2015 Lecture Series: Dr. Katelyn P C Hudson: Biophillic Dwelling
You want to live in a green home. That's wonderful. We all should. But what will the house do for your well-being beyond your clear conscience and a reduced energy bill? The relationship between humans and the environment is not a one way street. Indeed, humans have a great impact on the environment; but the environment has its own influences – on human mental and physical health. As we go green, we also need to go beyond, reaching outside the boundaries of our hermetically sealed synthetic dwellings to reinvigorate our connection with nature. As designers and builders, we have the ability and responsibility to facilitate this shift. This talk explores the concept of biophilic design and how it has historically been implemented within residential settings to create dwellings that are more attuned to the surrounding natural environment, providing benefits to the inhabitants and an improved quality of life. Dr. Katelyn P.C. Hudson is a Vermont-based architectural designer and writer. She is a graduate of the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture (Taliesin), and the Doctoral program in Architecture at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Her studies have focused on the interdependent relationship between humans and their environments. Her doctoral thesis is entitled Holistic Dwelling: Integrating Biophilic Design, Environmental Psychology, and Feng Shui.