Richmond, Virginia is defined by our connection to the James River. The James River Park system stretches over 550 acres of natural beauty. The park is broken into 14 different sections from the Huguenot Bridge in the west to a half mile beyond the I-95 Bridge in the east. The James River includes water features that appeal to the young and curious to the most experienced river-adventurer. The James River Park System boasts idyllic shorelines, peaceful meadows, and miles of challenging hiking and biking trails that appeal to the community and guests alike. Every year thousands of people come to Richmond for activities and events like the XTerra Races, Dominion RiverRock, the Folk Festival and many more. Amazingly, at this time, there are no convenient downtown or riverfront facilities to allow locals and guests of Richmond to interact with the James River Park system. With use of the Pattern Building at Tredegar Iron Works, this project will combine the ideas of biophilia, and eco-tourism to design a boutique hotel that will cater to outdoor enthusiasts. In addition to guest suites, this boutique hotel will offer an outdoor recreation rental, retail and repair facility that will offer bikes, kayaks, tubes, paddle-boards, climbing equipment and other essentials for outdoor exploration. A small cafe will offer healthy, locally sourced, farm to table snack and drink options. Both indoor and outdoor seating areas and/or lounges will be available for relaxation. The outdoor patio will feature an interactive garden and give guests a place to enjoy scenic views, practice yoga, meditate and relax. In addition this space could be rented to host special events. The term Biophilia was first used by a German-born American psychoanalyst Erich Fromm in The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness (1973), which described the term as “the passionate love of life and of all that is alive”. Later the term was used by American biologist Edward O. Wilson in his work Biophilia (1984), that proposed that humans tendency to focus and affiliate with nature and other life-forms has a genetic basis. Humans biologically gravitate toward the rich and diverse shapes, colors and life that exists in the natural world. As we are drawn to the natural world, we also benefit from it. Nature nurtures us and has a positive effect on our health, well-being and happiness. Research led by Yoshifumi Miyazaki at Chiba University sent 84 subjects to stroll in seven different forests, while the same number of people walked city centers. Overall, those who spent time in the forest, showed a 16% decrease in the stress hormone cortisol, a 2% drop in blood pressure, and a 4% drop in heart rate. Although we spend nearly 90% of our lives indoors, those interior environments often do not reflect the characteristics of nature, trigger a positive emotional response, and are not often designed in a sustainable manner. Too often, our surroundings are designed in a way that deteriorate the environment and separate us from the natural world. The built environment of this project will emphasize the human need for contact with nature that is good for physical, emotional and physiological benefit and satisfaction. While Eco-Tourism is not a new concept the popularity of Eco-tourism increased in the 1980’s when large scale educational efforts by the government touted the benefits of conserving and protecting the environment and planet. Eco-Tourism is a piece of the “Green Movement” (scientific, social and political movement addressing environmental issues) but since there has been an increase in information about how people are negatively impacting the planet. The travel industry has been considered a strong influence and a demand for green hotels, restaurants and transportation is on the rise. Eco-Tourism is defined as “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people, and involves interpretation and education”. Tourism often comes with its footprint on the environment. Tourism and hospitality must be sustainable. How can we still enjoy the natural wonders of the world yet minimize our impact? By exploring the concepts of Eco-tourism this project will reflect a positive environment and educate visitors on how to make their own changes. Guests will be encouraged to interact with the natural wonders of Richmond in a low impact manner, so that it may remain for others to enjoy. Research begins by understanding terms like sustainability, Eco-tourism and biophilic design and continues by researching and experiencing examples of them. By studying cases like Frank Lloyd Wrights project “Falling Water” and Mies van der Rohe’s project “Farnworth House,” understanding of a unique connection to the organic environment can occur. By studying Swedish architects Martin Videgard and Bolle Thams project “Tree Hotel” ways to incorporate travel with nature will be discovered. Finally by studying Agence Ter’s project the “Pudong Left Bank” in Shanghai inspiration on how to encourage a city to interact with its natural environment will occur. The goal of this project is to understand the relationship between human and nature and how it can be controlled and how we can benefit from an Interior Environment.

