This article examines ecosystem biomimicry for its potential to contribute to the evolution of intelligent built environments. Ecosystem biomimicry is the emulation of how ecosystems work or what they do in a design context. The article begins by ascertaining whether analysing the urban built environment from the perspective of how ecosystems function could be a significant step towards the creation of a built environment where positive integration with, and restoration of, local ecosystems could be realized. The aim is to examine ecosystem biomimicry for its usefulness as a practical tool for research, evaluation of existing built environments, and design of new or retrofitted developments. The significance of such research is that it could provide a comprehensive basis for the development of ecosystem-based biomimicry that is practical, measurable and has multiple potential benefits. The concept of ecosystem services is analysed and used to define a framework for employing ecosystem biomimicry in an urban built environment context. Through a ranking research exercise, key ecosystem services that may be of most benefit to focus on in a built environmental context are identified, and the results of a case study testing the usability of ecosystem biomimicry to determine design goals for retrofit of an existing city are presented.