Building ecoSystems Integration: An Approach to Building with Nature

Abstract

This thesis investigates the relationship between architecture and nature and is positioned with the understanding that human beings are not separate from nature and therefore, our processes of design and construction are tied to nature. Humans are one of many species operating within a given ecosystem and recognizing that we - and our processes of design and construction - are a part of that natural system is fundamental to the design process. In its design and construction, architecture can act to nurture the healthy functioning of the ecosystem as a whole and reduce the destructive impacts of current design and construction processes. Investigating perceptions of our relationship to nature will be tested through the design of a community centre on a site adjacent to the recently restored salt marsh in Cheverie, Nova Scotia. The method for designing aims at addressing issues of perception, education and mediation in an attempt to structure healthier relationships between people and the land they inhabit.