Biourbanism as a new epistemological perspective between science, design and nature

BACK TO BASICS: HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY, PSYCHOLOGY AND PLACE-MAKINGARCC network and the Feeling Good Foundation. London, 18 November 2015

Back to basics: human physiology, h l d l kipsychology and place-making

ARCC network and the Feeling Good FoundationgWednesday, 18 November 2015

215 Euston Road, London, United Kingdom

BIOURBANISM AS A NEW EPISTEMOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE BETWEEN SCIENCE, DESIGN AND NATURE. Antonio Caperna PhD | [email protected]

BIOURBANISM AS A NEW EPISTEMOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE BETWEEN SCIENCE, DESIGN AND NATUREAntonio Caperna PhD | [email protected]

Biourbanism as a new epistemological perspective between science, design and nature

Antonio Caperna, [email protected]

International Society of Biourbanism (Rome, Italy)School of Biourbanism and Design

“The Universe is built on a plan the profound symmetry of which is somehow present in the inner structure of our intellect”p

Paul Valery

ARCC network and the Feeling Good Foundation | Back to basics: human physiology, psychology and place-making. London 18 November 2015


GOALShow the existence of basic laws able to Show the existence of basic laws able to

reconnect human beings to built environment in an essential manner with environment in an essential manner with positive and therapeutic consequences on

h i l i l h i l i l d i lneurophysiological, physiological and social systems


Human Physiology


Human Physiology Nervous system, Circulatory system, Respiratory system, Senses and the Somatic Nervous System, Muscle, Cardiovascular system, Endocrine system…

HealthHealth«a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity» (WHO)

Place-making is an approach to the planning, design and management of public spaces. Goal - Create public spaces that promote people's health, well being and happiness

Complexity“Nothing happens in isolation” (Barabasi)

Self-Organizationspontaneous formation of organized patterns, resulting from localized interactions within the components of the complex adaptive systems without any

Biourbanism focuses on the urban organism, considering it as a hypercomplex

interactions within the components of the complex adaptive systems without any central control


g , g yp psystem, according to its internal and external dynamics and their mutual interactions


U b Urban space as relational environment

between “agents”between agents

Le Corbusier, Plan Voisin de Paris (1925)

Our sensorial experience in space is based on establish relation

Contemporary’s architecture has Contemporary s architecture has been focussed on formal abstract

design (as single object) erasing connection

Roma 1748, detail of Nolli’s map


Factors such as design geometry of forms and their subdivisions as


Factors such as design, geometry of forms and their subdivisions, asdesign organizes elements, orientation of surfaces, materials and their differentiations on the smallest scale, generate an

Urban space as

i f i fi ldinformation field(Based on information theory, Salingaros, 1999)

Its attribute are content and accessibility (how easily the information can be received by pedestrians)y p )

City as informational systemARCC network and the Feeling Good Foundation | Back to basics: human physiology, psychology and place-making. London 18 November 2015

City as informational system


What do kind of “information” we receive from built environment?environment?

How people's sensory system react?

Are there tools to restore / plan / design urban environment so to nourish our neurophysiological and psychological system and support sociality?support sociality?

Are there constraints and barriers to incorporating this h i i f l ki ?research into current practices of place-making?

What are the implications of this evidence on sustainability (health, climate, …)?



Anthropological transformation of citiesp gFrom “Civitas” / “Polis” / to Hyperreal environment

Skycrapers above cloudssource: missions haringknowledge.com

AgoraphobiaA film about urban change in Turkey – and


possibly Chinahttp://www.uncubemagazine.com/blog/12232723

PASSIVE DESIGNBIOURBANISM AS A NEW EPISTEMOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE BETWEEN SCIENCE, DESIGN AND NATUREAntonio Caperna PhD | [email protected]

Life growth with physical

BIO(?) DIGITAL

Life growth with physical and chemical constrains (like music)

Brick’s life interact through topological relationship, and the “form/shape” is the result of an unfolding result of an unfolding process

