Construction as biological cells: An exploratory study

Perfection in nature is inspiring. The near-flawless proliferation of biological cells to construct a functional structure based on an embedded design is impressive. Accordingly, biological cell theory is explored using simile and metaphor to draw further inspiration for developing new insights. It is shown through examples that cells similar to biological cells can indeed be identified in construction including embedded designs. Biological cell properties are reviewed, and three properties, namely embedded design, rate of cell proliferation, and biological cell control mechanism are explored synthesizing new insights for managing construction. A new model symbolized as Readiness–Growth–Rest (RGR) consisting of three main states has also been proposed for cell-based construction driven by the embedded design. It consists of a readiness gate to ensure the embedded design is flawless and its readiness to enter the Growth state with transient growth checks and a completion gate. Any cell abnormality during the Growth state including any instability in the rate of cell proliferation diverts the cell into a Transient Rest state for appropriate action before it is permitted to re-enter the Growth state. The suitability, acceptability, and feasibility of the RGR model needs to be ascertained further for cell-based construction to be a greater reality.