[Api]tecture: An Ecomimetic Design in Wellington City

Abstract

By engaging with ecomimicry concepts, it is hypothesized that an architecture of mutual inhabitation, of bees and humans, can provide a model for a sustainable city. The research reviews current architectural literature within the field of ecomimicry and adapts key theories to inform an urban bee/human building in Wellington City. These theories inform seven design characteristics that the building preforms as a ‘living structure’ to accommodate bees, at the same time accommodating humans. The research follows these seven design characteristics throughout the design process and applies them to an existing earthquake building within central Wellington City. The outcome of this research is a scenario where the relationship between humans and bees is synergistic and provides a model for an ecomimetic, sustainable architecture. The findings from this research suggest bees can co-inhabit with humans in an architecture that extracts aesthetic and sustainable principles that, in turn, can enrich the city.