The Implications of Reduced Contact with
Nature for Architectural Design
Lab of Applied
Epistemology, Ghent University
Yannick.Joye@UGent.be
Evolution in a natural environment has gifted humans
with a cognitive module (‘natural module’) that is specialized in processing
perceptual and conceptual information about the class of natural
things. The existence of such a module has important cultural
consequences. It leads to a tendency to create cultural objects that answer the
input-conditions of the natural module. During the history of architectural
design, this translated in the creation of designs that show remarkable formal
and structural similarities with natural elements (e.g. ornamentation). Yet, today,
nature is increasingly pushed back, which leads the natural module to become
less stimulated and ultimately underdeveloped. An important effect of this
understimulation is that people become less interested in creating
architectural designs that fulfil the input-conditions of the natural module.
It is argued that such an evolution has three negative effects. First, nature
consists of a wide variety of shapes, patterns and textures; a decreasing
architectural interest in nature entails that a broad range of formal grammars
becomes neglected. Secondly, because evolution has linked nature's
forms to specific affective states, a broad array of emotional responses
towards architectural design are lost. Thirdly, with the gradual exclusion of
nature from architectural design and the increase of functionalist
architecture, there is a shift towards a relative dominance of functional
thinking and functionalist attitudes. Although such postures have their merits
in certain contexts, they also prove to have negative effects for human
interactions and for ecological contexts. It is proposed that
architectural designs that fulfil some of the input-conditions of the natural
module provide a counterweight against these (negative) effects.
1. The natural
module
Different strands of research indicate
that humans are endowed with a ‘module’ or a neural system that is specialized
in conceptual and perceptual information about the class of natural things
(e.g. plants, animals). This module is a cognitive ‘device’ that is an adaptation
to our ancestral evolution and survival in natural environments [1]. A field
where the existence of a natural module is debated is research into human
‘folkbiologies’. The notion ‘folkbiology’ refers to the nonscientific way in
which people classify natural objects and reason about the natural world. Some
research indicates that folkbiologies have certain universal characteristics,
which points to a possible innate nature of this faculty. A first finding is
that cross-cultural studies show that Western and non-Western individuals
classify nature in similar ways, and that this classification roughly
corresponds to scientific taxonomies. The typical ‘ranks’ of this universal
folkbiological taxonomy are: folk kingdom (e.g. plant-life), life form (e.g. tree),
generic species (e.g. oak) and folk specific (e.g. white oak). A second
important finding is that the taxonomic types of folkbiologies are consistently
ascribed ‘essences’, as opposed to, say, artefacts. The notion ‘essence’ refers
to the underlying causal nature of natural objects. Essences are responsible
for the behaviour, appearance and ecological preference of natural objects.
Importantly, essentialism provides a ground for making inductions about various
kinds of natural objects. For example, Scott Atran argues that: ‘… knowing that
a Chihuahua and a Saint Bernard share an internal property [essence] is likely
to be taken as stronger evidence that all dogs share that property than if only
two Chihuahuas are known to share the property’ [2].
The claim for the existence of a
natural module finds further support in studies of people with
category-specific semantic deficits. Such deficits are most often provoked by
brain damage, and translate in impaired semantic knowledge about certain
categories of objects. In most cases knowledge about living things is impaired,
but cases with a deficit for nonliving things have also been reported. One
theory proposes a modular approach to explain such deficits, namely the Domain
Specific Account (DSA). According to DSA, knowledge about living things is
organized by category [3]. This view implies that specific neural circuits are
dedicated to knowledge about different object-categories and that
category-specific deficits can occur when this circuitry is damaged. The
driving force of this regional specialization was evolution. It is speculated
that neural mechanisms are associated with only those things that had
evolutionary significance for human beings: animals, vegetable life,
conspecifics and possibly tools. With regard to natural objects, research has
already suggested neural correlates for such things as fruit and vegetables
[4], animals [5] and plants [6].
If the natural module has a genetic component, then knowledge about the associated category of objects will be hard to recover when its neural correlates are damaged. This prediction receives remarkable support from a case study of the patient Adam, described by Farah and Rabinowitz [7]. Adam has experienced brain damage since the day of his birth (‘posterior cerebral artery infarctions’). This damage is associated with a persistent category-specific deficit for living things. More specifically, inquiries indicate that Adam has difficulties in naming pictures about living things, and in retrieving verbal information about this class of objects. Since his deficit has not been recovered by experience, it suggests a human genetic predisposition for knowledge about living things.
