Architecture as an Organism for Human-Nature Mutualism

Abstract

In the Canadian Prairies, collective myopia exists; It is a psychological defence blinding humans of unsustainable conditions like automatic processes, the value of individualism, and economies driven by resources. This thesis explores the impact of these unsustainable conditions, which have resulted in the dichotomy between humans and nature, in Gibbons, a small town in Alberta, Canada. To remove collective myopia and break the dichotomy between humans and nature, self-transcendence is required. This thesis proposes that self-transcendence can be achieved through human-nature mutualism, an architectural concept I derived from ecopsychology, environmental psychology, and ecology, which re-integrates the human social environment and the natural environment within a built environment. Architecturally, a mixed-use collective housing project is proposed to bring these environments together. The design will incorporate human-nature mutualism through a model proposing four key design elements to improve mental and physical health and subsequently humanity’s renewal.