Michael Pawlyn: Using nature's genius in architecture

翻译人员: Jenny Yang 校对人员: Felix Chen

I'd like to start with a couple of quick examples.

我想先讲几个简单的例子

These are spinneret glands

这些是蜘蛛吐丝的腺体

on the abdomen of a spider.

位在蜘蛛的腹部

They produce six different types of silk, which is spun together into a fiber,

他们可以分泌出六种不同的丝，编织在一起变成纤维

tougher than any fiber humans have ever made.

这比任何人类制作出的纤维都要强韧

The nearest we've come is with aramid fiber.

最接近这种特性的要算是芳纶纤维

And to make that, it involves extremes of temperature,

要作出这样的纤维需要极端的温度

extremes of pressure and loads of pollution.

极端的压力和大量的污染

And yet the spider manages to do it at ambient temperature and pressure

然而蜘蛛却能在一般环境的温度和压力

with raw materials of dead flies and water.

运用死掉苍蝇和水当作原料做出来这种纤维

It does suggest we've still got a bit to learn.

它说明了我们还有东西可学

This beetle can detect a forest fire at 80 kilometers away.

这种甲虫可以侦测到远在80公里外的森林火灾

That's roughly 10,000 times the range

功力这大约是

of man-made fire detectors.

人造火灾探测器所能侦测范围的10,000倍

And what's more, this guy doesn't need a wire

更重要的是，这小昆虫不需要电线

connected all the way back to a power station burning fossil fuels.

连接使用燃料的发电站

So these two examples give a sense of what biomimicry can deliver.

这两个例子说明了生物模拟是值得学习的

If we could learn to make things and do things the way nature does,

如果我们能学会大自然的方式

we could achieve factor 10, factor 100,

我们可以达到10倍，100倍

maybe even factor 1,000 savings

甚至是1,000倍的

in resource and energy use.

节约资源和能源

And if we're to make progress with the sustainability revolution,

如果我们要有所进步达到永续发​​展

I believe there are three really big changes

我认为有三个非常大的变化

we need to bring about.

是我们需要的

Firstly, radical increases in resource efficiency.

第一，提高基本资源使​​用效率

Secondly, shifting from a linear, wasteful,

第二，把线性的，浪费的，

polluting way of using resources

污染的资源使用方式

to a closed-loop model.

转变成一个封闭的循环模式

And thirdly, changing from a fossil fuel economy

第三，从矿物燃料经济

to a solar economy.

转变成太阳能经济

And for all three of these, I believe,

而对于这三点，我认为

biomimicry has a lot of the solutions that we're going to need.

生物模拟提供很多的解决方法是我们需要的

You could look at nature as being like a catalog of products,

你可以看一下大自然把它当作是样本

and all of those have benefited

所有的东西都来自于

from a 3.8-billion-year research and development period.

3.8亿年的研究和发展的累积

And given that level of investment, it makes sense to use it.

基于这样程度的投资，我们也应该使用它

So I'm going to talk about some projects that have explored these ideas.

所以我要谈谈一些探索这些想法的项目

And let's start with radical increases

让我们从迅速

in resource efficiency.

提高基本资源使​​用效率说起

When we were working on the Eden Project,

当我们开始执行伊甸园计划时

we had to create a very large greenhouse

我们必须盖一座非常大的温室

in a site that was not only irregular,

在一个不仅不规则

but it was continually changing because it was still being quarried.

而且不断变化的地方，因为这个地方仍在开采

It was a hell of a challenge,

这是一个很大的挑战

and it was actually examples from biology

不过它实际上是运用生物学的例子

that provided a lot of the clues.

这提供了很多线索

So for instance,

例如

it was soap bubbles that helped us generate a building form

这参考肥皂泡泡的样子，规划出建筑物的外观

that would work regardless of the final ground levels.

不管最后地面高度多高都能做到

Studying pollen grains

研究花粉

and radiolaria and carbon molecules

和放射虫类和碳分子

helped us devise the most efficient structural solution

帮助我们做出最有效的结构设计

using hexagons and pentagons.

运用六边形和五边形

The next move was that we wanted

下一步是我们想要

to try and maximize the size of those hexagons.

把六边形做到最大

And to do that we had to find an alternative to glass,

要做到这点我们必须用可替代玻璃的材质

which is really very limited in terms of its unit sizes.