2. Cultural
consequences of the natural module
According to Sperber and Hirschfeld [8],
natural objects (e.g. plants and animals) are the ‘proper input’ of the natural
module. Yet, the natural module can also be activated by elements that fulfil
its input-conditions, but that do not belong to its proper input. For example,
it is quite possible that a stick meets some of the (visual) input-conditions
of the natural module, and that it will be recognized as, say, a snake. Sperber
and Hirschfeld refer to this type of input as the ‘actual input’ of the natural
module. An important observation is that the cultural field often taps the
‘mismatch’ between proper and actual input of cognitive modules. For example,
with regard to the face module, Sperber and Hirschfeld argue that ‘[i]n the
human cultural environment, a great many artifacts are aimed at the face
recognition module. They include portraits, caricatures, masks and made-up
faces’. Although such face-like representations are not the proper input of the
face module, they contain some crucial visual features by which the face module
considers it as actual input.
Because the scope of this paper is the
field of architectural design, it is interesting to inquire whether there exist
architectural creations that meet up to the visual input-conditions of the
natural module, and hence, fall within its actual domain. Indeed, historically,
architecture often contains design-elements that share important formal
similarities with natural elements. For example, traditional ornament often
consists of stylized natural elements, such as leaf-motifs, flowers, fruits,
animals, monsters, etc. (fig. 1-3). The presence of (symbolic) nature in
architecture also applies to instances of so-called ‘biomorphic’ or
‘zoomorphic’ architecture [9]. For example, it is well-known that
vegetative structures are prevalent in Art Nouveau. Similarly, the columns and
vaults in Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia look like tree canopies. The same holds for
Santiago Calatrava’s BCE Place in Toronto, and for his Orient Station in Lisbon. The symbolic representation of animals is
clear in Calatrava’s Milwaukee Art Museum, which can be interpreted as the
spreading wings of a bird. Besides such
architectural implementations of concrete natural objects, nature can also be
evoked by the architectural integration of more abstract or lower-level visual features
of natural objects. Think for example of architectural designs with a
fractal-like appearance and organization (e.g. Hindu temples, Gothic
cathedrals).
It is important to note that the existence of cognitive modules does not come down to biological determinism. It is crucial for such systems to be activated by relevant experiences during developmentally relevant periods. Similarly, some theorists argue that our innate emotive and knowledge relations towards living things are governed by biologically prepared learning rules and that these relations need to be activated by culture, experience and education [10]. Yet, today direct contact with (unspectacular) nature is becoming increasingly difficult in modern urbanized areas. Such a decreasing contact with nature could well lead to the reduction of training and developmental opportunities for the natural module, which could result in the underdevelopment of the latter. Probably, this underdevelopment will translate in devolution of knowledge about nature. An illustration of such devolution is reported by Nabhan and St. Antoine [11]. These researchers studied the knowledge of and attitudes towards nature of two native cultures living near the U.S.-Mexican desert borderland (O’Odham, Yaqui). It was found that the elders had acquired a profound knowledge about the natural world due to their experience with hunting and gathering activities. On the other hand, the grandchildren of the elders, who had reduced contact with nature, showed much less interest in and appreciation of nature.
Figures 1-3: biomorphic and zoomorphic design elements (Y. Joye)
Figures 4-8: some natural patterns (Y. Joye & B. Joye)
3. Architectural
consequences of the underdevelopment of the natural module
The underdevelopment of the natural
module has several important consequences. For example, if knowledge about and
interest in nature is devolving, then it is quite possible that people will be
less inclined to protect nature. This could lead to a vicious circle where an
increasing loss of nature leads to an increasing disinterest for protecting
natural things, which makes the further decline of natural elements even less
disturbing. Another effect of the
underdevelopment, which is of crucial importance for the further discussion, is
the decreasing tendency to create cultural representations that meet up to some
of the input-conditions of the natural module. If perceptual and conceptual
information about nature becomes increasingly poorer, then the range of
possible cultural applications of natural information becomes correspondingly
smaller.