Alternating traditional classroom-based teaching techniques with hands-on learning activities outdoors is beneficial for children of all ages. The purpose of this thesis was to explore whether and how teachers may negotiate the constraints to facilitating hands-on learning opportunities outdoors. A snowball sample was used to identify twelve outdoor educators for semi-structured interviews documenting their characteristics, skills and experiences, perceptions of the constraints to outdoor education and recommendations for building interest in and supporting outdoor education. The findings suggested that participants’ childhood experiences outdoors were influential on their decisions to start teaching outdoor education, and that the participants’ perceptions of the constraints varied dependent on their experiences, objectives and attitudes. The participants’ recommendations were focused on what teachers could do to help themselves and each other to succeed. Altogether, the participants’ experiences suggest that passionate and engaged outdoor educators can have a lasting impact on students’ relationships with the natural world. / October 2016

Research suggests that interacting with nature has positive psychological, physiological, and cognitive benefits. Views to nature, interacting with nature, and other visual nature stimuli have been widely studied. However, nature soundscapes have received less attention; and the limited research that has been published has mixed findings. The present study assessed whether nature soundscapes influenced performance on cognitive and affective assessments. Participants completed the Flanker task, the Stroop task, a Visual Search task, and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, while exposed to either nature sounds alone, nature sounds with outdoor views, or neither. No statistically significant differences in performance were found for any of the three conditions, on either the cognitive and affective assessments. These findings indicate that the relation between nature sounds and cognition is more complex than originally presumed, and potential future directions are discussed. / Graduate / 2020-04-11

Human culture has recognized the damage being caused to our environment and is in the process of transitioning toward sustainable systems. Design disciplines and environmental studies are engaging in alternative ways to support a sustainable world and, to a large extent, on resolving the disconnection between humans and nature. The conceptualization of <i>Symbiotic Design</i> proposed in this research, facilitates theoretical-practical reflections and recognizes that learning through closer association with the natural world can trigger innate responses and enhance human creativity. Designers need to have an understanding of these concepts to allow them to design in an ecologically conscious way. Using biophilia, biomimicry and resilience thinking as core eco-techniques, the research develops a series of teaching/learning practices that aim to enhance the embodiment of design with-in nature. This <i>Symbiotic Design</i> Practice process was developed, tested and evaluated across a sample of undergraduate and postgraduate design students. Text, visuals and workshop activities evolved through a method of action-based cycles. In essence, the research proposes a new eco-pedagogical strategy that facilitates nature-based experiences and behavior change toward an ecologically conscious design culture.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T14:31:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Rodrigo Mendes Rodrigues.pdf: 1481809 bytes, checksum: 42f131c02b2921958d84e033ebee0290 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-05-08 / This paperwork aims at promoting a collective space for philosophical conversations with the purpose of reducing the conflicts as well as the physical and symbolic violence present in the underground contexts of a State School located in the countryside of São Paulo State. The interdisciplinary principles based on Fazenda and that of biophilia based on Capra are the main theoretical references. The activities developed in this work aims to sensitize the subjects by means of two arguments: the contact with nature followed by dialog and the contact with nature in the light of philosophical principles. All the process was guided by Phenomenology and the interpretation of the experiences was possible with the help of Hermeneutics. The present work was based on the following research question: Does the recalling of the students life stories connected with biophilia (contact with nature) make any change in their being and acting in the world? The awareness of the factors that cause the conflicting relationships was achieved not only by the researcher but also by the students who took part in the research. The importance of this research lies in its revealing of the several conflicting situations found in the educational environment and of the intervening measures which may be taken to minimize them / Esta dissertação objetivou promover, um espaço coletivo de conversas filosóficas visando à redução dos conflitos e da violência física e simbólica no contexto dos subterrâneos de uma escola da rede estadual de ensino no interior do Estado de São Paulo. Os princípios da interdisciplinaridade baseados em Fazenda e o da biofilia baseados em Capra foram os principais referenciais teórico. Já as atividades desenvolvidas visaram à sensibilização dos sujeitos por meio de dois artifícios, quais são: o contato com a natureza acrescido do diálogo e o contato com a natureza iluminado pelos princípios filosóficos. Para tanto, a fenomenologia norteou todo o caminho e a hermenêutica contribuiu para uma possível interpretação das vivências. A pergunta de pesquisa que norteou este trabalho foi: rememorar das histórias de vida dos discentes aliadas à biofilia (contato com a natureza), produzem mudanças no agir e estar no mundo? A tomada de consciência sobre os fatores que envolvem as relações de conflito se deram tanto por parte do pesquisador como dos discentes participantes. A relevância desse trabalho deu-se no revelar as diversas situações conflitantes em âmbito educacional e de possíveis práticas empregadas para minimizá-los; resultados que podem servir de possibilidades práticas a serem implantadas

