Disconnectedness
A defining characteristic of human evolution is that over time we have become less integrated with the natural ecosystems that sustain life on earth. Our species needs air, food, water, and shelter to survive, and in the not-so-distant past, these were found in the same centers in which we lived: we were directly dependent on our immediate surroundings to sustain our lives and intrinsically responsible for our actions. Driven to gain independence from our biological ancestors, we have evolved by designing against nature. Our current environmental crisis is the result of our disconnectedness from the natural world.
As our ancestors began to modify their environment, they created distance between themselves and the natural systems that sustained them. Their relationship with nature changed. They built shelters, made tools to hunt, and harvested food, each action creating greater distance between themselves and nature. We lost touch with natural environment and only ventured there for the physical things we needed, it eventually became a supply source rather than a habitat. Every step of the way has taken us further from our origins in the natural environment.
A true sense of environmental stewardship cannot be imposed upon a culture. It must grow from both the surrounding environment and the spaces we occupy. We must design so that our built spaces and the natural environment are integrated as in traditional Japanese architecture, where lines between gardens and their surrounding landscapes are blurred so much that the two are indistinguishable. Gardens serve as a transition between natural landscapes and built structures by incorporating elements of each. A fundamental technique of Japanese garden design called shakkei (borrowed scenery) involves the incorporation of distant landscapes in the garden setting (Hayakawa 1973, The Garden Art of Japan. pg11). http://www.williamarbizudesign.com/Pictorial Space.pdf Rock, plants and trees are not shaped into geometric or symmetric forms, but are cultivated to bring out their inherent natural qualities. They lead the visitor to a stronger relationship with their surroundings, one that is consistent with the Shinto belief system in which the divinity manifests itself in natural objects. Japanese homes open to the outside by means of moveable panels, eliminating the distinction between inside and outside, creating long, horizontal vistas. Western architecture has traditionally created buildings with fixed walls and windows that emphasize the vertical, creating a conscious distinction between inside and outside. This vertical orientation serves as a frame within which a person views the outside world or is in turn seen from the outside. All too frequently, we have designed our physical surroundings in a way that disconnects us from the natural systems in which we have evolved and still depend upon for life. The only way we are able to continue with the systematic degradation of the natural environment is by hiding, numb, in our own designed environs.
Garrett Hardin published “The Tragedy of the Commons” about the nuclear arms race in the late sixties for Science magazine.
Although extreme many of his points are very relevant today.
The tragedy of the commons is that the participants are not intrinsically responsible for there actions.
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