No Decay Please

I always felt like my studio space needed some plants. Thanks to guerrilla biophilia, these two art pieces ended up on my desk! Studio was less depressing with them at the beginning. My desk had plants and I  didn't even need to water them! But things started changing. Some leaves started decaying and getting dark, while others still looked alive. It was depressing to see them fade away and being incapable of stopping the process. The artificially protected leaves looked more alive than naturally decaying ones. It made me realize that I would prefer artificiality rather than facing decay.

Snapshot(s)

Snapshot(s) arranges the elements of wood, water, and light together to create a variety of moments for the viewer.  These moments can vary based on the position, angle, and distance of the person viewing the piece. Snapshot(s) looks at several biophilic attributes to help mend the breach; water, patina of time, central focal point, bounded space, diffused light, etc. It houses these within a small-scale design meant to bring a brief moment of the natural world into the built environment of RISD.

These two framed pieces of plants were given to me for a project. 

I believe they are contained in ideal view of human eyes. 

And it is decaying because of lack of empathy towards the plant. 

Highways plow through any environments for the convenience of human beings.

The soil is paved and anchored; There are minimum glimpse of green on the road. 

I try to place one over another to remind about the action of human beings.

And also how things may turn into, with lack of listening.

They are still placed on the highway. 

02/06/2013

Botanical Division

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Botanical Division displays natural woodcuttings that have been inhabited by a variety of moss.  Over time the wood will start to become blanketed by the moss and eventually be taken over. Botanical Division looks at several biophilic attributes to help mend the breach; natural materials, habitats and ecosystems, growth and efflorescence, parts to whole, security and protection, etc. It houses these within a small-scale design meant to bring a brief moment of the natural world into the built environment of RISD.

Framed Biophilia

I went back to the site to move the biophilic installation and it was missing! I hope someone took it to modify their own environment and did not throw it away.

Framed Nature: Bayard Ewing Building (BEB)

I chose to place my Framed Nature installations in the stairway at the Bayard Ewing Building (BEB) on RISD's campus. The BEB houses studios, classrooms, and offices for the Landscape Architecture and Architecture departments. I chose this location because of its obvious lack of biophilic attributes as well as the desire to expose it to as many people as possible. It is the main stairway to the computer lab, and almost everyone in the building uses the lab. 

I do not think that I chose a suitable location for the installation due to the small scale of the pieces in relation to the stairwell. However I do think that small scale biophilic interventions can make a difference in peoples lives, they just need to be scaled accordingly. The stairway is too large for one to notice something as small as the framed plants, that combined with the function of the location plays a large part in the lack of a biophilic success. The stairwell is a transitional space where few people spend any considerable amount of time and even when they do they are usually focusing on their feet as they move up and down. I might consider moving these pieces to a location that is more conducive to their small scale.

In the future I would like to see larger scaled pieces that are more intrusive either in their presence or their intent. Can a biophilic intervention be designed to focus in on one particular attribute or can it overtake the room in way that image on the wall in the RISD Museum classroom does? 

How can the term Guerilla in Guerilla Biophilia be leveraged in such a way that it lives up to its reputation and become a force that solicits a response?

Six Within Six

Six Within Six is a guerrilla biophilia project. The intervention invites six natural planters within the six windows located on the sixth floor of CIT, which houses the Interior Architecture department.  The room is static, plain, and lacking of natural features.  This is completely opposite of what a room where creativity is key should be. Six Within Six looks at several biophilic attributes to help mend the breach; parts to wholes, views and vistas, natural material, curiosity and enticement, etc. It houses these within a small-scale design, which hopefully brings a sense of well-being and productivity to those who interact with the piece(s.