Sustainable Development challenges will increasingly concentrate in cities as the urbanization in Europe and the rest of the world continues and governments must implement policies to ensure benefits of urban growths are shared sustainably. When more people move into the cities, the intimate contact with nature is lost since nature has not always been a priority in the history of urban planning. A biophilic approach is considered in this study, where the concept of inclusion of nature is perceived essential for the human life and previous empirical evidence supports the theory of presence of nature being substantial to human wellbeing. Because of the population density, Paris is an interesting example of the development of a megacity in a post-Kyoto context. The development project for the Paris urban area, called Le Grand Paris, intends to develop Paris on several levels. The aim with this study is to examine driving forces for nature as a part of an urban setting that can contribute to the development of intelligent sustainable urban planning for the future. Using qualitative methods to gather empirical data and a discourse analytical framework, this study intends to increase the understanding of perspectives, incentives and discords in the perceptions of urban green space and Sustainable Development. The problem statement is: How is urban green space carried out in the perspectives of cultural, economical and ecological values of citizens and planning documents in the context of Le Grand Paris project? The results establish that that need of increasing vegetation in the city of Paris is pressing in order to enhance quality of life and increase effects of ecological services. The continuing urbanization of Paris will intensify the need of social-ecological interactions, which require approaches through processes of democracy and participation in order to contribute to intra- and intergenerational socio-ecological justice for a sustainable Paris.

As concern for the health and wellbeing of children grows in a society geared toward a more sedentary lifestyle, many doctors and therapists are pointing to the importance of access to, and time spent interacting with the natural world. The idea of using the restorative properties of nature in healing has been around since ancient times. There is currently a renaissance in the health care industry looking at the importance of incorporating gardens into the design of health care facilities once again. This project proposes to explore the importance for children in health care facilities to have access to the natural world while using the biophilia hypothesis as a framework for design. Furthermore, the benefits of outdoor areas for the families (particularly siblings) of child patients and the staff of the health care facilities was explored. Through the use of literature and case reviews, data was collected and synthesized to determine the elements best used to strengthen the designs for children’s therapeutic environments. Outcomes include three models of therapeutic environments including focus areas for the Tucson Medical Center campus in Tucson, Arizona.

To examine possible links between biophilia (love for living systems) and outdoor adventure training, this study explored various emotional relationships participants developed during Hooksum Outdoor School on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Drawing from phenomenological psychology, ecopsychology, outdoor adventure training, and biophilia literature, I sought to answer the questions (1) if, and how, individuals develop emotional relationships with coastal environments; (2) what role the ocean plays in emotional change; (3) how individuals act in response to their relationships with the coast. Analysis included grouping themes from observation notes, questionnaires, and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of individual interviews. A focus was bringing the researcher into participants' lifeworlds as they experienced the program. Four individual participant stories demonstrate active relationship-building (1) within participants' inner selves; (2) between each other; (3) with the coastal environment. Findings contribute to recommendations for future research, providing insight into how program design can effectively address the biophilia tendency.

For most people in North America, undergoing treatments for cancer occurs exclusively in a healthcare setting. All too often, this healthcare setting provides a backdrop privileging the technological requirements of conventional medicine over the well-being of the people who inhabit it. Conversely, this practicum project is founded on a different, more holistic approach to cancer care called integrative oncology. The project investigates how an integrative cancer treatment centre can be designed to be more than a technological backdrop, endeavoring to become an active entity that truly supports those dealing with cancer. The investigation includes an extensive literature review of theoretical and evidence-based sources that relate to fostering connections to nature on a variety of levels. Informed by this, a review of relevant design precedents and the functional issues of integrative cancer treatment, the investigation concludes with a design solution for an integrated cancer treatment centre and related findings.

This interior design practicum is the design of three floating houses located on Granville Island, Vancouver, British Columbia. They are spatially efficient and aid in human-nature connections through the manipulation of thresholds. The adaptation of small spaces is best accomplished through the use of multifunctional space, efficient storage, and manipulation of views. Linking of spaces and the blurring of thresholds is best accomplished through the use of implied axial linkage to the exterior and through the addition of ornament. The human-nature connection, or biophilic design, is best accomplished through the integration of direct, indirect, and symbolic experiences with the natural environment. This is accomplished through the variation of ceiling heights, linking internal and external views, integration of natural light, and use of natural materials that vary in texture and reflectance value.