HUMAN:NATURE

Emily Douglas

As society becomes increasingly urban-centric, we find ourselves immersed in artificially built settings and further disconnected from our relationship with the natural world. While a growing urban environment and accelerated digital lifestyle allows us to live more efficiently, we simultaneously experience the destruction of our surrounding natural landscape through increased air pollution, traffic congestion, noise, removal of natural habitats, and an overall disregard for the environment. This impact that humanity has had on the environment bears negative implications that can directly affect our emotional wellbeing and lead us to question our accountability in creating positive behavioral changes. [1]

To remedy the stressors of living, working, and existing in a mainly urban setting, considering new ways to incorporate an essence of nature within the built environment has the potential to reveal itself as a viable solution. Edward O. Wilson’s Biophilia Hypothesis is the theory that humans gain a sense of positivity and completeness when they are able to achieve connections with nature or symbolic interpretations of the natural world. [2] By employing biophilic elements as a design tool, designers are given the opportunity to creatively problem solve by drawing inspiration from natural motifs and reminding humanity of their innate connection with nature. Leveraging visual connection and biomorphic pattern, HUMAN:NATURE contemplates the growth and impact of our urban-centric lifestyles while also awakening the necessity to strengthen our relationship with the natural world.

[1] Kellert, Stephen Robert. Building for Life: Designing and Understanding the Human Connection. New Jersey: Wiley, 2008.

[2] Söderlund, Jana. The Emergence of Biophilic Design. Switzerland: Springer, 2019.