Approaching Biomimetics: Optimization of Resource Use in Buildings using a System Dynamics Modeling Tool Mercedes Garcia-Holguera, Grant Clark, Aaron Sprecher, and Susan Gaskin McGill University Montreal, Canada {maria.garciaholguera, grant.clark, aaron.sprecher, susan.gaskin}@mcgill.ca ABSTRACT The biomimetic field in architecture is developing tools for transferring processes and functions from biological systems to buildings. Buildings, like ecosystems, are dynamic and complex systems, thus studying their dynamics from a systems thinking perspective might bring insight to some environmental problems. STELLA®, a software commonly used to model environmental dynamics, was used to identify approaches for energy optimization in the Great River Energy Building. Long- term energy flows and thermal properties of the building were modeled to understand the feedback loops that control the behavior of the building system. The simulation showed that optimization of passive building parameters produced considerable energy savings, but more active strategies would be necessary to make the Great River Energy building a net-zero energy building. This exercise showed how the STELLA® software can represent the dynamic behavior of buildings as well as the dynamic behavior of environmental systems, and the potential of this tool for biomimetic research in architecture. Author Keywords Biomimetics; biomimicry; ecomimetics; net-zero building; system dynamics; STELLA INTRODUCTION Biomimetic research is rooted in the idea that there is great opportunity for innovation in learning from Nature. The primary goal of biomimetic research is to transfer knowledge from biology to human technology [1]. In architecture, biomimetic research is recent, and according to the categorization by Pedersen Zari [2] it might mimic organisms, behaviors and ecosystems. The latter, mimicking of ecosystems, is also known as ecomimetics [3], and refers to the transfer of processes and functions from ecosystems to architectural systems. Ecosystems are complex systems where interactions among biotic and abiotic elements occur. From a thermodynamic point of view, ecosystems are open systems that modulate inflows and outflows of energy, matter, and information. Similarly, buildings are also thermodynamic open systems that behave as complex systems. According to the general systems theory [4], systems from different fields may share structural characteristics and show similar behavior [5]. An ecomimetic approach presumes that structural organization and behavior of ecosystems might be transferred to and reproduced by architectural systems. The work presented here is part of a bigger effort to define a systematic ecomimetic method that optimizes resource use in buildings. A central part of this effort consists of the identification and development of transdisciplinary tools that might help to communicate the ecological and architectural fields. One approach identified for this purpose is system dynamics. The field of system dynamics was first developed by Forrester [6] at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology while studying feedback control theory. System dynamics is used to model the complex behavior of systems (e.g. ecosystems) by representing the feedback interactions happening among sub-systems. Although system dynamics is not a predictive tool, it helps to describe trends of the system under study, and it might be used in a varied number of fields such as environmental modeling, health care, organization of military forces, or management of natural disasters [7, 8]. System dynamics has also been implemented as a decision-making tool in the building and construction industry. Among these applications some are focused on sustainable construction and energy efficiency [9-12]. Dyner et al. [9] use a system dynamics approach to identify appropriate energy policies in an urban context. Shen et al. [10] analyze the feasibility of construction projects using iThink®, which is a modeling tool based on system dynamics focused toward a business audience. Oladokun et al. [11, 12] use another tool, Vensim®, to model the dynamic feedbacks of household energy consumption in UK. None of these examples focus on a single building analysis; however, there is great potential for resource use optimization in buildings by implementing system dynamics in architectural design. This document presents how the STELLA® software tool [13], traditionally used for modeling dynamic systems [7] can be a suitable transdisciplinary tool for modeling building systems for ecomimetic design, and a valuable decision-making tool for optimization of resource use in buildings. The purpose of this exercise is to show the potential of this modeling tool within the building industry rather than provide exhaustive and exact results. Therefore data used in the modeling exercise might be considered general or not specific enough for the building under study since the priority of this work is to evaluate the overall performance of the tool. SimAUD 2015, April 12 - 15, 2015, Alexandria, VA, USA © 2015 Society for Modeling & Simulation International (SCS) 1055