Design report Design with Nature

2019/2020

Elmo Koning, Jor is Couvée, Mari Dukova, Teya Paymakova

Team Humidity

The aim of this report is to present the final concept following the main findings from the research accom-plished regarding Costa Rica and humidity driven prob-lems which the community of Brave Earth experienc-es. Since the relative humidity level in the rainforest where the accommodations are located is high, mold is common to appear on residents' belongings which will also have a negative impact on their health. By hav-ing nature’s organisms and their strategies as inspira-tion, the main goal of the group was to find a way to diminish relative humidity where personal belongings such as clothes and electronics are placed within the building. Therefore, the group aims to deliver a system which protects them from deterioration by constantly creating airflow using primarily natural energy sourc-es. In order for the client and its residents to achieve sustainability on a higher level, a product proposal is made for tackling the challenges resulting from the high relative humidity levels.

The Report

Humidity

Future residents of the Brave Earth Community will face high in-door relative humidity levels and mold forming in the accommodations causing respiratory problems and deterioration of personal belongings. By protecting people's belongings from the mold a healthier l ifestyle could be achieved.

Problem Statement

Design QuestionWhich main factors might reduce humidity resulting in mold forming?

VisionBy having nature as a mentor we aim to diminish mold forming on personal belongings in order to prevent health problems.

The Challenge

Introduction

As part of Central America, Costa Rica has a climate with only two seasons - the dry season, starting in De-cember and ending in April and the wet season which is from May to November (Climate, 2015). Costa Rica en-joys a tropical climate with the average temperatures ranging between 18 and 27 oC (Guide, n.d.). The dif-ferent altitudes and locations create a lot of micro-cli-mates in the country. The climate of Costa Rica is dy-namic and eclectic. It is home to coastal areas, cloud forest and highly humid rainforests, and many micro-climates within small areas. Among these climates, hu-midity is a consistently high factor, with relative hu-midity levels ranging between 73% in Liberia and 90% in Quesada annually. In the Alajuela province, where the client (Brave Earth) is located, the temperatures typically vary from 22 to 34 oC and rarely drop below 20 oC. (Spark, 2016).

Keeping in mind the geographical location of the prov-ince where Brave Earth is located, several operating conditions had to be considered. The most important factor is the relative humidity, which is known to be about 60% or above in the area and it could cause ma-jor damages to a variety of common materials. In ad-dition, the average rain falls (162 millimeters monthly during the rainy season), and the average wind record (2.2 meters per second in the dry season) were exam-ined, since they could be a sufficient thread too.

Brave Earth is located next to the Children’s Eternal Rain-forest in the Alajuela province and aims to create its own community in the area while providing a retreat for tour-ists. Their retreat center is planned to be opened in 2021 and will offer a central structure alongside 17 single or double occupancy structures for short-term stays. The community is going to consist of 42 accommodations that are going to be the primary households for its residents and will contain shared communal spaces (Marantz, Brave Earth , 2019). The mission of the company is to create a new type of laboratory which is decentralized, resilient and replicable and serves for regeneration. Brave Earth’s vision is to create a network of communities around the world united through shared values (Brave Earth, n.d.).

The main stakeholders that would have a need for or could be affected by the project are the client itself, the community of Brave Earth and the tourists. All of them are going to experience the same problem, which is the mold forming that is caused by the high relative humid-ity. Even though they would have to deal with the same issue, their needs are quite different. The Client desires to be self-sufficient by using mainly local materials, while the community and tourists want to experience ancient ways of l iving while reconnecting with nature (Marantz, Project Biomimicry, 2020).

Stakeholders

Costa Rica

Operating Condition

Client Background

ClientLocation

Humidity is water vapor inside of the air on a molecular level. Since the density of hydrogen is lower than that of nitrogen and oxygen, humid air rises to the top (Kershner, 2020). When measuring humidity, the key distinction is be-tween absolute humidity and relative humidity (RH), with the former being the amount of grams of water vapor per cubic meter, and the latter being the amount of water va-por in the air relative to its temperature (Zehnder, 2014). When it comes to the in-door atmosphere, the healthiest range of relative humidity is between 30 and 60% which means that all levels above will result in increased risks caused by chemical interactions, viruses, bacteria, mites, and through increased rate of mold forming it will impact the residents’ l ivelihood (Baughman & Arens, 1996).

For mold growth to occur the temperature should be be-tween 10 and 40 oC, the relative humidity level should be above 50%. Moreover, there should be mold spores in the air as well as available mold food such as paper, cloth and even dust. Getting rid of all mold forming seems unlikely without sacrificing comfortable indoor conditions to the residents (Brischke, 2017). The rate of mold growth, how-ever, can be diminished by lowering the temperature-, RH-, pH-, l ight- and oxygen levels (Brischke, 2017). Regularly cleaning damp spots also helps controlling the amount of mold growth in humid households.