It should be noted that this viewpoint finds support
in a study by Wolff and colleagues [12]. The authors found that the decline of
direct contact with nature during the 20th century has had important
negative effects on cultural expressions of nature. In particular, a study of
the Oxford English Dictionary, which gives a clear picture of the evolution of
word use, indicated that terms referring to ‘tree’ evolved from the 16th
until the 19th century. Yet, from the 20th century
onwards, the use of such terms devolved, and their application lost precision.
A similar devolution was observed for other (folk)biological concepts (e.g.
bird, grass, flower), while several nonbiological terms evolved during this
period (e.g. books, clothes, furniture).
Although (apparently) no such research exists for the field of architecture, it is plausible that the underdevelopment of the natural module will lead to a declining presence of references to nature within architectural design. While it is true that nature has been related to the architectural practice in many ways (e.g. the argument that functionalism is similar to natural growth processes [13]), the following sections will focus on the various kinds of formal representations and interpretations of natural objects within architecture. More specifically, it will be argued that devolution of nature within architecture leads to three types of impoverishments of the architectural practice. Because the first two types of impoverishment are closely interrelated, they will be treated in the same section.
3.1. The impoverishment of formal
grammars and the loss of the associated affective correlates
A first effect of the underdevelopment
of the natural module is that the range of possible formal grammars that are
applied to architecture becomes poorer. Nature shows a very wide and rich
diversity of patterns, textures and contours (fig. 4-8). Yet, Peter Stebbing
[14] has argued how only a limited set of organizational constituents
(contrast, pattern, symmetry, proportion, unity) underlie these shapes. These
constituents form a kind of compositional grammar that can be used for creating
artwork. Similarly, Simon Bell [15] holds that a limited number of core patterns
can be recognized in the seemingly unlimited number of natural forms: spirals,
meanders, branches, explosions, packing and cracking.
In human languages, only a limited set
of grammatical rules and phonemes underlies the unlimited number of possible
linguistic expressions. Similarly, nature’s formal grammars and compositional
rules do not constrain artistic creativity, but are, on the contrary, a
prerequisite for creativity, because they allow one to create an endless set of
formal permutations. Yet, due to the underdevelopment of the natural module, it
is probable that interest in nature as a creative source will decline. This
could entail that artists and architects will show increasingly less interest
to learn about nature’s formal grammars and about its compositional rules. Such
a trend seems already ongoing in different modernist urban environments, which
often contain only one dominant architectural style: they are governed by
Euclidean geometry and stripped of every ornament, detailing and colour.
It is quite possible that people will
be able to adapt to the expression of a more limited set of forms in
architecture, and that they will lose insight into this situation. Because
aesthetic tastes are not exclusively determined by evolutionary constraints, it
is also quite possible that (some) people will genuinely like such type of
uniform environments. Yet, these observations cannot be sufficient to justify
the loss of certain formal grammars in architecture. The reason is that an
increasing dominance of uniform modernist environments will probably have a
number of psychological and physiological ‘costs’. These are due to the fact
that, under evolutionary pressures, nature’s forms have become associated with
a broad range of emotions, ranging from fear to excitement. In our ancestral
world, such associations were adaptive because they motivated the (human)
organism to undertake a suitable response towards a certain stimulus [16]. For
example, a predisposition to react fearfully towards certain types of snakes
was adaptive because it motivated to avoid close contact with the snake. This
association of natural objects with specific emotions entails that the natural
module will be linked to neural areas or ‘modules’ [17] that are specialized in
affective or emotional states. A crucial observation is that by integrating
formal references to nature within architecture, these emotions can be tapped.
Due to their similarity with natural elements, such designs or design elements
will fulfil certain visual input-conditions of the natural module, and will
consequently activate associated affective states. When the application and
interpretation of nature’s forms to the field of architecture decreases, this
can also lead to a reduction of the range of possible emotional attitudes that
are associated with architectural environments. This is the second type of
impoverishment.
Because the link between ‘naturalness’ and (positive)
emotional states is being studied within the field of environmental psychology,
it is useful to mention some of its key findings. Several studies indicate that
humans are aesthetically attracted to vegetative elements (e.g. flowers, trees)
and water-features. This is because these elements were important food
resources, and because they offered our ancestors retreats from threats and
prospects on the surrounding landscape [18-19]. Apart from inducing positive
aesthetic responses, some natural things are also found to have a positive
impact on different aspects of human functioning. According to Roger Ulrich
[20] encounters with unthreatening nature (vegetation, water-features) have a
stress-reducing effect, and promote postures of intake and attention.