不过这材质能够用的单位面积也相当受限

And in nature there are lots of examples

在自然界中非常多的例子

of very efficient structures based on pressurized membranes.

都能有效用在结构设计上，像是加压膜技术

So we started exploring this material called ETFE.

因此我们开始探索ETFE这种材料

It's a high-strength polymer.

这是一种高强度聚合物

And what you do is you put it together in three layers,

而我们把它做成三层

you weld it around the edge, and then you inflate it.

把它周围边缘焊接起来，然后充气

And the great thing about this stuff

这东西最了不起的地方是

is you can make it in units

它的每一个单位

of roughly seven times the size of glass,

可以大约是玻璃的七倍大

and it was only one percent of the weight of double-glazing.

重量却只有双层玻璃的百分之一

So that was a factor-100 saving.

所以这算是100倍的节约资源

And what we found is that we got into a positive cycle

我们也发现到这带动起良性循环

in which one breakthrough facilitated another.

新发现又会带来另一个新发现

So with such large, lightweight pillows,

在这样大又轻的支撑下

we had much less steel.

我们也能减少钢材的使用

With less steel we were getting more sunlight in,

少一点钢材，阳光就能多一点进来

which meant we didn't have to put as much extra heat in winter.

换句话说，在冬天我们不用储备太多的热能

And with less overall weight in the superstructure,

加上在建筑上层的整体重量也减少

there were big savings in the foundations.

所以地基的建材也能节省许多

And at the end of the project we worked out

在这项计画完成的时候，我们发现

that the weight of that superstructure

上层建筑的重量

was actually less than the weight of the air inside the building.

实际上低于建筑物内空气的重量

So I think the Eden Project is a fairly good example

我认为伊甸园计划是个相当好的例子

of how ideas from biology

说明从生物学学到的想法

can lead to radical increases in resource efficiency --

可以做到提高基本资源使​​用效率

delivering the same function,

在提供相同的功能

but with a fraction of the resource input.

达到事半功倍的效果

And actually there are loads of examples in nature

实际上大自然中有非常多这样的例子

that you could turn to for similar solutions.

我们可以找到类似的解决方法

So for instance, you could develop super-efficient roof structures

例如我们能盖出高效能的屋顶结构

based on giant Amazon water lilies,

参考亚马逊巨头睡莲的样子

whole buildings inspired by abalone shells,

整个建筑灵感来自鲍鱼壳

super-lightweight bridges inspired by plant cells.

超轻量桥梁设计灵感来自于植物细胞

There's a world of beauty and efficiency to explore here

这个既美丽又有效率的世界值得探索

using nature as a design tool.

运用大自然当作设计的工具

So now I want to go onto talking about the linear-to-closed-loop idea.

现在我要说明的是如何从线性转变成封闭式循环

The way we tend to use resources

我们通常使用资源的方式

is we extract them,

是开采资源

we turn them into short-life products and then dispose of them.

把资源做成生命周期很短的产品，然后用完即丢

Nature works very differently.

但大自然的法则不是这样的

In ecosystems, the waste from one organism

在生态系统里每一种生物的废弃物

becomes the nutrient for something else in that system.

会转变成另一种生物的营养来源

And there are some examples of projects

还有其他几个项目的例子

that have deliberately tried to mimic ecosystems.

是刻意模仿生态系统

And one of my favorites

其中一项我最喜欢的是

is called the Cardboard to Caviar Project

"从纸板到鱼子酱"项目

by Graham Wiles.

由格雷汉姆 怀尔斯所做的

And in their area they had a lot of shops and restaurants

在他们那个地区有非常多商店和餐厅

that were producing lots of food, cardboard and plastic waste.

造成许多食物、纸板和塑胶的废弃物

It was ending up in landfills.

这些废弃物最后都会被扔到垃圾场

Now the really clever bit is what they did with the cardboard waste.

但现在他们比较聪明会另外处理废纸板

And I'm just going to talk through this animation.

我利用这个动画跟你们解释

So they were paid to collect it from the restaurants.

他们负责从餐厅回收这些纸板

They then shredded the cardboard

然后把纸板碾碎

and sold it to equestrian centers as horse bedding.

卖给了马术中心用作马匹的垫草

When that was soiled, they were paid again to collect it.