Life adapt itself to the environment according environment according to physical and chemical constrains

life is real ….. Virtual is hyperreal

Disconnection from surroundings



HOW BUILT ENVIRONMENT AFFECT OUR HEALTH

Stress (Ulrich, 1993) heart rate, blood pressure, relax muscle tension, increase alpha waves that

associated with relaxation (Ulrich et al 1991)associated with relaxation. (Ulrich et al., 1991) immune system functioning (Parsons, 1991) anxiety, fear, anger, aggression and increased feelings of well begin are common

responses to natural settings (Ulrich, 1979, Hartig, Mang, & Evans, 1991) High rise multiple dwelling units are inimical to the psychological well being of High-rise, multiple dwelling units are inimical to the psychological well-being of

mothers and possibly young children, facilitate social isolation (Evans GW, Wells NM, Moch A., 2003)

Lynne Mitchell, Elizabeth Burton (Street for life) Address the cognitive as well as gthe physical and sensory needs of older people in the outdoor environment


Source. http://www.periferiedelmondo.it/

How does Urban Planning / Environment affect health?


How does Urban Planning / Environment affect health?

Source. WHO Collaborating Centre for Healthy Cities and Urban Policy



The WHO defines housing as being based on four interlinked levels, with an array of possible health effects in each:

the physical structure, including factors such as mould growth, quality, design, and noise exposure;

the meaning of "home" as a protective, safe and intimate the meaning of home as a protective, safe and intimate refuge where one develops a sense of identity and attachment;

the immediate housing environment including the quality the immediate housing environment, including the quality of urban design (e.g., public services, playgrounds, green space, parks, places to socialise); and

the community that is the quality of the neighbourhood and the community, that is, the quality of the neighbourhood and its relation to social cohesion, sense of trust and collective efficacy.



Other researches: role of natural environment

Inte action in nat al en i onments also inc ease p oblem sol ing

Other researches: role of natural environment

Interaction in natural environments also increase problem solving, creativity, capacity to concentrate and focus (Ulrich, 1993, Katcher& Wilkins, 1993)

Kaplan suggest that exist a relationship between mental fatigue Kaplan suggest that exist a relationship between mental fatigue, aggressively and nearby nature (Kaplan, 2001)

Grant Hildebrand discusses ways in which archetypal form furnish us pleasure pleasure

Roger S. Ulrich. Vision of natural environment obtain positive feelings, reduce fear in stressed subjects, hold interest, and may block or reduce stressful thoughts;block or reduce stressful thoughts;

Howard Frumkin. Evidence support the hypothesis that contact with natural world - animals, plants, landscapes, and wilderness - may benefit health.

American biologist Edward O. Wilson in his work Biophilia (1984), which proposed that the tendency of humans to focus on and to affiliate with nature and other life-forms has, in part, a genetic basis.


p g


Other researches: role of natural lawsOther researches: role of natural laws

Jackson Pollock abstract’s painting are fractal. 10 years of scientific investigation 10 years of scientific investigation of human response to fractals – the investigations include eye tracking visual preference skin tracking, visual preference, skin conductance, and EEG measurement techniques - shown the artistic implications of the the artistic implications of the positive perceptual and physiological responses to fractal patternsp

Perceptual and Physiological Responses to Jackson Pollock's Fractals(Richard P. Taylor, Branka Spehar, Paul Van Donkelaar, and Caroline M. Hagerhall)



A and C are from patients with congestive heart failure. congestive heart failure. excessive regularity is associated

D is from a subject with a cardiac jarrhythmia, atrial fibrillationuncorrelated randomness

The healthy record is BIt is notable for its visually apparent non-stationarity and “patchiness.” These features are related to fractal and nonlinear properties

Ary L. Goldberger - Luis A. N. Amaral - Jeffrey M. Hausdorff - Plamen Ch. Ivanov - C. K. Peng - H. Eugene Stanley, «Fractals Dynamics in Physiology: Alterations with Disease and Aging», Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, February 19, 2002, vol. 99, suppl. 1, 2466-2474


O t 1


Outcome 1neurophysiologic and psychological structure

respond to natural geometries of fractals, colors scaling symmetriescolors, scaling, symmetries

Relationship pathologies and departure from Relationship pathologies and departure from natural geometries

Human beings require contact with the geometry of biological structure

Social and mental health deteriorates in nature-less surroundingsnature less surroundings