Similarly, Stephen Kaplan [21] argues that nature can restore the capacity to
direct attention. These viewpoints are supported by elaborate and convincing
empirical investigations [22-23]. There is evidence that unthreatening animals
have a similar positive impact on human functioning. Animals are found to
reduce stress; lead to less general health problems; lower systolic blood
pressure and cholesterol; and are associated with higher survival chances after
myocardial infarctions [24]. Similarly, Katcher and Wilkins [25] argue that
introducing animals to autistic children and to persons with chronic brain
damage can ameliorate attention, social responsiveness, positive emotions and
speech.
3.2. Dominance of
functionalist thinking and attitudes
In order to discuss the third type impoverishment
resulting from the devolution of ‘naturalistic’ elements in architecture, it is
necessary to consider a theory about the organization of concepts in semantic
memory. This theory is coined the Sensory Functional Theory (SFT), and it
claims that knowledge in the semantic system is organized into subsystems that each
process some type or modality of knowledge [26-27]. The central claim of the
Sensory Functional Theory is that the recognition of the category of living
things is differentially dependent on the ‘perceptual’ semantic subsystem. This
means, for example, that the concept ‘zebra’ will activate such perceptual
concepts as ‘has black and white stripes’. On the other hand the ‘functional’
semantic subsystem is most crucial for recognizing nonliving things. According
to this view, the concept ‘key’ will activate
such functional concepts as ‘used for locking’ (table 1).
Table 1: Schematic representation of SFT
This view could have some subtle,
though important consequences. The presence of nonliving things, and especially
purely functional architectural design, is ever increasing in the human living
environment. This entails that functional semantic networks are becoming ever
more important and dominant for processing the elements that constitute our
surroundings. Such a dominance of functional concepts could promote a posture
of functional thinking and behaviour, which further strengthens beliefs in the
utility and value of functional objects and architectural design. Although
functional attitudes have its merits in certain contexts, they can be harmful
for our relations towards others and towards the natural world.
Possibly, integrating naturalistic elements in architecture can provide a counterweight against the increasing dominance of these functional semantic networks and their associated epistemological attitude. By having some key similarities with living things, such type of design will also activate semantic networks that are not predominantly related to functionality. Instead, they could activate areas that process the unique perceptual features of objects. This could result in an attitude that is especially relevant when it comes to the human relation with nature. While nature is increasingly valued from a purely functionalist perspective, ‘naturalistic’ design could contribute to learning to be attentive to nature’s perceptual qualities. This could help in creating a mindset where nature will also be enjoyed for its own perceptual presence, and not for the functions it could fulfil. This entails a robust form of environmental education. Note furthermore how such a way of thinking can also prove to be of value for the field of art and design, where perceptual concepts often play a key role.
4. Naturalistic
forms in architecture: different levels of abstraction
The previous argument underscores the importance of
integrating references to natural form in architecture. Such integrations can
take on different levels of abstraction. Literally copying concrete natural
elements in architectural design (e.g. traditional ornament) will probably meet
up to the input-conditions of the natural module due to the important formal
overlap with real natural objects. Admittedly, today such imitations will not
be considered as very successful, because the associated emotional states will
probably be inhibited by certain higher-order or ‘cultural’ concepts (e.g.
‘kitsch’). An alternative would be to implement more schematic representations
of natural elements in architecture. These would no longer be exact copies, but
artistic interpretations that still contain some global visual similarities
with regard to the original natural object (e.g. Calatrava’s bird-like
structure for the Milwaukee Art Museum). These similarities make it probable
that these designs or design elements will be considered as actual input of the
natural module. The situation is somewhat similar to abstract or schematic
representation of faces (J), which
activate the face module, despite their high level of abstraction. Yet, still
more architectural variations could be created by applying and combining abstract
geometrical features of natural elements to architectural designs. Although
such designs will not be recognized as being similar to concrete natural
objects (e.g. a bird) they will still activate early visual subsystems of the
natural module, which are specialized in natural-like perceptual features. Due
to these activations, such creations could still evoke semantic associations of
‘naturalness’, by which they could be accompanied by certain emotional states
(see section 3.1). In the following two sections two types of ‘shape grammars’
are presented that are typical of natural objects.