等到这些垫草脏了，他们再负责去回收

They put it into worm recomposting systems,

接着把这些脏的垫草用来培育蠕虫

which produced a lot of worms, which they fed to Siberian sturgeon,

这样可以繁殖出许多的蠕虫，这些蠕虫就拿来喂食西伯利亚鲟鱼

which produced caviar, which they sold back to the restaurants.

鲟鱼生产出鱼子酱，鱼子酱再卖回去给餐厅

So it transformed a linear process

这样的过程就是从线性

into a closed-loop model,

转变成一个封闭式的循环

and it created more value in the process.

每一个过程都创造出更多的价值

Graham Wiles has continued to add more and more elements to this,

Graham Wiles不断加入更多的元素到这个循环

turning waste streams into schemes that create value.

让废弃物在这个计划中创造出价值

And just as natural systems

就像是自然生态一样

tend to increase in diversity and resilience over time,

长期下来能增加多样性和适应性

there's a real sense with this project

这是就是这个项目的真正目的

that the number of possibilities

也就是创造出更多的可能性

just continue increasing.

而且不断地增加价值

And I know it's a quirky example,

我知道这是一个奇特的例子

but I think the implications of this are quite radical,

但我认为这是影响非常有效

because it suggests that we could actually

因为这实际上

transform a big problem -- waste -- into a massive opportunity.

可以让我们把大问题变成大机会

And particularly in cities --

特别在某些城市

we could look at the whole metabolism of cities,

要处理垃圾问题

and look at those as opportunities.

就能运用这样的概念

And that's what we're doing on the next project I'm going to talk about,

这也是我接下来要谈的另一个项目

the Mobius Project,

莫比乌斯(Mobius)项目

where we're trying to bring together a number of activities,

我们试图引进许多活动

all within one building,

集合在同一个建筑物里完成

so that the waste from one can be the nutrient for another.

所以每一种废弃物都能变成原料

And the kind of elements I'm talking about

我要讲的内容包括

are, firstly, we have a restaurant inside a productive greenhouse,

首先，我们在温室里有一间餐厅

a bit like this one in Amsterdam called De Kas.

这有点像在阿姆斯特丹的De Kas温室餐厅

Then we would have an anaerobic digester,

然后我们在里面设了一座无氧消化器

which could deal with all the biodegradable waste from the local area,

能处理当地所有可生物分解的废弃物

turn that into heat for the greenhouse

再转变成温室的热能

and electricity to feed back into the grid.

和电力回馈到输电网

We'd have a water treatment system

我们有污水处理系统

treating wastewater, turning that into fresh water

把废水变成干净的水

and generating energy from the solids

从固体产生能量

using just plants and micro-organisms.

只利用一些植物和微生物

We'd have a fish farm fed with vegetable waste from the kitchen

我们有一个养鱼池，用厨房的厨余当作饲料

and worms from the compost

还有堆肥里的蠕虫

and supplying fish back to the restaurant.

拿这些拿来喂鱼，鱼再供应给餐厅

And we'd also have a coffee shop, and the waste grains from that

还会有一个咖啡厅，不要的咖啡渣

could be used as a substrate for growing mushrooms.

可以做成种植蘑菇的培养土

So you can see that we're bringing together

我们把这些想法结合在一起

cycles of food, energy and water and waste

成为一个食物、能源、水和废弃物的循环

all within one building.

这全都发生在同一栋建筑物里

And just for fun, we've proposed this for a roundabout in central London,

为了好玩，我们提出把它建在伦敦市中心的一个环状交叉路

which at the moment is a complete eyesore.

因为这个环状交叉路口那时算是政府的眼中钉

Some of you may recognize this.

你们有些人可能认得这个地方

And with just a little bit of planning,

运用一点点的规划

we could transform a space dominated by traffic

我们可以把一个以交通为主的空间

into one that provides open space for people,

转变成可以提供给民众的开放空间

reconnects people with food

让人与食物重新有交集

and transforms waste into closed loop opportunities.

让废弃物可以在封闭式循环中得到不同的处置

So the final project I want to talk about

我要谈的最后一个项目是

is the Sahara Forest Project, which we're working on at the moment.

