The final weeks of the semester are always turbulent with chaotic energy. Projects emerge from students’ pencils and computers. Printers run out of paper or clog with dozens of files queuing right when final reviews are due to begin. Always the highlight is thesis reviews—but that’s not till mid-month, so more on that soon.
In the midst of all that this week, we released podcast episode #3. It’s a rich conversation about environmental justice and the power of good design to heal communities. Watch on YouTube, where you can see beautiful images of Melonee Quintanilla’s and Jemimah Asamoah’s projects, or on your favorite podcast app. Show notes, bios, and transcripts are on our website.
In episode 3, Jemimah Asamoah mentions two frameworks that she tested in her project: regenerative design and biophilia. I asked her to define them for us.
“Regenerative design is the next step from sustainability. So, finding less harmful solutions and also finding solutions that benefit both ecology and the life of the people at the same time. Biophilia is having this indoor-outdoor feeling in the design where people, even if you're indoors, feel one with nature.”
Regenerative design takes a big-picture view of the connection between people, landscapes, and the city—treating all as part of one ecology. The intent is to tap into synergies and benefit all who live in a particular environment—humans and non-humans alike—by considering them as part of one dynamic system.
Biophilia is a design tool that focuses on how architecture affects people. Since people evolved in nature and haven’t changed all that much since we climbed down out of trees, it follows that direct connection to growing and flowering plants, still or moving water, and the play of light throughout the day have tangible, measurable benefits to human well-being. There have been many scientific studies of healing, learning and productivity benefits in different biophilic settings—hospitals, schools, workplaces. Jemimah’s project posits that regenerative design and biophilia could help to heal a blighted urban area, and why not?
Yesterday, after class, a grad student came up to remind me how much they dislike being told “you are the generation,” which translates in their mind as “this is on you now.” As if those of us in preceding generations have been waiting around for them to come along and clean up our mess. This is not only an unfair burden on young people, it’s insulting, demeaning and counterproductive. As the visionary weirdo architect, Bucky Fuller, said, “There are no passengers on spaceship earth, only crew.”
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it means to be a good ancestor, at any age, having just finished Dougald Hine’s new book, At Work in the Ruins. It’s full of wise observations, difficult questions and hard choices. Near the end, he says we have this story that humans are planet-destroyers; it’s just our nature. Then we say our big brain means we’re clever; we should be able to design our way out of this. Then we say, but we haven’t, so we’re doomed. Being stuck in this endless loop feels terrible.
We would do well to remember that countless human civilizations before us have managed to live in dynamic balance with all sorts of climates and landscapes, many for thousands of years. They’ve proven that humans are capable of living in beneficial relationships—with each other and the natural world. We may have fancy names for techniques like regenerative design and biophilia, but we didn’t invent either of them. Our ancestors may not have had penicillin or smartphones, but they have a lot to teach us about community, continuity and resilience.
This project is supported by a Faculty-Student Research Award from the Graduate School, University of Maryland, as well as grants from the University’s Sustainability Fund and the School of Architecture, Planning & Preservation.
Excellent response, thank you. I'm always hopeful....and I nag...
Would 'At Work in the Ruins' make a good graduation gift for a young man?