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Image Credit: JoshuaDavisPhotography | Flickr
Many people purposely seek out nature in order to experience its beauty and learn from it. Of course, for designers, biomimicry involves the understanding of nature as interpreted into design. But I ask, what are other ways that you can learn from nature to really push the way you think about what your occupants do within your buildings? And how can you use nature to find new ways to promote issues like learning and productivity within an office building and its office layout design?
Well, there are ongoing studies which find that typical office buildings are actually not the most conducive of spaces to promote a good work environment that encourages natural productivity, attention, and focus amongst its occupants. However, what has been found, is that by going for a walk in nature (by taking a 20 to 50 minute break from work) can actually improve your memory, attention and focus — thereby making you more productive at work. (2)
Specifically, University of Michigan psychology researchers found that “memory performance and attention spans improved by 20 percent after people spent an hour interacting with nature.” And similarly, a study was done where occupants looked at pictures of nature as compared to urban pictures, and it was found that those that looked at the nature pictures Read more
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Architects are constantly defying gravity. We built into and with the sky, and the way in which we engage it says a lot about our work. Building upward involves more than just getting your occupants to look up.
The following is a 10 image slideshow presented with hopes to inspire you to think about the sky creatively. These captured moments, ranging in complexity, illustrate just how delicate the balance is between our built forms and the sky which surrounds us.
Here are ten ways to built into and with the sky, to defy gravity and to help you design architecture that is more balanced, harmonious and awe-inspiring.
How To Build Into the Sky…
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- Frame it, to capture your own horizons.
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- Travel into it, provide activity from high above.
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- Listen to it, through a funnel of flutes.
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- Capture the sky and bring it to ground-level.
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- Move downward, changing your “ground”. Peek up at it.
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- Transition into the sky while writing in it.
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- Lead the eye upward along a path.
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- Move through it, like the wings of a bird.
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- Build into it. Filter in all of its light.
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- Remove boundaries. Blur the sky with your built form.
Please Tell Me What You Think
I would really like to get your feedback on my post today, so please leave me a comment in the form below. And if you enjoyed it, make sure you share it with your Twitter followers by “tweeting” it using the re-tweet button on this page.
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It is fascinating to think about the “between-state” of nature and built form. Each can support, erode, filter or even sculpt the other. Both architecture and nature seem to continuously creep into each other’s territories, as if to propel the notion that they are really inseparable — as you will see in the following slideshow.
It is my hope that these simple “captured moments” will spark an idea for you regarding architecture’s interplay with nature. As architects, we always should be aware of our green environment…for so many reasons. It is important that we build with our environment and not against it. Here are nine simple reasons why:
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- Architectural Weathering — displaying nature and built form’s delicate balance.
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- Improving Building Systems — a vertical display of nature texturizing our environments.
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- We Reflect Nature — The sky looks as if it is coming from the building’s interior.
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- Nature’s Growth— Nature most always finds a way to make an appearance.
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- Nature’s Perspective — This water droplet reflects buildings on its surface.
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- Feeding Our Experiences — Light “striking” an interior space.
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- Local Natural Systems — A nest “built” within a building’s fixture.
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- Capturing Nature’s Beauty — An old brick wall reveals nature, as if to filter it through.
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- Socio-political Factors — an abandoned city taken over by lush nature.
Please Tell Me What You Think
I would really like to get your feedback on my post today, so please leave me a comment in the form below. And if you enjoyed it, make sure you share it with your Twitter followers by “tweeting” it using the re-tweet button on this page.
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Image: Holgs | Dreamstime
NATURE AS INSPIRATION
By taking a look around, designers can find inspiration everywhere – particularly in nature. Nature provides us with an amazing array of solutions for many complex problems that we face today – the quest to learn from nature in this way is “biomimicry”, and architecture can benefit from this kind of approach.
At times what may seem as “simple” in nature can translate to better design solutions that are more efficient, sustainable and healthy. Yes, nature is inspirational but it is also a part of our world which we can study more deeply – extracting creative solutions that we can apply today.
WHAT IS BIOMIMICRY?
Most all designers will benefit from studying certain aspects of nature. As buildings now face a whole myriad of problems that need solutions, it may be in nature that architects can find Read more