撒哈拉造林工程工程，这是我们现阶段正在努力做的

It may come as a surprise to some of you

这可能对在座的某些人来说

to hear that quite large areas of what are currently desert

听到这消息有点惊讶，因为这一大片地方目前是沙漠

were actually forested a fairly short time ago.

但事实上这地方在不久之前其实有座森林

So for instance, when Julius Caesar arrived in North Africa,

例如当凯撒抵达北非的时候

huge areas of North Africa

在北非有一大片区域

were covered in cedar and cypress forests.

被雪松和柏树森林给覆盖

And during the evolution of life on the Earth,

在地球开始繁衍出生命的时候

it was the colonization

土地都被占据

of the land by plants

被植物给占据

that helped create the benign climate we currently enjoy.

才帮助创造出我们现在享受的良好气候

The converse is also true.

反过来也是如此

The more vegetation we lose,

我们失去越多土地上的植被

the more that's likely to exacerbate climate change

越可能加剧气候变迁

and lead to further desertification.

导致进一步的沙漠化

And this animation,

这个动画显示了

this shows photosynthetic activity over the course of a number of years,

数年来的光合作用的活动

and what you can see is that the boundaries of those deserts

我们可以看到这些沙漠的范围

shift quite a lot,

他们变化很大

and that raises the question

这引发了一个问题

of whether we can intervene at the boundary conditions

我们是否能干预沙漠的界线

to halt, or maybe even reverse, desertification.

去限制或是让沙漠化的土地回复原本的样子

And if you look at some of the organisms

你看一些生物

that have evolved to live in deserts,

可以适应在沙漠生活

there are some amazing examples of adaptations to water scarcity.

在适应缺水问题时也有一些令人惊讶的例子

This is the Namibian fog-basking beetle,

这是纳米比亚的沐雾甲虫

and it's evolved a way of harvesting its own fresh water in a desert.

它自己演化出可以在沙漠收集淡水的方法

The way it does this is it comes out at night,

它的方式是它在夜间出来活动

crawls to the top of a sand dune,

爬到沙丘上头

and because it's got a matte black shell,

因为他的粗糙黑色外壳

is able to radiate heat out to the night sky

能够在夜晚散发热能

and become slightly cooler than its surroundings.

又能比其周围环境低温

So when the moist breeze blows in off the sea,

因此，当海上吹起了潮湿的微风

you get these droplets of water forming on the beetle's shell.

甲虫的壳就能让水滴凝结在上面

Just before sunrise, he tips his shell up, the water runs down into his mouth,

在日出前，它把身体抬高，水就能流进嘴里

has a good drink, goes off and hides for the rest of the day.

喝一口水，然后躲起来好好休息的一天

And the ingenuity, if you could call it that,

如果要说，这是大自然的智慧

goes even further.

更进一步看

Because if you look closely at the beetle's shell,

如果仔细观察甲虫的外壳

there are lots of little bumps on that shell.

外壳上有许多小的突起物

And those bumps are hydrophilic; they attract water.

而那些突起物具有亲水性，能吸引水

Between them there's a waxy finish which repels water.

在每个突起物间有像蜡一样的沟槽可以排水

And the effect of this is that

这个的作用是

as the droplets start to form on the bumps,

水滴在这些突起物上形成时

they stay in tight, spherical beads,

水分会紧密而且呈现水珠状

which means they're much more mobile

所以这比在甲壳虫的整个甲壳上

than they would be if it was just a film of water over the whole beetle's shell.

有一薄薄一层水要更具流动性

So even when there's only a small amount of moisture in the air,

因此即使当空气中只有少量的水分

it's able to harvest that very effectively and channel it down to its mouth.

它仍然能够非常有效的获取水分让水流到口里

So amazing example of an adaptation

这是一个非常惊人的适应

to a very resource-constrained environment --

有限资源环境的事例

and in that sense, very relevant

这和我们息息相关

to the kind of challenges we're going to be facing

我们要面对相似的挑战

over the next few years, next few decades.

在未来几年，或几十年

We're working with the guy who invented the Seawater Greenhouse.

我们正与一位发明了海水温室的人合作

This is a greenhouse designed for arid coastal regions,

这是一种在干旱沿海地区做的温室设计

and the way it works is that you have this whole wall of evaporator grills,

这运作的方式是里头有整座蒸发器架

and you trickle seawater over that

让海水滴流过这里

so that wind blows through, it picks up a lot of moisture

让风吹过收集很多的水分

and is cooled in the process.