O t 2 L t i tifi d l t

give us an idea of how human beings interact with

Outcome 2. Last scientific development

give us an idea of how human beings interact with their environment

organisms, buildings, neighborhoods, and cities share the same general rules governing a complex hierarchical systemhierarchical system

All matter (biological and inanimate) organizes itself i t h t t tinto coherent structures

The human mind has evolved in order to adapt to The human mind has evolved in order to adapt to complex patterns in the natural world, so the patterns we perceive around us influence our internal f ti h b ifunction as human beings



Biourbanism meaningBiourbanism meaning

hit t l ( b ) d iarchitectural (urban) design can be founded on scientific principles that are analogous to structural laws in

theoretical physics and biologytheoretical physics and biology



BIOPHILIC DESIGN

create an environment usable by all peopleand that reflect the inherent human affinity and that reflect the inherent human affinity for naturenourish our biological, physiological and nourish our biological, physiological and psychological systems respect the “genetic structure” of the site, respect the genetic structure of the site, create a coherent geometric whole

(Caperna, 2011)


BIOPHILIC DESIGN IN PRACTICE



COGNITIVEPatterns

15 geometrical properties

COGNITIVE CRITERIA

NATURALISTIC DIMENSION

properties

interconnected

STRUCTURAL CRITERIA

Scaling lawScaling lawFractal syntax

network



• Contact with nature has been linked to cognitive functioning g gon tasks requiring concentration and memory.

• Healthy childhood maturation and development has beenand development has been correlated with contact with natural features and settings.g

• The human brain responds f ti ll t ttfunctionally to sensory patterns and cues emanating from the natural environmentnatural environment.

BIOPHILIC ARCHITECTURE AND BIOPHILIC DESIGN ! Antonio Caperna PhD | [email protected]

NATURAL VIEWS REDUCE LENGTH OF HOSPITAL STAY AND


NATURAL VIEWS REDUCE LENGTH OF HOSPITAL STAY, AND … SAVE MONEY

good solutions incorporate small ecosystems consisting of a rich combination of plants within a building, or in a building’s garden or courtyard.



The influence of the soil on the microclimate may be greatly modified by vegetation. The effect of forests and trees on the microclimate is very complex. Cautiously positioned trees can save up to 50% of a household’s energy consumption for heating and cooling

Urban ‘Heat Island’s effect Urban Heat Island s effect



The most astonishing ventilation systems however have been developed by The most astonishing ventilation systems, however, have been developed by various species of termites.



BIOPHILIC DESIGN

COGNITIVE CRITERIACOGNITIVE CRITERIA



Quality of life seems to be correlated with fifteen

geometrical invariants that geometrical invariants that appear throughout the object’s configurationobject s configuration

Invariants are:Invariants are: linked to human senses present in natural forms and man- present in natural forms and man

made form and structure Independent of culture, period, or p , p ,

region (something innate)



biological scaling (allometry)(allometry)

In biology, the change in organisms i l i i l h i in relation to proportional changes in body sizeIt happen in fractal structure and this law are ubiquitous in nature.

In “Scaling laws in cognitive sciences” scholars have demonstrate that In Scaling laws in cognitive sciences scholars have demonstrate that the scaling laws pervade neural, behavioral and linguistic activities suggesting the existence of processes or patterns that are repeated across scales of analysis


repeated across scales of analysis.“Scaling laws in cognitive sciences” (Kello, C. T., Brown, G. D. A., Ferrer-i-Cancho, R., Holden, G., Linkenkaer-Hansen, K., Rhodes, T. & Van Orden, G. C., 2010),


BIOPHILIC ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN FOR A LIVING CITY


COGNITIVEPatterns

15 geometrical properties

COGNITIVE CRITERIA

NATURALISTIC DIMENSION

properties

interconnected

STRUCTURAL CRITERIA

Scaling lawScaling lawFractal syntax

network



biological roots of architecture and urbanism

self-evolution

Law of form

Constructal Theory Constructal Theory

systemic integration systemic integration

morphogenetic processes



Structural principles of the urban web suggested by results in mathematics

The processes that generate the urban web can be summarized in terms of three principles.

(1)NodesThe urban web is anchored at nodes of human activity whose interconnections make up the web.

