Abstract
Global warming has recently become increasingly severe, and increasing temperatures are expected to intensify a range of climate-related hazards with a profound impact on agricultural systems. In addition to their primary roles in food production and partially for energy generation, agricultural products also serve aesthetic and cultural functions in human society. However, these uses, such as the flower wall of the construction site or the decoration plant wall in an interior space, are often short-lived, and disposal leads to carbon emissions and environmental problems. Some eco-friendly solutions can be applied to substitute natural flower walls. In this study, a better idea, BloomEco, was proposed. BloomEco is a modular biomimetic flower system that simulates the blooming process of real flowers using sustainable materials derived from agricultural waste, specifically, corn husks. BloomEco consists of a corn husk-made paper-based floral element, a sodium alginate water capsule, and a reusable Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) receptacle. When installed, the flower element absorbs moisture through capillary action, gradually unshaping along pre-defined crease lines to simulate natural blooming. To reach the circular design goal, the recycling of the corn husk paper is considered. To evaluate the environmental benefits of the proposed circular design, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was conducted. Two design scenarios were compared: one using 100% virgin corn husk pulp with a single-use receptacle, and another using 70% recycled pulp with a reusable receptacle. The results indicate that the second scenario reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by more than 35%, primarily by lowering virgin material use and extending component lifetimes. To reach sustainability, LCA indeed can support designers to fulfil the requirement for circular design. This study demonstrates how the integration of biomimicry, circular design, and life cycle thinking can lead to the development of environmentally responsive, visually engaging, and resource-efficient design solutions for contemporary urban challenges.
Keywords
Biomimicry; Circular Design; LCA; GHG
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.1222
Citation
Cheng, Y., Chang, H.,and Huang, T.(2025) BloomEco: A Sustainable Flower Wall Developing toward Circular Design with Biomimicry and LCA Simulation, in Chang, C.-Y., and Hsu, Y. (eds.), IASDR 2025: Design Next, 02-05 December, Taiwan. https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.1222
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
Track 8 - Circular/Sustainable Design
BloomEco: A Sustainable Flower Wall Developing toward Circular Design with Biomimicry and LCA Simulation
Global warming has recently become increasingly severe, and increasing temperatures are expected to intensify a range of climate-related hazards with a profound impact on agricultural systems. In addition to their primary roles in food production and partially for energy generation, agricultural products also serve aesthetic and cultural functions in human society. However, these uses, such as the flower wall of the construction site or the decoration plant wall in an interior space, are often short-lived, and disposal leads to carbon emissions and environmental problems. Some eco-friendly solutions can be applied to substitute natural flower walls. In this study, a better idea, BloomEco, was proposed. BloomEco is a modular biomimetic flower system that simulates the blooming process of real flowers using sustainable materials derived from agricultural waste, specifically, corn husks. BloomEco consists of a corn husk-made paper-based floral element, a sodium alginate water capsule, and a reusable Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) receptacle. When installed, the flower element absorbs moisture through capillary action, gradually unshaping along pre-defined crease lines to simulate natural blooming. To reach the circular design goal, the recycling of the corn husk paper is considered. To evaluate the environmental benefits of the proposed circular design, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was conducted. Two design scenarios were compared: one using 100% virgin corn husk pulp with a single-use receptacle, and another using 70% recycled pulp with a reusable receptacle. The results indicate that the second scenario reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by more than 35%, primarily by lowering virgin material use and extending component lifetimes. To reach sustainability, LCA indeed can support designers to fulfil the requirement for circular design. This study demonstrates how the integration of biomimicry, circular design, and life cycle thinking can lead to the development of environmentally responsive, visually engaging, and resource-efficient design solutions for contemporary urban challenges.