然后在过程中冷却

So inside it's cool and humid,

所以里面是凉爽和潮湿的

which means the plants need less water to grow.

适合不太需要水的植物生长

And then at the back of the greenhouse,

在温室后方

it condenses a lot of that humidity as freshwater

能凝结大量的湿气转变为淡水

in a process that is effectively identical to the beetle.

这个过程实际上是和甲虫是相同的

And what they found with the first Seawater Greenhouse that was built

而他们盖的第一座海水温室

was it was producing slightly more freshwater

能生产很多的淡水

than it needed for the plants inside.

而且多过里头植物所需要的

So they just started spreading this on the land around,

因此他们开始推广到附近的土地

and the combination of that and the elevated humidity

结合这一点和湿度升高这两种条件

had quite a dramatic effect on the local area.

让这个地区有非常大的改变

This photograph was taken on completion day,

这张照片是在完工日那天拍的

and just one year later, it looked like that.

一年后看起来像这样

So it was like a green inkblot spreading out from the building

它就像一个绿色的墨渍从建筑物扩散出去

turning barren land back into biologically productive land --

让贫瘠的土地回复到有生命的样子

and in that sense, going beyond sustainable design

也就是说这不仅维持了生态平衡

to achieve restorative design.

更达到恢复生机

So we were keen to scale this up

因此我们希望可以扩大

and apply biomimicry ideas to maximize the benefits.

应用生物模拟的想法把效益最大化

And when you think about nature,

当我们想到大自然

often you think about it as being all about competition.

我们大部分想到的是竞争

But actually in mature ecosystems,

但实际上在成熟的生态系统中

you're just as likely to find examples

你能发现很多例子

of symbiotic relationships.

都存在共生关系

So an important biomimicry principle

所以重要的生物模拟的原则

is to find ways of bringing technologies together

是想办法把不同的技术结合

in symbiotic clusters.

做到集体共生

And the technology that we settled on

我们看中的技术是

as an ideal partner for the Seawater Greenhouse

能和海水温室的概念合作的

is concentrated solar power,

太阳能源应用技术

which uses solar-tracking mirrors to focus the sun's heat

它使用能追踪太阳能的镜子集中太阳的热能

to create electricity.

变成电力

And just to give you some sense of the potential of CSP,

我想让你们对太阳能源应用技术多一点了解

consider that we receive

想想看

10,000 times as much energy from the sun every year

如果我们每年使用的电有10,000倍来自太阳能

as we use in energy from all forms --

比较来自其他的发电方式

10,000 times.

10,000倍

So our energy problems are not intractable.

如果这样我们的能源问题就不棘手

It's a challenge to our ingenuity.

问题在我们的创造力

And the kind of synergies I'm talking about

我现在要说的综效是

are, firstly, both these technologies work very well in hot, sunny deserts.

这两种技术在高温阳光充足的地方都能作用

CSP needs a supply of demineralized freshwater.

太阳能源应用技术需要去除矿物质的水

That's exactly what the Seawater Greenhouse produces.

而海水温室能生产这样的水

CSP produces a lot of waste heat.

太阳能源应用技术则产生大量的热能

We'll be able to make use of all that to evaporate more seawater

我们可以用来蒸发大量的海水

and enhance the restorative benefits.

提高回收效益

And finally, in the shade under the mirrors,

然后在镜子下的遮阴处

it's possible to grow all sorts of crops

可以增种各种作物

that would not grow in direct sunlight.

能避免直接的日照

So this is how this scheme would look.

这是这个项目的宏图

The idea is we create this long hedge of greenhouses facing the wind.

我们会在迎风处建造一大片的温室

We'd have concentrated solar power plants

还有太阳能发电厂

at intervals along the way.

以固定的间距盖在这条路上

Some of you might be wondering what we would do with all the salts.

在座某些人可能想知道我们会如何处理那些盐分

And with biomimicry, if you've got an underutilized resource,

在生物模拟的概念下，如果你有一项还未被使用的资源

you don't think, "How am I going to dispose of this?"

你不会想"我该怎么把这东西丢掉？"

You think, "What can I add to the system to create more value?"

