What does a grass stem or a bamboo culm have in common with a high-rise? Technology for high-rises is not limited to self-subsistence or sustainability. Anyone keeping track with the recent development that strives for smart and ecological solutions will end up with the impression that we are rapidly moving toward a completely innovative, future-oriented living and working environment.
The Evolution of Skyscrapers
Milestones of high-rise constructions have been transpiring with greater frequency in the modern age. Towers: self-sufficient energy towers – ecological towers with agricultural levels and gardens – towers made of natural materials… and now, towers modelled on grass stems. Admittedly, it sounds outrageous. And yet, the latest development is based on research of grass stems and bamboo culms. A branch of science called bionics, inspired by quite a few of nature’s achievements.
Is a high-rise meant to be designed according to the principle of a grass stem, and above all, is it meant to be as flexible as grass stem? Is that going to be the state of art of a new generation of multi-storey buildings and towers? According to scientists, the subject is far more complex than it sounds. Grass stems are a technological masterpiece, their hollow structure enabling them to withstand the greatest storms while remaining flexible. They are nothing but slender, self-supporting high-rises – attaining perfection.
A Grass Stem – Intelligent Design
The secret lies within: stems have a varied structure. Some species have supporting elements within a double-layered wall. Scientists were even able to identify hydraulic components. The cellular tissue between both walls is filled with water, preventing its compression and serving to make the stem more resilient – creating an ideal kind of high-rise. As if that in itself were not enough, a grass stem is also clever, actively regulating moisture content and, consequently, its own flexibility. With its hollow spaces, a grass stem is an ideal paradigm for future architecture and construction of high supportive structures. A new generation of skyscrapers is on the rise.
Bionics – Nature as a Paragon
To put it simply, what bionics as an area of studies does is to observe, to decode and to copy. The term itself is composed of “biology” and “techniques”. Still in a fledgling stage, bionics has only been evolving into an established science for the past few decades. Nature serves as a paradigm: the attempt is to turn its functional principles into technical innovations through observation. Consistently, it is about the systematic insight into nature’s problem-solving mechanisms. This multidisciplinary area of expertise attracts scientists, architects, engineers, designers and philosophers to the same degree. The Technical Universität in Berlin and the University of the Saarland in particular are teaching bionics with great success and a corresponding programme. In addition, almost all major companies and research institutions around the globe are decidedly committed to the task.
The Bamboo Culm as a Prototype of Flexibility
In Taipeh, Taiwan’s capital, the “Taipei World Financial Center“ – also called “Taipeh 101” – was under construction from 1999 to 2004, imitating the structure of a bamboo culm. The tower’s futuristic structural segments, made of glass and steel, are arranged in an overlapping, scale-like manner, resembling the outer structure of a bamboo culm and granting flexibility to the tower. For Taipeh, located in one of the areas with the highest seismic risk worldwide, the building with its height of 838 metres constituted a daring project. The tube principle of a bamboo culm was incorporated through numerous cross-braces, allowing the skyscraper to sway up to 7 metres in either direction.
Water As a Means to Absorb Shock Waves
As future project and a architectural vision, the “Bionic Tower” is meant to surpass the magical mark of one kilometre, scheduled for construction in Shanghai. Inspired by bionic science, the planning started as early as 1996 under direction of Spanish architects. The super tower with surrounding green spaces is meant to be built within an artificial lake with a diameter of 1,000 metres, the foundation reaching a depth of 200 metres. In case of an earthquake, the aquatic way of construction is meant to absorb shock waves. Fireproof intermediate ceilings prevent fire hazards. On 300 planned floors inside the cigar-shaped building, about 100,000 people will find a place to live and work. The principles of construction are similar to those of a tree, including a network of motorways, railway lines and numerous piers encircling the building. Construction time is expected to take up to 15 years and cost up to 15 billion dollars.
It is hard to say for our current generation what “grass stem” architecture will actually be able to achieve. But maybe we will yet bear witness to the construction of a high-rise, offering the most solid kind of shelter with a paper-thin roof – the same way it happened with the Jena planetarium with its dome of shotcrete. The dome’s required thickness was determined through extrapolation, estimating conditions beyond what can be proven by observation, in this case, with the aid of a chicken egg shell.