Beginning Research: Mick Pearce

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I am choosing Mick Pearce as he is an architect who has done a lot of work in restoring and transforming buildings (mainly in Central Africa) while also minimizing damage to the environment. In recent years he has done more sustainable architecture involving biomimicry and most recently, passive cooling systems. 'An original and innovative architect, Mick Pearce is particularly renowned for his work on the bio-ecological aspects of the built environment.' (Prince Claus Fund, n.d.). The building that I will be looking at is the Eastgate Centre located in Harare, Zimbabwe because the building takes inspiration from nature which I can also relate back to my project work


The Eastgate Centre by Mick Pearce (1996)

The Eastgate Centre, which has a total combined floor area of 55,000 metres aquare is a shopping centre and office space located in the centre of Harare. Mick Pearce drew inspiration for the building from nature, specifically termite mounds. Termites build mounds which maintain a constant temperature throughout the day without fluctuation, this specific feature made him do more research as to how these mounds function and how to implement them into his design. Taking in factors like pheromones, air movement, sunlight and structure of these mounds that could influence their control over temperature. 'In this way I get moved to design buildings which attempt to copy processes which I imagine are happening behind what I see of the termite towers and from what I read about them in scientific journals and books by earth scientists.' (Pearce, 2016). This led him to implement a passive cooling system which stores heat during the day lets it out by night. He does this through the use of brick chimneys at the roof which draw up the warm air and the use of an underground system which bring in cool air from the earths underground through a series of channels and pipes which then circulate it in the building (Ansari, 2022). Because of this system the building significantly reduces the amount of energy it consumes making it both energy efficient and environmentally friendly. It is also beneficial for the kind of climate Zimbabwe is known for.

In terms of the design, the structure is meant to combine the use of the traditional steel and glass with the more modern style of using brick and stone (back then) also taking inspiration from the old traditional stone architecture of Zimbabwe, his aim was to move away from the usual glass box shape that most shopping and office spaces make use of. It consists of two buildings connected by a glass roof. The exterior is quite rough with some protruding stones and a jagged surface but these were done on purpose as they minimize heat gain during the day aswell (Pearce, 2016).

While it is good to point out the effort put into the use of some sustainable materials like locally sourced stone and the methods for the cooling system, the use of concrete, steel and glass have significant negative impacts on the environment from the manufacturing and transportation of such materials so I think more effort could have been put into those factors. The building also lacks the visual appeal I would have liked, which is understandable because of the effort put into its functionality it may have reduced how much creative freedom the architect could have

Although I do not find the building aesthetically pleasing, I admire the innovative use of biomimicry in architecture and the fact it does not just focus on taking the shape of things related to nature but also how they function in their environment and using that as the frame of the design of a building


References

Ansari, K. (2022). Biomimicry Architecture: Eastgate centre - Harare, Zimbabwe -. [online] archEstudy. Available at: https://archestudy.com/biomimicry-architecture-eastgate-center-harare-zimbabwe/ [Accessed 27 Apr. 2024].

Pearce, M. (2016). Biomimicry Architecture. [online] www.mickpearce.com. Available at: https://www.mickpearce.com/biomimicry.html [Accessed 25 Apr. 2024].

Prince Claus Fund. (n.d.). Mick Pearce. [online] Available at: https://princeclausfund.org/laureate/mick-pearce [Accessed 25 Apr. 2024].

Comments

  1. Sam DarganMay 8, 2024 at 4:21 AM

    Perhaps you could relate elements of your own project to your research.....? How does this research link to your design?

    ReplyDelete

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