Defense Date
2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts
Department
Interior Design
First Advisor
Kristin Carleton
Second Advisor
Roberto Ventura
Third Advisor
Dr. Sara Reed
Fourth Advisor
Carla-Mae Crookendale
Abstract
People in materially developed cultures spend over 90% of their lives in buildings (Evans & McCoy, 1998). Commencing with the industrial revolution these materially developed cultures see most of their populus moving from the countryside to the city in search of work and better lives. The city, an urban and modern development of densely packed peoples, buildings, and infrastructure, has developed as an efficient solution to meet the needs of a cosmopolis.
The city has developed widely without a necessity or place for nature. The ground outside is paved with concrete, efficient and comfortable for travel, buildings are built high and densely packed with minimal space for greenery or water, and more attention is paid to productivity and international recognition, than the people who live and work there.
However, whether you believe in evolution or otherwise, humans have developed alongside nature. The concept of biophilia asserts that “humans have an innate tendency to affiliate with other living organisms (Richardson & Butler, 2022). The growing prevalence of mental conditions in recent times, while attributable to a number of things that have quickly developed over the last hundred years in society, may have at least a bit to do with our general separation from nature. Viewing this from an environmental sense (as in the spaces/landscapes that humans are now occupying), researchers have found that experiences of nature, along with other life quality factors, enhance a person’s ability to cope with stressors, and therefore reduce the chances of developing chronic stress (van den Bosch, Bird & Frumkin, 2018) and subsequent health decline.
This research and project reviewed literature on biophilia, biophilic design (especially as it concerns Stephen Kellert), and environmental psychology, and used such as the basis to develop the thinking and approach to the design of a hotel and residence in an urban context. The project involved the site analysis, programming, and designing of a mixed-use building in downtown Richmond, involving a hotel, spa, and residence. The object was to design a restorative oasis nestled in Richmond’s bustling business district, as a way of crafting a mentally supportive backdrop to the domestic part of the guest’s and resident’s lives. This project developed 2 stories of the chosen site building into a total of 9 hotel suites and 6 residential units.
The project ultimately found a way to express the knowledge collected in research and paid attention to biophilic principles, in a delightfully textured, artful, and experiential way that the author hopes people find intriguingly and uniquely biophilic, vivacious, and layered.
Rights
© The Author
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
5-9-2024