4.1.
Fractal geometry
An inspection of the formal appearance of evolutionary relevant natural
objects (e.g. trees and plants) reveals that their shape is governed by fractal
geometry [28] (see also fig. 4-8). An
essential characteristic of fractal-like structures is that (statistically)
similar details recur on different scales of magnitude. Within fractal
geometry, this scale invariance contributes to the complexity of a fractal
pattern and is quantified in terms of the fractal dimension D. Contrary to
Euclidean geometrical objects, the fractal dimension of a fractal curve is not
an integer. For fractals in the plane, the fractal dimension lies between the
first and the second dimension, resulting in a value between 1 and 2. The
reason is that it fills more space than a line, while it does not fill the
entire plane. For fractals in space, the fractal dimension lies between 2 and 3
[29].
The
naturalness of fractals cannot be reduced to the theoretical possibility of
describing natural patterns in terms of fractal geometry. Humans also interpret
fractals as being closely related to the shapes of natural objects. For
example, a qualitative study shows that primary schoolchildren found fractal
patterns to be similar to such things as: ‘“trees, flowers, dragons, Aboriginal
paintings, pathways, feathers, insects, elephants”; “trees, zippers, planets,
sea horses and other animals in the sea”; … “leaves, root systems, flowers, star
constellations, solar systems, and star fish and other creatures” …’ [30]. The
relation between judgements of ‘naturalness’ and fractals has also been
empirically studied by Hagerhall and colleagues [31]. These researchers found a
systematic correlation between the aesthetical preference of landscape
silhouettes and their respective fractal dimensions. Because naturalness is
found to be a predictor of aesthetic preference (see section 3.1), this
suggests that fractal dimension could be a constitutive part of the naturalness
of particular scenes.
The
previous findings indicate that the naturalness of some objects is to a certain
extent determined by the presence of fractal geometry. Interestingly, there are
preliminary indications that fractal patterns can trigger some of the
(positive) affective states that are associated with natural elements. Some
empirical research reveals that such patterns have an aesthetic and
stress-reducing value. Yet the strength of these affective reactions seems to
vary as a function of the fractal dimension. For example, there are indications
that subjects do not attribute highest aesthetic preference to patterns with
the lowest and highest fractal dimension [32-35]. Instead, there is a tendency
to prefer patterns with an intermediate fractal dimension, ranging from 1.3 to
1.5. Similarly, a preliminary study indicates that the fractal patterns that
are most effective in stress-reduction also fall within this range of D values
[36]. A possible explanation is that this fractal dimension corresponds to the
complexity of natural elements and settings that offered our ancestors
important survival opportunities.
4.2. Naturalness and curves
Animals have a typical shape and
structure, but often do not show the scale invariance that is characteristic of
fractals patterns. But which geometric features are important for recognizing
such type of objects? An indication is provided by research that suggests that
curved information is important for identifying certain classes of objects. For
instance, some studies argue that the deficit for recognizing faces of certain
prosopagnosic patients is due to problems with processing curves [37] and
curved surfaces [38]. Because of the evolutionary importance of recognizing
conspecifics and facial expressions, and because this recognition is dependent
on making subtle differentiations of curved features and volumes, possibly a
module could have evolved that is specialized in curved volume description
[39]. It is quite possible that not only the face recognition module taps this
module, but also other systems that rely on coding curvature. Importantly,
measurements of animal contours reveal that these have a high degree of
curvature, as opposed to the rectilinearity of a lot of nonnatural objects
(e.g. chair) [40]. Correspondingly, damage to this curvature module does not
only result in prosopagnosia, but leads to subtle difficulties in processing
and recognizing certain nonface objects that are also characterized by curves,
such as animals. Although the recognition by the natural module of certain
stimuli as ‘natural’ depends on a variety of features (e.g. higher-order
concepts such as ‘has legs’), these findings suggest that the presence of
curves is a contributing factor to the naturalness of certain objects.
