Architecture is all around us. We live in it. We work in it. We walk through it every day. Whether it be a structure designed and built by man or a tree crafted by the Creator, we are surrounded by architecture.

There are, however, many differences between what men have built and the natural world God has built.

When designing a building, an architect often studies the environment to make sure it is the best fit for the area, but that is for aesthetic purposes. For example, a home in the desert of Arizona is built with a different aesthetic than a home in the forests of New Hampshire because of its surroundings. In addition to appearance, the natural world can also give architects insight regarding function. This emerging study of how the functionality of nature can be used in design is called biomimicry.

“Bio” means life, and “mimic” means to imitate. This field examines how the natural world deals with the same problems that man faces. For instance, how can certain plants survive in the middle of a desert with relatively no water and relentless sunlight beating down on them? How can animals live at the bottom of the ocean and maintain their shape, all the while undergoing some of the greatest stresses found anywhere on Earth? Architects are interested to discover how they can learn to build in similar conditions using these examples found in God’s creation as a road map.

Scientists, engineers, and architects all acknowledge that the natural world has a knack for dealing with the same problems we often face. Here are a few examples of ways scientists are imitating God’s creation to solve these issues.

Cactus Building

The nation of Qatar—just a small peninsula jutting out into the Persian Gulf—is located off the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia. Like other Persian Gulf nations, it has lots of oil. With oil comes money, and with money comes the ambition to build.

But building in an area that annually receives 3.2 inches of rainfall, suffers from dust storms, and is mercilessly pummeled by the desert sun is no easy task. One problem architects face is regulating building temperature. Imagine what it would take to keep a giant glass box cool in the middle of a desert. That’s the typical problem office buildings face in this region.

When you picture the typical desert scene, it is not usually teeming with life. If there is any plant life at all in your image, it is probably a cactus. So how does a cactus survive?

The pores of a cactus are an incredible example of God’s engineering. What is most important to architects is their sensitivity to light. As the sun rises and increases in intensity, the pores of the cactus react by closing. This traps all of the water inside—nothing goes out and nothing comes in. The transpiration process takes place at night when the pores open back up, due to the lack of sunlight.

Currently under construction is the Qatar Minister of Municipal Affairs & Agriculture building where designers mimic the actions of cactus pores by placing light sensitive shades over the building’s windows. As the sun rises, the shades directly affected by the heat move to block out the intense temperature. Just like with the cactus, but this time with air rather than water, the amount of heat going into the building is greatly reduced.

Gherkin Tower

Many factors are taken into account when designing a building—especially skyscrapers. One critical consideration is surface area. Most buildings are simple four-sided prisms. As the structure gets taller and wider, the flat surfaces begin to capture more wind, just like a giant sail, but much more rigidly. Moving air can cause a lot of problems for buildings; perhaps most notably, it causes them to sway. The world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, can sway nearly 6 feet at its peak—which isn’t so terrible considering it’s over half a mile tall.

The Gherkin Tower in London is modeled after the Venus Flower Basket Sponge. This sponge lives in areas of the sea that undergo some of the most dramatic currents, yet it is able to retain its strength and rigidity. Once again, every aspect of this sponge is a marvel of engineering. Watch this video to look into it.

The tower is composed of hollow hexagonal pieces like the structure of a honeycomb. This design disperses the force of the powerful currents to the ground as water presses upon the structure of the sponge. This structure does an incredible job of relieving the building from the powerful forces of wind.

Eastgate Center

Imagine a building that has no heat or air conditioning. For the average building, this would mean unbearable heat in the summers and piercing cold during the winters. Who would want to live or work in a building like that? Not only that, who would design a building like that? Yet, it has been done.

The Eastgate Center in Harare, Zimbabwe, needed to be as energy efficient and cost effective as possible—with no heat or air conditioning! The inspiration for the idea came from looking at termites indigenous to the region.

These particular species of termites live in mounds, roughly 4 feet tall. At the bottom of these mounds grows their food source: a giant fungus. In order to survive, the fungus must be regulated at 87 degrees Fahrenheit, give or take one degree. If it gets just a little bit too hot or cold, the fungus will die. This means if the termites can’t moderate the temperature of these mounds, they will die.

By running a series of tunnels and ducts throughout the mound, opening, closing and redirecting at various times, the termites regulate the internal temperature of the mound to the exact degree needed to keep the fungus alive. And now a similar system, designed to keep people comfortable, is being used in the Eastgate Center.

The Master Architect

All of these designs, and there are many more that stretch beyond the realm of architecture, are nothing new. The examples these architects and engineers are looking to have been around for thousands of years. God designed the world to work according to a system of laws—that is why it works so well. This study is so interesting because when man comes across these problems, little do they know they are looking at the way God solved it. They are actually studying His mind! And not only that, they are acknowledging the truth: God does a much better job of solving it!

Watch the video referenced earlier and think about the engineer’s statements toward the end: Mimicking God’s creation actually solves these problems better than modern technology.

The sad part is that many of these architects will not acknowledge that what they are studying was designed and created. They give credit to evolution; they believe billions of years of trial and error have now brought the entire world to this state.

God asked Job, “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone?” (Job 38:4-6; Revised Standard Version).

God is the Master Architect. He designed the pores of the cactus, the structure of the Venus Flower Basket Sponge, and the termites in southern Africa. Those are just three obscure examples, but it shows how much thought God gave to every minute detail of His creation! Scientists have not even scratched the surface of these examples. As technologies advance, they’ll continue to learn more, but what is it worth if they do not give credit to the Master Architect? They know these structures will not build themselves; they have to design and construct them. The same is true for the natural world.

Soon there will be a time when God and man will be able to design and create together. Imagine the incredible things God has in mind for us to construct. All of it will be done in harmony with Him—the same Being that created and designed the entire universe!