Unbalanced development of cities due to the lack of consideration of environmental issues and sustainable development, along with mismanagement, causing serious environmental issues such as excessive carbon emissions, pollutions, heat islands, destroying natural ecosystems. In order to meet the needs of the increasing population of cities, future development is inevitable and among it, the process of environmental degradation and growth of urban ecological footprint will be continued. Continuing this kind of development will be follow by environmental crises such as climate change and global warming. Building industry has an important factor in engender and intensification of these crises. Biological Urban Cell (BioCell) is the solution for simultaneously achieving human and environmental needs, sustainable urban developments and restoring and strengthening the urban natural ecosystems.
BioCell is a combination consequence of eco-technology and sustainable architecture approaches, in the progress of reaching an independent building from external energy and food and to establish a close relationship between the building and sustainable urban development and planning, in order to achieve environmental sustainability and sustainable cities. This building, by emphasis on being productive structure and independence from external sources, is in fact “a sustainable and productive structure with high ecological services aligned with human needs to reduce building ecological footprint and to create or restore natural ecosystems in a way that will create value for both humans and environment”[i].
Addition to provide all building’s food and energy needs by having vertical farms, vertical livestock and use of renewable energy sources; gaining and important role in urban natural ecosystem is a key factor for this buildings. Because of the shortage of water resources in Iran, the building must first be able to solve its water needs. Therefore, by taking advantage of rain water storage systems, water crafting systems from air humidity and soil moisture and re-use of treated sewage, it will resolve this need. Based on the amount of available water sources and also to provide ecological services equal to natural landscapes, expansion of green areas will be considered in building’s design. The use of new technologies such as carbon absorbent devices, pollution absorbent materials will take place and work with green areas if all the green surfaces can’t provide services as equal as natural ecosystem services. In the result of adding all these feathers in one sky scraper building, it will transforms to a built natural patch and connect to urban ecological network and helps to create or restore urban natural ecosystems. It will reduce the ecological footprint by becoming and independent building from external food and energy sources and using nature friendly materials. Eventually comparing to a man scale, a high-rise buildings might induce a sense of defeat to those who passing though. By leaving the ground and build BioCell above the vegetation, this building will change its perception by limiting the close view to the building and will create new values for high-rise spatial perceptions.
[i] Dadjoo, Notash. Irani Behbahani, Homa. Shali Amini, Vahid; (2016); Building as BioCell: a way to reach sustainability in cities; 2nd international conference on civil engineering, architecture & urban planning elites; London.