你反而会想"我该加什么东西进来创造出更多的价值？"

And it turns out

事实证明

that different things crystallize out at different stages.

不同的物质在不同的阶段会变成结晶

When you evaporate seawater, the first thing to crystallize out

开始蒸馏海水的时候，第一样被结晶出来的

is calcium carbonate.

是碳酸钙

And that builds up on the evaporators --

碳酸钙会凝聚在蒸发器上

and that's what that image on the left is --

就会像左边的图片那样

gradually getting encrusted with the calcium carbonate.

逐渐被碳酸钙给覆盖

So after a while, we could take that out,

经过一段时间，我们可以把这些取下来

use it as a lightweight building block.

做成轻量的砖块

And if you think about the carbon in that,

如果你问那碳是哪里来的？

that would have come out of the atmosphere, into the sea

那是从大气中来，落到海里

and then locked away in a building product.

然后凝结在这些建材里

The next thing is sodium chloride.

第二种是氯化钠

You can also compress that into a building block,

也是可以压缩做成砖块

as they did here.

就像这里

This is a hotel in Bolivia.

这是玻利维亚的一间酒店

And then after that, there are all sorts

之后还有其他各种

of compounds and elements that we can extract,

化合物和元素是我们可以提炼出来的

like phosphates, that we need to get back into the desert soils to fertilize them.

像磷酸盐，这东西我们可以拿到沙漠施肥

And there's just about every element of the periodic table

几乎化学周期表上的所有元素

in seawater.

都能从海水里获得

So it should be possible to extract valuable elements

所以我们应该能从海水提炼出有价值的元素

like lithium for high-performance batteries.

像高性能电池需要的锂

And in parts of the Arabian Gulf,

而在阿拉伯海湾地区

the seawater, the salinity is increasing steadily

海水里的盐份是稳定的在增加

due to the discharge of waste brine

因为有废卤水

from desalination plants.

从海水淡化厂排出

And it's pushing the ecosystem close to collapse.

这造成生态系统濒临崩溃

Now we would be able to make use of all that waste brine.

现在我们能够利用的所有的废卤水

We could evaporate it

我们可以蒸馏它

to enhance the restorative benefits

提高回收效益

and capture the salts,

同时取得盐巴

transforming an urgent waste problem into a big opportunity.

把一个急迫的污染问题变成一个良机

Really the Sahara Forest Project is a model

撒哈拉造林工程是一个非常好的例子

for how we could create zero-carbon food,

说明我们能够制造零炭食品

abundant renewable energy in some of the most water-stressed parts of the planet

在地球一些缺水的地方创造出丰富的可载生能源

as well as reversing desertification in certain areas.

同时让某些沙漠化的土地恢复生机

So returning to those big challenges that I mentioned at the beginning:

因此，让我们回到我在开始时提到的大的挑战

radical increases in resource efficiency,

提高基本资源的使用效率

closing loops and a solar economy.

建立封闭式循环和太阳能经济

They're not just possible; they're critical.

这些不只是可行的， 而且非常重要

And I firmly believe that studying the way nature solves problems

我深信，研究大自然解决问题的办法

will provide a lot of the solutions.

可以为人类提供很多解决的方法

But perhaps more than anything, what this thinking provides

然而也许更重要的是， 思考能带来

is a really positive way of talking about sustainable design.

积极的持续发展的设计

Far too much of the talk about the environment

很多讨论环境问题的讲话

uses very negative language.

常常用很消极的语言

But here it's about synergies and abundance and optimizing.

然而， 它应该是有综效，丰富的和乐观的

And this is an important point.

这个很重要

Antoine de Saint-Exupery once said,

安东尼·圣埃克苏佩里曾经说过，

"If you want to build a flotilla of ships,

“如果你想创立一个舰队

you don't sit around talking about carpentry.

你不是坐下来谈木工的工作

No, you need to set people's souls ablaze

你需要让人的灵魂

with visions of exploring distant shores."

对探索遥远的海岸充满了热情”

And that's what we need to do, so let's be positive,

这才是我们要做的， 所以让我们保持乐观

and let's make progress with what could be

在这个很可能是最令人兴奋的

the most exciting period of innovation we've ever seen.

我们从未见过的创造时期共同创造

Thank you.

谢谢各位

(Applause)

(掌声)