Applying Systems Philosophy: General Models Integrating Architecture with Landscape Design to Create a Sustainable Built Environment in Light of “Feng-shui”

Human perception about beauty always mirrors civilization, and is embodied in their built environment. In other words, what people sees as beautiful plays a crucial role towards how nature/landscape is developed. This paper intentions are to rethink on contemporary aesthetic value in landscape design, to evaluate current aesthetic paradigm, and to find landscape design strategies that can promote sustainable goals. Using qualitative method, this paper first shows historical review on how landscape form through many centuries in both western and eastern civilization. Later, it examines on how contemporary landscapes are built. In the discussion, it is found that -using Chinese foot binding tradition as a metaphor– our contemporary landscape is designed to be unusable, unhealthy, unproductive ‘small feet’. Landscape is designed with beautification – merely for visual properties, not for human activity, destructing the natural properties of landscape, and too difficult to maintain. Human should be able to interact with the nature in landscape in order to create a behavioral changes towards the nature. As a conclusion, we need to shift our paradigm of beauty towards healthy ‘big foot’ aesthetic to be a direction on how to achieve the sustainable beauty. This ‘big foot’ aesthetic can be relevant not only in landscape design, but also in other fields related to the built environment. Keywords: landscape design, sustainability, green design, aesthetic value

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Scientific Feng Shui for the Built Environment: Theories and Applications (Enhanced New Edition)

Property Management ◽

10.1108/pm-06-2015-0028 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 33 (5) ◽

pp. 519-520 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Keyword(s):

Built Environment ◽

Feng Shui

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Data-driven thinking for measuring the human experience in the built environment

International Journal of Architectural Computing ◽

10.1177/14780771211025142 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 147807712110251

Author(s):

Bige Tunçer ◽

Francisco Benita

Keyword(s):

Data Analysis ◽

Built Environment ◽

Urban Design ◽

Learning Experience ◽

Landscape Design ◽

Data Driven ◽

Sensor Data ◽

Experimental Setup ◽

Collection Data

This article introduces a methodology to implement Data-driven Thinking in the context of urban design. We present the results of a case study based on a 7-day workshop with 10 participants with landscape design and architecture background. The goal of the workshop was to expose participants to Data-driven Thinking through experimental design, multi-sensor data collection, data analysis, visualization, and insight generation. We evaluate their learning experience in designing an experimental setup, collecting real-time immediate environmental and physiological body reactions data. Our results from the workshop show that participants increased their knowledge about measuring, visualizing and understanding data of the surrounding built environment.

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Built Environment and Landscape Design as Tools for Climate Resilient Cities and Regions

Athens Journal of Architecture ◽

10.30958/aja.7-3-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (3) ◽

pp. 335-354

Author(s):

Anastasia Nikologianni ◽

Peter J. Larkham ◽

Kathryn Moore

Keyword(s):

Built Environment ◽

Climate Adaptation ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Landscape Design ◽

Economic Transformation ◽

Transformation Model ◽

Low Carbon ◽

Design Quality ◽

Social Challenges ◽

European Collaboration

This paper explores project frameworks and design methods in order to reveal innovative ways and processes for creating more resilient cities and regions. Considering major environmental, economic and social challenges and extracting key quality elements from pioneer development schemes, the aim is to identify methods and policies that have a significant impact on the transformation, landscape quality and sustainability of places at city and regional scale. Starting with the model of design quality in project delivery, and looking at a transformation model, the paper discusses best practices for the development of concept and implementation before it considers the model of pan-European collaboration. An investigation of climate adaptation issues through the ‘Room for the River’, a national programme in the Netherlands, demonstrates the significance of landscape design, low carbon and spatial quality as vital aspects of the built environment. The West Midlands National Park (WMNP UK), a major infrastructure proposal, demonstrates how a broader vision can help drive environmental, social and economic transformation in a region, whilst SATURN, an EIT Climate-KIC project, reveals the first stages of a pan-European city collaboration with the aim of reintegrating the natural assets within the climate change impact strategies of the participating cities, and exchanging knowledge between European regions. This paper suggests that landscape design and the built environment are important drivers towards a successful low carbon transition, and they can simultaneously enhance social and landscape identity and boost the economy of a region.

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Comparative Study of Courtyard Housing using Feng Shui

Open House International ◽

10.1108/ohi-01-2014-b0005 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 39 (1) ◽

pp. 36-47

Author(s):

Afet Çeliker ◽

Banu Tevfikler Çavuşoğlu ◽

Zehra Öngül

Keyword(s):

Built Environment ◽

Comparative Study ◽

Chinese Philosophy ◽

Evaluation Model ◽

Well Being ◽

Theory And Practice ◽

Feng Shui ◽

Building Shape ◽

The Universe ◽

Courtyard House

Cosmology is of essence for the life of traditional man not only to live in a meaningful universe, but to bound himself with the universe to achieve well-being as well. Architecture is a way of creating spaces through generic forms and symbols to attain this unity of man and the universe. This article interprets the courtyard house which is a well known archetype of spiritual and celestial qualities and has symbolic generic forms through the perspective of theory and practice of feng shui which is an ancient Chinese philosophy, based on the understanding of physical configuration of geographical settings and application of its principles to the built environment. The courtyard houses represented for this article are chosen on a linear axis starting from Cyprus, passing through Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and ending at China. In this article, principles of feng shui are selected and formulated to create an evaluation model showing entrance-courtyard relation, building shape, water element, room arrangement, and door alignment and circulation. Based on this evaluation model, the essential aspects of well-being have been revealed through the elements of architecture. In that sense, this article presents the opportunities and possibilies of an ideal plan layout by bringing an awareness to the cosmology and feng shui to achieve well-being.

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