ABSTRACT
The need for sustainable design in the tourism industry arises due to its significant contribution to energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission which has tremendous impact on the environment. Environmental designers look to new approaches like biomimicry to advance a sustainable design future. Biomimicry is the emulation of nature in its many forms, systems and processes to solve the most pressing challenges faced by our world today. The aim of the research is to develop a theoretical solution as well as design solutions for sustainable and energy efficient hotels in hot-dry climate. In understanding the concept of biomimicry in architecture, this thesis reinterprets several environmental designs and case studies from the perspective of human and environmental wholeness.. The cactus plant is known as a self-cooling plant due to its anatomical and physiological features that helps it to survive in hot dry climates. This research looks out to applying the characteristics of a cactus plant to profer solutions to energy efficiency.Three hotels were used as case studies, these includes; Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja; Sheraton Hotel, Abuja and Le Meridien Ibom Hotel, Akwa Ibom. These case studies were analysed with respect to the benefits derived from the application of natural strategies such as the harvesting of renewable energy for power generation, water management and bio-inspired filtration methods and the efficient use of materials in adaptation to changing conditions in the environment to inspire building envelope. The study and selection of these architectural examples showed that the principles of biomimicry were underutilized in the hotels studied compared to foreign cases studied in the literature where they had more promiment biomimicry features in their buildings with the same aim of achieving passive cooling. The research found that incorporating biomimicry approaches helps in resolving the problems associated with passive cooling in hot dry climate and create a viable tourism development in Nigeria. This thesis addresses the importance of biomimicry principles to hotel design and provides a template by incorporating these principles in various ways for professionals and organizations involved in hotel design in Nigeria.