title:
Re-Shaping Nature: Creating Physically & Psychologically Healthy Environments Through the Manipulation of Local & Natural Resources
creator:
Patrick D. Kelly
subject:
Architecture, Domestic, Environmental aspects; Nature, Healing power of; Architecture, Human factors
description:
The home is most effective for people of the 21stcentury when it performs as a platform for productivitywhile also serving as a place of refuge and recharge. Inthese dwellings, we execute daily tasks such as eating,drinking, resting, working, and exercising hygienicresponsibilities for both ourselves and our homes. Ourplace of productivity (being work, school, etc) is our placeof pride and meaning. It is the environment in which weare pushed to succeed in whichever tasks we set beforeourselves. For some people, these are both in one space;the division between the two for an individual variousbased on that person’s characteristics. In order for thehome to successfully provide these spaces for recreationas well as occupational or educational progress, thearchitecture must take advantage of the elements in thesurrounding context and effectively trigger our sensorypreceptors. Elements such as local building materials,sunlight, natural ventilation, views of surrounding context,and water all serve vital roles in architecture that ismeant to be good for you by prompting these positive orintriguing feelings about a space. By triggering certainemotions, architectural elements that work in tandem with the phenomena of nature can create environmentsthat help focus on whatever is important to us. As thelines between the house, the office, and the school allstart to blur, the application of these natural forces canhelp to create a series of spaces that are conducive tohaving success and happiness in all three. In a worldwhere plugging in disconnects us locally as much as itconnects us globally, a home that provides a platformfor contextual inspiration allows for people to focus onthe interests that most affect them, the people closestto them, and the community at large. If our roots aremore deeply embedded, our production can increasein quality and quantity; whether that entails writing,reading, hands-on crafting, or any other method of taskcompleting. Using the comforting elements of nature inarchitecture promotes both production and relaxationthat allows us to physically and psychologically investin ourselves and our environment. The more our homes,houses, apartments, shacks, offices, workshops, schools,and other forms of shelter can connect with nature, thebetter we can think, act, and feel.
publisher:
The Douglas D. Schumann Library and Learning Commons, Wentworth Institute of Technology
date:
2017
type:
Thesis
format:
.pdf
language:
eng
rights:
https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/