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Graphic abstract Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions leading to anthropogenic global warming continue to be a major issue for societies worldwide. A major opportunity to reduce emissions is to improve building construction, and in particular the effectiveness of building envelope, which leads to a decrease in operational energy consumption. Improving the performance of a building's thermal envelope can substantially reduce energy consumption from heating, ventilation, and air conditioning while maintaining occupant comfort. In previous work, a computational model of a biomimetic building façade design was found to be effective in temperate climates in an office context. Through a case study example based on animal fur and blood perfusion, this paper tests the hypothesis that biomimetic building facades have a broader application in different building typologies across a range of climate zones. Using bioinspiration for innovation opens new ideas and pathways for technological development that traditional engineering design does not provide. This study exemplifies the process in a building façade, integrating a new form of insulation, heating and cooling. Methods of mathematical modelling and digital simulation methods were used to test the energy reduction potential of the biomimetic façade was tested in a set of operational applications (office, school, and aged care) and across different climate zones (tropical, desert, temperate, and cool continental). Results indicated that the biomimetic façade has potential to reduce energy consumption for all building applications, with the greatest benefit shown in residential aged care (67.1% reduction). Similarly, the biomimetic building façade showed potential to reduce operational services energy consumption in all climate zones, with the greatest energy reductions achieved in the tropical (55.4% reduction) and humid continental climates (55.1% reduction). Through these results the hypothesis was confirmed suggesting that facades engineered to mimic biological functions and processes can improve substantially decrease building operational energy consumption and can be applied in different building classifications and different climate zones. These results would significantly decrease operational greenhouse gas emissions over the lifetime of a building and provide substantial savings in energy bills. Such facades can contribute to the further reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in a broad range of contexts in the built environment and other areas of technology and design. The flexibility and adaptability of biomimetic facades exemplify how biological strategies and characteristics can augment and improve performance in different environments, since the organisms that inspire innovation are already well-adapted to the conditions on earth. This study also exemplified a method by which other biomimetic building envelope features may be assessed. Further work is suggested to assess economic viability and constructability of the proposed facades.

Large stadiums are highly visible assets for large-scale ‘mega-events’, inspiring built environment professionals to innovate in structure and aesthetics. In recent years environmental performance—or environmental sustainability—has been increasing in focus, with events such as the Olympics calling for ‘green games’ and countries committing to reducing built environment carbon emissions. This paper presents a systematic literature review of large stadiums’ environmental sustainability discourse over the last five years related to design and construction. Using the PRISMA methodology, 18 relevant conceptual and empirical research papers were distilled from 159 extracted papers. Energy consumption and material composition were the most discussed topics. Emergent technologies and processes were also extensively discussed regarding significant embodied energy and indoor air-quality improvements, and greenhouse gas emissions reductions. There was a lack of best practices, or whole life cycle considerations, and minimal demonstration of other attributes of environmental sustainability. This paper provides a baseline to assess progress on environmental sustainability for the built environment sector. A practical definition is presented for Environmentally Sustainable Stadiums (ESS) and a checklist is provided to support leading practices in design and construction. This paper is relevant for built environment professionals and asset owners and managers considering new-build and refurbishments.

The bending lengths of 25 fabrics, coated with several types of rubber, were found to follow Arrhenius-type relationships from —40°C. to + 140°C. Each fabric had its own activation energy of bending which, for single-ply fabrics, was related to the thickness of the fabric and the thickness of the coating. Differences in behaviour associated with the nature of the coating were more readily distinguishable at low temperatures.

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