Upstate New York
2021
This is a research project for an upstate artists retreat. We wanted to dive deeper into the concept we call Second Nature, and in particular explore how the biophilic impact of immersion in landscape is related to a similar immersion in art. What are the artistic and cultural constructions/structures that trigger the experience of healing?
We know that being bathed in nature has a healing effect on our nervous systems. This is hard wired into our being. We also know that the making or experiencing of art can be therapeutic. Being bathed in cultural constructions can also heal us. This is the second form of Nature that humans experience, the universal shared cultural experiences of beauty and raw human creation. It is similar to the experience of the sublime that characterizes our relationship to nature. We call this Second Nature. It is also hardwired into our nervous system. It introduces a change of state into our nervous system similar to the effects of biophilic design.
By combining biophilic techniques with cultural artistic experiences we have more tools at our disposal to create places that positively impact our health.
The primary architectural device used here is to think of programming the landscape into gardens. The gardens will be used by both plants and artistic production, with a gradient of groundscapes to accommodate a gradient of uses. Artists-in-residence will each have a shed-like production studio sunk into the landscape; they are covered with planted roofs that camouflage them when seen upslope. Sleeping quarters are in an existing house at the top of the slope: the daily cycle of an artist is to go into the land. Visitors cross the landscape at a right angle to artists, creating connections between artists during the day.