Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Biomimetic strategies offer diverse pathways to improve building performance. Nevertheless, their performance effects across climates and application hierarchies remain poorly understood. This systematic review and meta-analysis synthesized qualitative and quantitative evidence from 185 peer-reviewed studies. Research entries are concentrated in temperate climate zones (59.6%) and material hierarchy (62.2%). These concentrations are particularly pronounced in structural safety, where studies focus on strength and toughness. The mean improvements in these indicators are 145.6% and 875.6%, respectively. Research priorities for occupant comfort vary with climatic contexts and occupant requirements, while heterogeneous indicators limit performance comparisons. For energy efficiency, material strategies achieve mean reductions of 34.0% in cooling load and 29.5% in total load, while configurations show considerable energy-saving potential. Daytime cooling varies across climate zones, with a mean reduction of 9.29°C ± 4.16°C in temperate climates, which provide the largest evidence base. These findings show that climate zones and application hierarchies are associated with differences in the performance effects of building biomimetic strategies. This study provides an evidence-based knowledge map for selecting biomimetic strategies across project contexts and identifies critical gaps and development priorities. It also supports the translation of biomimetic knowledge through research and technology development into building practice, contributing to more sustainable and resilient buildings.