(2) ConnectionsPairwise connections form between complementary nodes, not like nodes.

(3) Hierarchy


Biology lessons


Biology lessonsToward Resilient City

These systems have an inter-connected network structure

They feature diversity and redundancy (a totally distinct notion of “efficiency”)

Above an over-concentration of

They display a wide distribution of structures across scales, including fi i d l

Above, an over-concentration of large-sale components; below, a more resilient distributed network of nodes.

fine-grained scales

They have the capacity to self-adapt and “self organize ” adapt and self-organize.

(Salingaros, Mehaffy, 2013)( g , y, )


NEXT STEPS


NEXT STEPS

Network, Research, Education, Network, Research, Education, Publishing and Work on field


ReferencesBIOURBANISM AS A NEW EPISTEMOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE BETWEEN SCIENCE, DESIGN AND NATURE

Antonio Caperna PhD | [email protected]

ReferencesAlexander, Christopher (2000) The Nature of Order (New York, Oxford University Press). (in press)Alexander, C., Ishikawa, S., Silverstein, M., Jacobson, M., Fiksdahl-King, I. and Angel, S. (1977) A Pattern Language (New York, Oxford University Press).( , y )Caperna A., Serafini S. (2013). Biourbanism as new epistemological perspective between Science, Design and Nature. In Handbook of research on Architecture & Sustainability: Critical Perspectives. “Generating sustainability concepts from an architectural perspective”, a book edited by Ahmed Zaib Khan Mahsud, KU Leuven - Faculty of Engineering, Department of Architecture, Urban Design & Planning (Belgium). (Forthcoming book)Caperna A., Tracada E. (2013). Biourbanism as Neuroergonomics in Design. International conference “Towards a g gProgressive Arts Education: Inclusion, Change and Intervention”. British Library, London, UK and the University of the Arts, London, UK, from 6th-8th November, 2013.Caperna A., Tracada E. (2013). "A New Paradigm for Deep Sustainability: Biourbanism”. In Application of Efficient & Renewable Energy Technologies in Low Cost Buildings and Construction Conference Proceedings, International Conference & Exhibition, 16-18 September 2013, Ankara-Turkey, (ISBN: 978-975-507-268-5).Caperna A.. (2013). Biophilic design and Public Spaces. In UN-Habitat Session on Quality of Public Spaces. Definitions and Measurement. Biennale Public Space, Rome 16/18 May, 2013.Caperna A., Serafini S. (2013). Biourbanism as new framework for smart cities study. In Handbook of research on “GIS for Smart Cities”, a book edited by Prof. T.M.Vinod Kumar, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, India. CopalPublishing.C A Gi d A Mi b lli P M l E (2013) P i i ICT (P i i D i d ICT) G iCaperna A., Giangrande A., Mirabelli P., Mortola E., (2013). Partecipazione e ICT (Participatory Design and ICT) GangemiEditore ISBN13: 9788849225365; ISBN10: 8849225369; Ub.int: T206D S20c G38eCaperna A., Tracada E. (2012). “Biourbanism for a Healthy City: Biophilia and Sustainable Urban Theories and Practices”.In the Proceedings Vol.4: Biotechnology/Textile Technology/Fashion Technology of the International Convention on Innovations in Engineering and Technology for Sustainable Development, Bannari Amman Institute of Technology, Tamil N d I di (ISBN 978 81 920 460 4 4)Nadu, India,. (ISBN: 978-81-920-460-4-4).Salingaros N., (2006) A Theory of ArchitectureSalingaros N., PRINCIPLES OF URBAN STRUCTURE, Techne Press,S. Serafini, «L’architettura come salute psicobiologica quotidiana: morfogenesi e biofilia», Atti del I ConvegnoInternazionale su Psiche e Architettura, Roma-Siracusa, 2009-2010, Franco Angeli: Milano, in stampa.Edgar Morin La Méthode I: La Nature de la Nature Paris: Seuil 1977Edgar Morin, La Méthode I: La Nature de la Nature, Paris: Seuil, 1977.Nikos Salingaros, Twelve Lectures on Architecture. Algorithmic Sustainable Design, Solingen: Umbau Verlag, 2010.


Biourbanism as a new epistemological perspective between science, design and nature

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