Mold

HumiditySince the presence of mold causes structural damag-es to some materials, a lot of personal belongings in-side accommodations can be directly affected. Mold forming especially impacts porous surfaces and natu-ral materials because they are very suitable to become its food. The structural integrity of such materials can be compromised by mold forming, for example, by having the cellulose in wood being consumed by the mold (D’Orazio, 2012). Therefore, personal belong-ings which are made out of organic materials such as books, clothes and bed sheets are more likely to get moldy and some electronics such as laptops and mo-bile phones tend to have high corrosion rates.

Apart from its impact on materials within the housing, mold also poses a threat to the health of the residents of such humid places. These people tend to suffer from irritations, allergic reactions and respiratory problems (Woodson,2012) as well as some symptoms such as nausea, blocked nose, headaches and fevers. Devel-opment of asthma is associated with the presence of microbial agents such as total fungi, hydrophilic fungi, Cladosporium and Alternaria and some forms of this respiratory issue are caused by prolonged exposure to damp environments which may not completely resolve after the root cause is fixed. (Sahakian, 2008)

Health Impact

Materials deterioration

Impact Impact

The sustainable development goal which was followed during the design process is concerning good health and well-being for all at all ages. The SDG’s are a call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership (Sustainable Development, n.d.). The targets of the chosen SDG is reducing the number of deaths and il lnesses from hazardous chemicals, air-, water- and soil pollution and contamination. The air in Costa Rica is getting contaminated by the spores found in the air due to the mold growth occurring in humid households.

Currently, the population of Costa Rica is 5 million and it is growing evermore. Although the positive fact that l ife expectancy within the country is around 80 years, the number of people diagnosed with cancer is expect-ed to reach about 20 000 people by 2025 making can-cer one of the most common reasons for death in the country, together with cardiovascular i l lnesses and ac-cidents (Sáenz, Bermúdez, & Acosta, 2010).

One of the reasons behind those negative records is the humid air and the mold forming that arises from it. This has a significant impact on the Costa Ricans life and health.

Sustainable Development GoalEnsure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

Life’s PrinciplesEvolve to survive:Replicate strategies that work For the purpose of this project two main inspirations

were used. One of them was in the face of the Life's Principles, while the other was the Biobrainstorm. Since the Life's Principles are the patterns found among species living on the Earth, they were used as guidlines for sustainability and nature inspired design. To reach higher levels of biomimicry, the team aimed to implement as many of Life's Principles within dif-ferent ideas as possible, while weighing their relevant importance to the challenge.

SDG №3

Adapt to changing conditions: Embody resilience trough Variation, Re-dundancy and decentarization

Integrate development with growth: Combine modular and nested compo-nents

Be locally attuned and responsive:Leverage cyclic processesUse readily available materials and ener-gy

Use Life-friendly chemistry

Be resource efficient:Use low energy processesUse multi functional design Fit form to function

Biobrainstorm The Biobrainstorm surved as a tool to brainstorm on organisms that could help to solve the challenge. Since the topic of the project is "Humidity", the researched organisms, which are living in either very humid or very dry areas were researched, in order to see how they perform one of the main functions: capture or absorbs water, and create airflow.

Organism: BambusoideaeBamboo

Function: Excess liquids

Organism:Camelus dromedariusCamel

Function:Capture water

Organism:IsopteraTermites

Function:Create Airflow

Organism:Cynomys ludovicianusPrairie Dog

Function:Create Airflow

Organism:OrchidaceaeOrchid

Function: Absorbs water

Organism:Syntrichia caninervisDesert Moss

Function:Capture water

Organism:Tillandsia chaetophyllaAirplant

Function:Capture water

Organism:IxodoideaTick

Function: Absorbs water

Biobrainstorm Some similarities between organisms performing the same function such as the ones that are capturing water were found. For example, the Airplant and the Desert Moss both capture the water from the air with the help of nano-structures, while the Prairie Dog and the Common Reed create airflow with the help of difference in air-pressure.

Organism:TenebrionidaeDarkling Beetle

Function:Capture water

Organism:Pinus sabinianaPinecone

Function:Modify Shape

Organism:Phragmites australisCommon reed

Function:Distribute gassesw

Camel NosePrairie Dog

The warm humid outside air flows into a pipe where it is di-rected to a cold surrounding area. The warm humid air loses humidity because of condensation, when the cold air is di-rected into the system it warms up again but has less water.

