Performance in Life

How does your design influences overall performance?

photo by: pustatoris

Aesthetics, function, ... what about performance? Not a priority in most cases but its worth looking at it's potentials.
Self-shading systems are very impressive and the Cactus is just an example of it.

Have a look at its surface and the way it can handle the Sun:

 As you can see, a the cactus surface can provide 16% more shade then on a spherical surface. Magic hein! Digging a bit further on this systems takes design to another level. It is probably within the same field as "funtion" but in a particular level I would say.
Form/shape does really affect performance and in Nature you can find the essence and simplicity of it.

Architecture seem to be somehow not finished nowadays and this performance aspect might be one of the forgotten bits! Technology is good and fancy, and it sells the product nowadays. But somehow I see this system quite fancy as well. Dont you? Too complex and free self running, for human taste maybe ;)
...even if complex, Nature's technology often comes from very simple concepts and is always highly efficient, healthy and CHEAP! We like it cheap, right?! Maybe that is a start!

"It always seem that as far as we go away from those basic rules of Nature, as difficult it gets to sustain any system."

Helder Neves
in "Architecture cannot solve everything!"

Tags: Self shading form... biology inspirations... nature's analogies