in 1991 architect make Peirce had a
problem an investment group in Harare
Zimbabwe hired him to design the largest
office and retail building in the
country but they didn’t want to pay for
the expensive air conditioning needed to
cool such a large building so that left
Pearce with a seemingly impossible
challenge how do you design a building
that cools itself
this is a termite mound millions of
termites live inside these structures
some of which stretch an astonishing 30
feet high
although these termite skyscrapers may
look solid from the outside they are
actually covered in tiny holes that
allow air to pass through freely like a
giant lung the structure inhales and
exhales as temperatures rise and fall
throughout the day this termite
ventilation inspired Pierce to use an
approach known as biomimicry imitating
the ingenuity found in nature to solve
human problems meet the Eastgate center
the building is made from concrete slabs
and brick just like the soil inside a
termite mound these materials have a
high thermal mass which means they can
absorb a lot of heat without really
changing temperature the exterior of the
building is prickly like a cactus by
increasing the amount of surface area
heat loss is improved at night while
heat gain is reduced during the day
inside the building low-power fans pull
in cool night air from outside and
disperse it throughout the seven floors
the concrete blocks absorb the cold
insulating the building and chilling the
circulating air when the morning comes
and temperatures rise warm air is vented
up through the ceiling and released by
the chimneys
thanks to this innovative design
temperatures inside stay at a
comfortable 82 degrees during the day
and 57 degrees at night not to mention
it uses up to 35 percent less energy
than similar buildings in Zimbabwe since
opening its doors in 1996 Mik Pierce’s
90% natural climate control system has
made the East Gate Center a global
landmark for sustainability so we must
ask ourselves if an architect could
design a self cooling building with
termite inspired climate control what
other innovations can Mother Nature inspire if we just paid closer attention
problem an investment group in Harare
Zimbabwe hired him to design the largest
office and retail building in the
country but they didn’t want to pay for
the expensive air conditioning needed to
cool such a large building so that left
Pearce with a seemingly impossible
challenge how do you design a building
that cools itself
this is a termite mound millions of
termites live inside these structures
some of which stretch an astonishing 30
feet high
although these termite skyscrapers may
look solid from the outside they are
actually covered in tiny holes that
allow air to pass through freely like a
giant lung the structure inhales and
exhales as temperatures rise and fall
throughout the day this termite
ventilation inspired Pierce to use an
approach known as biomimicry imitating
the ingenuity found in nature to solve
human problems meet the Eastgate center
the building is made from concrete slabs
and brick just like the soil inside a
termite mound these materials have a
high thermal mass which means they can
absorb a lot of heat without really
changing temperature the exterior of the
building is prickly like a cactus by
increasing the amount of surface area
heat loss is improved at night while
heat gain is reduced during the day
inside the building low-power fans pull
in cool night air from outside and
disperse it throughout the seven floors
the concrete blocks absorb the cold
insulating the building and chilling the
circulating air when the morning comes
and temperatures rise warm air is vented
up through the ceiling and released by
the chimneys
thanks to this innovative design
temperatures inside stay at a
comfortable 82 degrees during the day
and 57 degrees at night not to mention
it uses up to 35 percent less energy
than similar buildings in Zimbabwe since
opening its doors in 1996 Mik Pierce’s
90% natural climate control system has
made the East Gate Center a global
landmark for sustainability so we must
ask ourselves if an architect could
design a self cooling building with
termite inspired climate control what
other innovations can Mother Nature inspire if we just paid closer attention
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