Abstracted design principle A ventilation system with two exits, an elevated opening, and a lower opening could increase the airflow in the sys-tem. Over the elevated opening, wind velocity would be faster than it is over the lower opening, resulting in pres-sure differential. Because of the difference in pressure be-tween the two openings, the air gets sucked from the lower opening and then flows out of the elevated hole, creating an airflow.

Abstracted design principle

The prairie dog builds a mound with an elevated- and a lower opening. Over the elevated opening, wind passes fast-er than over the lower opening, creat-ing pressure differential. Because of this difference in pressure, the air gets sucked from the lower opening and then flows out from the elevated one, creat-ing an airflow.

Mechanism MechanismAt night, the camel preserves water with a mechanism found in his nostrils. It breathes out warm air, and when this air passes the cool surfaces in the nasal cavities, con-densation occurs because of the difference in tempera-ture. The camel takes in this condensed water to diminish water loss.

After finishing the BioBrainstorm and the ideation phase based on the organisms researched, the design team de-cided to use a combination of the abstracted design prin-ciples of the prairie dog and the camel.

The solution found is a wardrobe that ventilates and keeps all personal belongings of the residents of Brave Earth safe. Community members can keep their electron-ics, clothes and linens inside and will not need to worry that they might get damaged by the humid air and mold caused by it.

The wardrobe has a ventilation system with a lower and higher opening that creates a difference in the air pres-sure, which allows air from the room to be sucked in. Be-fore the air could reach the clothes department, it first has to pass through the bottom of the wardrobe, where cool, running water is cooling down a zigzag tube, which makes the air chill down and condense.

In terms of materials selection, it was decided to make use of wood from fallen trees within the rainforest to be as sustainable as possible. The piping system of the product should be high in thermal conductivity to max-imise condensation rate. The filtering compartment and the water box should be both made out of water resistant materials.

The ideaThe air is sucked into the bottom cabinet, where cold running wa-ter keeps the pipe chilled. Because of the difference in the tem-perature, the water vapor from the air condenses on the tubes and only dry air gets to reach the wardrobe. The placement of the pipe causes condensed water droplets to be collected in a small container outside the wardrobe. This water can later on, for example, be used for watering plants. Inside the wardrobe mod-ular trays are placed and the already cooled air will ventilate the clothes laid out. At the back of the closet, a pipe is leading the cooled air from the wardrobe to the outside.

How does it work?

Air being sucked in and condensed

Airflow created inside the closet

Air getting outside trough the pipe

Modular compart-ments

PrototypeIn order for the team to gather some beneficial insights on the look, the feasibility and the functionality of the wardrobe, a 1 to 5 scaled prototype was built. It was constructed out of MDF wood and comunicates the main purpose of the design. It includes all of the components and shows how it can be built within the setting of a regular workshop.

Life's Principles do not only serve as inspiration for ideas, but also as a catalyst for developing the concept. Through an audit, every principle was evaluated for potential ways of implementation.

Life’s Principles in the design

Evolve to survive: 'Replicate strategies that work' The main functions of the concept are based on a combination of the strategies of the prairie dog and the way it builds its burrow and the camel's nostrils which create condensation.

Adapt to changing conditions: 'Embody resilience trough Variation, Redundancy and de-centarization'By placing the pipe's exit outdoors, the concept is able to make use of the positives of being both outdoors, causing higher suction rates, and indoor, being more easily accessible to the user.

Integrate development with growth: 'Combine modular and nested components'The product is made out of seperate components which can be repaired without the need of a full replacement of the product. It consists of modular shelf space which provides the user with flexibility and a container for the con-densed water which is detacheable and allows a purpose for the water collected.

Be locally attuned and responsive: 'Leverage cyclic processes' and 'Use readily available materials and energy'The airflow system creates an automatic motor that will run based on the airflow that occurs outside of the resi-dence. The main volumes of the product can be made out of wood that is found from fallen branches and trees in the area, diminishing the dependancy on external parties, lowering the ecological footprint of the product.

Be resource efficient: 'Use low energy processes' and 'Fit form to function'Since the product is powered only by wind, it does not require the usage of electricity. In order to function and cre-ate a bigger suction, the entrance and exit within the product are placed in a way where the air flows through all of the cabinets volume and there is a funnel shape on the outside pipe. Moreover, by optimising the contact surface in the cooling system, condensation rate is maximised.