If there is a certain correlation
between some natural kinds (e.g. animals) and curves, then are there also
certain emotions associated with the latter? This question cannot be answered
straightforwardly, because only little research has been conducted into the
relation between curves and emotions. Yet, it must be admitted that the
perennial presence of curved patterns (spirals, scrolls, meanders) is an
important indication for the aesthetic value that people attach to such
patterns [41]. Maybe this aesthetic attraction is due to the fact that such
patterns evoke natural objects. Sometimes, the emotional value of curved
contours is also related to the importance of viewing faces. For example, Peter
Stebbing [42] tries to explain the aesthetic attraction of the so-called
‘asymmetrical curve’. This pattern is the contour of a woman’s face, viewed
from the perspective of a baby that is held in its mother’s arms. Because
babies often look at their mother’s face, they are imprinted with her cheek
curve. Due to feelings of love, comfort, care and security, this pattern is
loaded with a positive emotional association. Consequently, in adult life, the
cheek curve acts as a biological releaser that elicits positive emotional
states and aesthetic attraction.
Further investigations into the emotional tone of
curved lines are mentioned by Nancy Aiken [43]. Aiken describes how in early
studies by Lundholm [44] and Poffenberger and Barrows [45] subjects had to
associate different types of lines with various affective adjectives (e.g.
‘sad’, ‘quiet’, ‘furious’, ‘harsh’, etc.). These experiments revealed that
angled and curved lines were releasers of different categories of feeling
tones. This conclusion is supported by a more recent experiment by Johanna Üher
[46]. She found that angled lines were associated with antagonistic
characteristics (e.g. ‘aggressive’, ‘hostile’, ‘harsh’, ‘irritated’, etc.),
while curved lines were matched with affiliative characteristics (‘peaceful’,
‘friendly’, ‘gentle’, ‘balanced’, etc.). This indicates that curves evoke more
positive emotions (e.g. security), while angles are related to more negative
emotions (e.g. fear). The antagonistic character of angled lines is also
evident from an experiment by Richard Coss [47]. Coss compared the effect of
pointed and rounded contours on the physiological state of ten men. He found
that angled shapes elicited more arousal, were more provocative and were more
attention-grabbing than rounded forms. The latter were experienced as less
arousing and attractive, but will probably give rise to more ‘harmonious’ and
‘peaceful’ emotions. Coss argues that the arousing properties of angles are due
to the danger associated with piercing forms, with which humans were confronted
during their evolutionary history. Despite this explanation, neither Coss nor
the aforementioned authors clarify the reasons for the affiliative nature of
rounded forms.
5. Discussion
Due to the gradual decrease of direct contact with
nature in Western (and westernized) societies, the natural module gets
increasingly less opportunities to get trained and to develop. It was argued
how this underdevelopment could lead architectural designers to become less
interested in including formal references to nature into their creations. Maybe
the strongest opposition against such integrations has been expressed by Adolf
Loos. In ‘Ornament and Crime’ [48] he described the use of ornamentation as a
sign of cultural and intellectual degeneracy, having negative effects on human
wellbeing. Instead, he defended an aesthetic purism that banned the use of
ornamentation. Because ornaments often contain ‘symbolic’ nature, the above
argument proposes that Loos’ extreme viewpoint could lead to three interrelated
types of ‘impoverishment’. It possibly entails a reduction of the range of
possible formal grammars applied to architecture; it leads to an impoverished
emotional relation with the built environment; and it contributes to a tendency
of ‘functional’ thinking and attitudes. It was hypothesized that these effects underscore
the importance of including formal evocations of nature in architectural
designs. These evocations can range from imitations of concrete natural
elements (e.g. flowers) to combined applications of abstract formal features
that are characteristic of naturalness (e.g. fractals and curves). It should be
noted that digital design and visualization techniques have greatly facilitated
the creation of such ‘biomorphic’ designs and the exploration of non-standard
geometrical shapes. Yet, it has not been argued that such type of
architecture should replace current (modernist and postmodernist) architecture.
On the contrary, the central argument of this paper is essentially pluralistic,
and entails that different types of architecture, and hence, different formal
grammars should be allowed to coexist. While some types of architecture are
more responsive to cultural ideas, the type of design that is discussed in this
paper fulfils conditions that are guided by a shared human evolution in the
natural world.
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