This paper presents the development and early-stage evaluation of a biomimetic-focused decision-support tool designed to support regenerative urban and architectural planning. Grounded in the principles of urban metabolism and ecological systems, the tool aims to help stakeholders—architects, planners, and policymakers—to identify and apply nature-inspired strategies to challenges across various spatial scales (urban, building, and building component scales) and across multiple urban systems, including, but not limited to energy, water, waste, and mobility. The tool is built on a curated relational database of 184 biomimetic strategies, each summarised as a visual pattern card and linked to a digital interface built in Power BI. Users can filter strategies by application scale, urban system, environmental performance goal, and other implementation considerations such as cost and time. To evaluate the tool’s usability and guide its development, semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight experts from the fields of architecture, policy, and urban planning. The findings suggest that the tool supports systems thinking, enhances understanding of biomimetic strategies, and facilitates more holistic planning across application spatial scales and urban systems. Interviewees also highlighted the potential of future integration with AI. At the same time, experts identified three key improvement areas: the need for stronger cost-performance framing, visual clarity, and clearer interaction pathways. This paper presents a work in progress of the tool’s prototype and demonstrates its clear potential in making biomimicry actionable in regenerative urban transformation. As a participatory and exploratory platform, the tool provides promising steps toward supporting a shift from fragmented sustainability efforts to integrated regenerative planning.
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Development of Biomimetic Strategy-focused, Decision-Support Tool for Regenerative Urban and Architectural Planning
Published:
15 September 2025
by MDPI
in The 2nd International Online Conference on Biomimetics
session Bioinspired Architecture
Abstract:
Keywords: Biomimicry; regenerative planning; nature-inspired architecture; decision-support tool; pattern language