Discussion

Conclusion

Even though the design already communicates its main function and tends to be efficient for keeping personal belongings of the residents of Brave Earth safe from getting moldy, there are a lot of improvements which can be made to the design. By adding automatic ventilation blades on the outside opening of the sytem, the air pressure will be increased and therefore the airflow inside the wardrobe will become bigger. A suggestion on what can be done instead of using cold running water for getting rid of the water vapor in the air, is placing the cooling com-partment underground and utilising the natural temperature difference between the soil and air above it. More-over, while evaluating the design it was seen that there are a lot of varieties for sizes and materials possible to be incorporated during the building phase of the product.

In conclusion, the design of the wardrobe is inspired by nature’s organisms and evaluated based on Life’s Princi-ples, making it a sustainable product that connects the user to the nature it was inspired by. The product solves the problems related to humid air and mold-forming found in the research phase. It is preventing personal belongings from becoming affected by corrosion or getting moldy, which is also beneficial to the residents' health. In addition, the product can later on be produced with locally available materials and it can even be assembled by the people part of the community of Brave Earth. For this to be possible the team is open to give informative workshops.

Gratitude

Marantz, Y. (2019). Brave Earth . Costa Rica.

Marantz, Y. (2020, 02). Project Biomimcry. (G. Biomimcry, Interviewer)

CostaRica.com. (2015). Climate. Retrieved from Costa Rica: https://www.costarica.com/travel/climate

Costa Rica Guide. (n.d.). Costa Rica Rainy Season & Rainfall Map. Retrieved from Costa Rica Guide: https://costa-rica-guide.com/travel/weather/weather-map-rainfall/

Spark, W. (2016). Average Weather in La Fortuna. Retrieved from Weather Spark: https://weatherspark.com/y/15526/Average-Weather-in-La-Fortuna-Costa-Rica-Year-Round

University of Massachusetts Amherst. (2008, July 17). Could Climate Change Impact Costa Rica? New Study Says Yes. ScienceDaily. Re-trieved March 8, 2020 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080710200232.htm

Sáenz, M. d., Bermúdez, J. L., & Acosta, M. (2010). Universal Coverage in a Middle Income Country: Costa Rica. World Health Organiza-tion.

Bibliography

Since the whole project is inspired by nature, its organisms and the way they succeed in applying certain mecha-nisms to deal with the challenges of the environment, the design team is grateful for the oportunity to learn and use the ones which were the most relevant to the humidity issues people are facing on a daily basis. The team is thankful for the Prairie dog and the Camel nose, as well as the Dessert moss and the Orchid and all of the other organisms which helped throughout the ideation process neccessary for the group to find its way. Moreover, the group is grateful to Brave Earth for being our client, for the possibility to work on such a project and for everyone contributing to the end result.

Spark, W. (2016). Average Weather in La Fortuna. Retrieved from Weather Spark: https://weatherspark.com/y/15526/Average-Weather-in-La-Fortuna-Costa-Rica-Year-Round

University of Massachusetts Amherst. (2008, July 17). Could Climate Change Impact Costa Rica? New Study Says Yes. ScienceDaily. Re-trieved March 8, 2020 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080710200232.htm

Sáenz, M. d., Bermúdez, J. L., & Acosta, M. (2010). Universal Coverage in a Middle Income Country: Costa Rica. World Health Organiza-tion.

Bureau of Democracy, H. R. (2018). COSTA RICA 2018 HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT. United States Department of State .

Arneth, A., Barbosa, H., Benton, T., K. C., & Calvo, E. (2019). Summary for Policymakers. IPCC.

The Guardian (2019, February 25). Costa Riva unveils plan to achieve zero emission by 2050 in climate change fight. Retrieved from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/25/costa-rica-plan-decarbonize-2050-climate-change-fight

Woodson, R. D. (2012). Molds in the Environment. Construction Hazardous Materials Compliance Guide Series, 23–27.

Brischke, C., Humar, M. (2017). Performance of the bio-based materials, 249–333.

D’Orazio, M. (2012). Materials prone to mould growth. Toxicity of Building Materials, 334–350.

Brischke, C., (2017). Modelling. Performance of Bio-Based Building Materials, 483–546.

Sustainable Development. (n.d.). Retrieved from Sustainable Development Goals: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgs

Appendix

To collect water, orchids which are growing on the surface of another organisms hang their roots in the air and ab-sorb moisture directly from the atmosphere. The roots of the orchids are covered with velamen radicum, epidermis layer made out of many cell layers capable of absorbing atmospheric moisture and nutrients and has main func-tion to protect the underlying cells against damaging UV rays.

