Retrofitting and redesigning of cities has become more imperative as the pressures of climate change and rapid global urbanization continues to grow and this demands urgent responses. Unfortunately, the current design of buildings and whole cities leads to an overall degradation of natural resources and loss of biodiversity. As a result, it appears beneficial to observe and analyze how nature addresses similar issues while continuing to remain sustainable within itself.

Biomimicry is the term used to describe the imitation of these natural systems and strategies within human innovation to solve challenges. Understanding the systems of life within natural organisms and utilizing them in urban design and architecture, can be the starting point of the creation and evolution of sustainable cities that aim to become regenerative.

This thesis examines the three levels of biomimicry (organism, behavioral and ecosystem) and analyzes specific case studies within these to elucidate the best approach to produce sustainable and regenerative outcomes. Ecosystem based biomimicry has been shown to achieve this.

The thesis explores a complex field that correlates ecosystem functions, processes and services, and the potential design strategies required by designers in order to achieve self-sufficient architecture with ecologically improved performance. It has been concluded that the built environment must be expected to actively contribute towards building firmer ecological and social relationships as opposed to being idle contributors to Global warming and the degradation of the natural world.