Proposal

‘We shape our buildings and afterward our buildings shape us’ (Winston Churchill 1943) There is the notion that humans have evolved to be psychologically adapted to respond to the key landscape features of the African Savannah. (Heerwagen 2001) There has been a long history of humans implementing biomimicry techniques in the built environment. From the Neolithic age to Classical Antiquity there are many examples of how our ancestors incorporated nature-based techniques into architecture. The golden ratio was often used intentionally or non-intentionally to inform the architecture of the past and provide the framework that expressed the ancient’s connection to nature. Nature was admired by many civilisations across the globe from the Ancient Greeks to the Indigenous Australians. The admiration of nature was often expressed through religion. The Ancient Romans believed that the god’s created nature and therefore their reverence for nature was also a reverence for the creators of all things. (Miller 2013) This was expressed architecturally through temples and public architecture throughout Ancient Rome.

At the time of the industrial revolution primarily western countries and the intellectuals of the European enlightenment movement constructed a new

mythology of technology. This mythology replaced the learned indigenous architectural innovation that was shaped and evolved over 10,000’s of years. (Watson) Watson suggests that while “modern” societies were trying to conquer nature in the name of progress indigenous cultures were working with it. This shift in mythology resulted in a new architectural identity that ignored all previous wisdom and instead resulted in ‘alien’ environments that were not instinctual. These ‘alien’ environments have had mixed effects on the functioning of humans.

There are examples in modern architecture that provide environments that are the antitheses of nature such as 1980’s social housing projects and soviet brutalist architecture. These environments are synonymous with negative social functioning and poor mental health. The role of environmental wellness has been overlooked in the pursuit of innovation. (Bond 2017) Until recently architects have not considered the importance of

Melbourne Housing Commission Blocks

personal wellbeing in architecture. The need to look to nature as our ancestors did will need to be considered by future designers to ensure that our environments are healthy and provide us with the components essential for our wellbeing.

The mental health of Australians living in the cities of Australia is slowly declining. There is evidence that the lack of exposure and connection with nature can attributed to this. The 14 Principles of Biophilia developed by Browning in 2012 outlined that buildings should be designed to provide a framework to satisfy the experience of nature in the built environment. Biophilia also attempts to understand our primal needs and interpret them as set of architectural principles. Biophilia is often referred to as the ‘missing link in sustainable design’. (Nejati 2012) The goal of biophilia is to not only reduce the harm that is caused to the physical environment, but to make buildings more habitable, enjoyable and healthy. (Kellart 2008) The theory of biophilia is a relativity new concept within the academic literature, subsequently there have been minimal buildings actualised that have been designed with these concepts in mind. Therefore, there aren’t very many long-term studies on the effects that these buildings have on the users. (Abdelaal 2018) Perhaps one of the reasons why Browning’s principles haven’t been used more widely is because they are lengthy and complex to understand. A lot of the points discussed in his work are vague and open to interpretation. (Abdelaal 2018) Browning initially constructed these principles in a way that made them applicable to all building typologies. However this can prove quite unhelpful when applying them to a specific typology such as education building. It also makes conducting quantifiable scientific studies looking at the psychological effects that these principles have on the users difficult to conduct as there are no constants.

Most of the buildings that have been built using Browning principles have a healthcare function. Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, Australia is one of these buildings built with these principles in mind and has been studied. These studies have outlined that

there is a noticeable reduction in the pain, stress, and anxiety of the hospitals users by normalising tactile and engaging environmental experiences. (Abdelaal 2019) Biophilic theory proves to beneficial when applied to healthcare settings. The stresses that are experienced by users in an educational environment are like the ones experienced in healthcare setting. There is an argument that there could be a tangible benefit to designing in a biophilic way in the setting of the campus hub. By designing is this way there could be an improvement to student wellbeing and mental health. A biophilic environment could provide users with the opportunity to be more mindful and reconnect with their natural settings. Improved social interaction could be a secondary affect that a biophilic building might have as people are calmer and happy, they will be more likely to talk with their peers.

Although biophilic design is increasing becoming more popular, there have not been many examples of these principles being applied to tertiary education buildings. (Abdelaal 2018) Abdelaal states that biophilia in education serves two purposes 1; to inform the design of today’s academic buildings to leverage the potential of creativity, productivity and self-esteem for knowledge seekers, and 2; to lower the negative ecological impact and increase the operational efficiency of the university campus regarding energy, resource consumption and waste accord. (Abdelaal 2018) Multidisciplinary studies have demonstrated a link between exposure to nature and improved performance of academic, intellectual and cognitive tasks in the workplace and other educational spaces. (Benfield, Rainbolt, Bell & Donovan; Han 2010; Shibata & Suzuki 2004; Tennessen & Cimprich 1995)

The methodology of this thesis is to do an analysis of Browning’s and other biophilic scholars’ work to

produce a set of revised principles that can be easily applied to the campus hub typology. The revised principles will be clearer and more effective in producing a building that has holistic wellness focused spaces.

The building that will be used to demonstrate the revised principles is the new Fishermen’s Bend Melbourne University Campus Hub. The site is a historical industrial manufacturing and research centre. There is minimal green space surrounding the site, and the buildings are designed in the typical early 1920’s industrial warehouse style. The development of the site will provide an opportunity to reengage with nature and revitalise the area. The site has been identified as a major growth area, prompting a large-scale investment from both State Government and private industry. As a result there is an opportunity to completely reshape the landscape and establish a unique identity that could act as a template for other new developments in greater Melbourne.