Orchid

Mechanism

To collect water, the product hangs in the air and absorbs moisture directly from the humid air. It 's covered by spon-geous surface made out of many cell layers capable of absorbing atmospheric moisture and protecting from the damaging UV rays

ADP

Orchidaceae

Absorbs water

Common reed

After detecting a region with high humidity, the tick se-cretes ahydrophilic solution from its mouth and draws the hydrated secretion back into its mouth. Once ejected from the mouth, the solution dries at low humidities leav-ing a crystalline substance behind but when the humidity increases, the substance dissolves and is swallowed back into the body of the tick.

Tick

Mechanism

When regions with high humidity levels are detected, a hydrophilic l iquid is ejected so that it can attract the mol-ecules of the water. Afterwards, the liquid turns into crys-tal substance which dissolves and gets absorbed by the product. That way, water vapour close to saturation down to 43% relative humidity, can be absorbed.

ADP

Similar to the prairie dog found in the main report, com-mon reed uses the bernouill i principle to give oxygen to the root system. small broken columns and young shoots take in air as the result the height difference between them and the taller broken columns. The air flows through the rhizomes and passes out through the taller columns.

Mechanism

Creating a differential internal pressure by suck-ing in the lower air pressure from a lower en-trance and bringing it out through the higher exit

ADP

Ixodoidea Phragmites australis

Absorbs water Distribute gasses

The pine cone has the ability to expand in response the changing levels of humidity. It is made out of Scales, in whose cells change in air pressure occurs, every time they get in contact with water molecules. The changes in the ration between water and air in the cell structure induces expansion of the scale. The differential expansion of both pore layers results in rotation of Isometric shaped scales. This rotation creates a folding motion of the scales. The fractal placement of the scales also enables faster folding times for different scales

Pinecone

Mechanism

Each scale consists of two layered structures which ex-pand and rotate when it gets in contact with water.

ADP

The beetle raises its wings when it reaches a place with fog. Then fog is condensing on the wings and rolling down to the mouth of the beetle. The wings are covered in tiny bumps where droplets are collected and grooves through which the droplets run off without being absorbed, so that the water can reach the beetle’s mouth.

Darkling beetle

Mechanism

The surface is placed in a 45-degree angle facing the wind, the surface consists of grooves with bumps, these bumps have a hydrophilic substance. When fog blows past the surface the water molecules collect on the hydrophilic bumps and roll down when large enough.

ADP

Pinus sabiniana Tenebrionidae

Modify Shape Capture water

The moss leaves have tiny fibers attached to them (awns - 0.5-2 millimeters long). The awns capture the water from the humid air, then many small barbs push the water along the awns, so the water could reach the leaf.

Airplant

Mechanism

All over the product hair l ike decentralized fibers with length 0.5-2 millimeters are being installed, which also have even tinier fibers along their bodies that are slight-ly tilted outwards and created water depots for the col-lection of the water. After the water is collected it is transported with the help of tunnels l ike system, which is formed in between the tiny fibers

ADP

Air plants don't have a functional root system but instead they absorb water in small amounts through their narrow leaves via small structures called trichomes. These struc-tures are swelling and stretching flat along the surface of the leaf during the process.

Desert moss

Mechanism

The product absorbs water in small amounts through its narrow shape covered by small structures which are swell-ing and stretching flat along the surface of the product during the process

ADP

Tillandsia chaetophylla Syntrichia caninervis

Capture water Capture water

The temperature in the mound is constant (30 degrees). The mound thickness is reduced, while the surface com-plexity increases. These complex mounds are cathe-dral-shaped with ridges and altered internal structures. The central nest surrounds a hole, which opens at the top into a shaft that goes to the top of the mound. Peripheral air channels are located closer to the bottom of the nest and run below the mound. Air rises inside the peripheral air channels and towards the top of the mound and col-lects CO2 air from the nest and delivers it to the ridges

Termites

Mechanism

Buildings with an altered internal structure and the cen-ter room of the building is surrounded by a cavity,which at the top opens into a shaft that goes to the top of the building. Peripheral air channels, whichrun below the building, are located closer to the bottom of the center room

ADP

The leaves of the bamboo tree have a waxy coverage (hy-drophobic surface) that ensures the water droplets from the rain could easily outflow. In addition to that, the bam-boo leaves have concave shape that navigate the water droplets to a central channel that is hydrophilic, where they are collected. This mechanism allows the bamboo leaf to clean itself harmlessly.

Bamboo

Mechanism

By placing convex hydrophobic surfaces around a centralhydrophilic surface, water will gather on the central sur-face. After the water is collected it is transported with the help of tunnels l ike system, which is the form in be-tween the tiny fiber.

ADP

Isoptera Bambusoideae

Create Airflow Excess liquids