retrofitting its skin with a nature-inspired solution. Using mathematical calculation, energy load analysis, and interviews with interested specialists, architects, and building occupants about this technology, then compared the performance of the case study commercial building facade with the proposed algae facade for energy generate. The results indicate that electrical energy consumption can be reduced by 45 to 50%, and carbon emissions could be reduced. In addition, other benefits for the building environment and societal acceptance were revealed. The study concluded that using algae as an element of the building skin in densely populated cities as a biomimicry architecture strategy contributes to an innovative environmental approach.
Highlights
Global warming occurs as a result of the atmosphere trapping heat from the Earth and preventing it from being emitted into space
The study sheds light on the PBR technology of using algae in buildings, especially commercial buildings; it has multiple devices and systems to control the environmental conditions of the building, which constitute in energy consumption
The findings in this study indicate that the use of algae technology in building facades as one of the strategies of biomimicry design contributes to increasing the efficiency of the built environment, which is reflected in user productivity
Summary
Global warming occurs as a result of the atmosphere trapping heat from the Earth and preventing it from being emitted into space. Between 1970 and 2004, industries expanded significantly, resulting in up to 70% increase in greenhouse gas emissions. As a result of urbanization and traffic congestion, it consumes a large amount of energy, and it is ranked one of the top ten cities in the world in terms of ambient air pollution, according to a World Health Organization report [4]. The city’s topography, high-rise buildings, Hanafi Journal of Engineering and Applied Science (2021) 68:37 and narrow streets prevent stagnant air from moving. This has caused a high rate of premature death, as well as a negative impact on mental abilities and perception [5]
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