The biological model and the bio-type: dynamic simulation tools defining architectural components

Architecture has shown a recurring interest on themes of biological origin, especially since the early days of modernism. With the advent of computation, the related discourse has been enriched with new analogies, in particular when biological systems are described by algorithmic formulas and their parametric functions are inspected with the assistance of simulation tools. An understanding of the architectural object with reference to biology offers breaking from typological preconceptions about form in favour of its operational character supporting organic behaviour, so to speak. In reflection, the present paper puts under scrutiny architectural components such as façade, wall, window, opening, support structure and circulation viewed as topological references also in analogy to biological notions such as skin, membrane, cell, bone structure, energy flows and the nervous system. Form becomes the dynamic effect of forces; a system that manages energy trades being the primary cause of its own shape.