When we hear the words inspiration, exploration and discovery, we rarely picture a museum (or any other kind of man-made structure). We're more likely to conjure up images of the natural world, and the reasons for that are as complex as the natural world itself.
Rather than battle millions of years of evolutionary hard-wiring, designers should analyse the mystery, attraction, balance and rhythms of nature so we can create places of contemplation, learning and discovery that delight our visitors and our stakeholders.
Attraction
Professionals in biology, psychology, education, interior design, architecture and performance optimisation have found that people respond more deeply to just about any natural thing than to just about any man-made thing, a phenomenon known as biophilia.
For reasons dating back to our nomadic days on the savannahs of Africa, we migrate towards spaces that mimic the natural settings that offered our distant relatives refuge, survival and renewal.
Today's landscape architects create shade, water and topographical elegance - the same elements that nourished our hunting/gathering ancestors. Why shouldn't interior habitats be designed with the same kind of attention to our primal need for fresh air, light and natural beauty?
Study after study has proved the positive effects of daylight and natural ventilation. The Heschong Mahone Group, a collection of architects with an interest in energy efficiency, had found that elementary school students in classrooms with the most daylight showed a 21 per cent improvement in learning rates compared with students in classrooms with the least daylight.
The best museums produce education and inspiration by encouraging discovery and exploration. John Falk and Lynn Dierking explain in their book Learning From Museums that most human learning is self-motivated, emotionally satisfying and personally rewarding.
The book says: 'Humans are highly motivated to learn when they are in supporting environments where they are engaged in meaningful activities; when they are freed from anxiety, fear and other negative mental states; when they have choices and control over their learning; and when the challenges of the task meet their skills.'
The best way to do this is to create an environment featuring dynamic and diffuse daylight; natural ventilation and temperature fluctuation (subject to curatorial demands); local, natural materials; and frequent, spontaneous and repeated physical and visual contact with nature throughout and between buildings.
Museums should also mimic nature by offering connections between interior and exterior surfaces, 'quiet spots' where visitors can read, think and mentally recharge. There should be a variety of views over water and green spaces, which create a sense of openness and security, interspersed with interesting objects to pique our visitors interest.
When an unusual type of botanical garden first opened in an abandoned quarry in the remote region of Cornwall, everyone was amazed by the response. There were three times the number of expected visitors.
Why? Because the Eden Project embraced biophiliac design. You can see it in everything from the molecule-formed domes to the warm and lush, or arid, natural environments that give visitors a chance to cool off and ponder this remarkable place.
Design
Perhaps Picasso said it best: 'God is really only another artist. He invented the giraffe, the elephant and the cat. He has no real style. He just keeps trying other things.' For centuries, designers, artists and innovators have studied the natural world for inspiration.
Using nature as a design base is a process known as biomimicry - innovation inspired by nature. The earth has produced 3.8 billion years of research and development for us to study.
Can we create a solar cell as elegant as a leaf? Can we produce ceramics as efficiently as an abalone? Can we create a fabric that is as light, strong and waterproof as the thread woven by a spider? Can we create a transportation system as efficient as a beehive? More importantly, can we create buildings that successfully produce the kind of energy and flow that is found in all natural systems?
We already live with several revolutionary products that were inspired by nature - Velcro was inspired by barbs on weed seeds; the Sydney Opera House design was inspired by milkweed pods and seashells; the telephone mimicked the human tongue and eardrum; and the most famous of all birdwatchers were the Wright Brothers.
The new California Academy of Science has taken on the challenge of creating a 21st-century museum that is as beautiful and productive as the space (the Golden Gate Park) that surrounds it.
Designed by Renzo Piano, the building will feature a 'living roof' that will look like hills to birds passing overhead. It will sit on three acres of green space, use natural materials, natural sunlight, and will employ sustainable systems. It will excite young people about the natural world and possibly inspire them to study the science of sustainability.
Balance
Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could create buildings that produced their own energy, water and oxygen, consumed their own waste and provided in advance for their own decomposition? The best way to achieve this is to design-in sustainable elements.
According to the Sustainable Building Task Force, 'minimal increases in up-front costs of about 2 per cent to support green design would, on average, result in life-cycle savings of 20 per cent of total construction costs' - ten times the initial investment.
More recent studies indicate that when the aim of having no harmful effect on the environment is taken into account at the early design stages, these increases can be reduced or even eliminated.
Green building can provide reduced capital and operating costs, valuation premiums and enhanced absorption rates, reduced liability risk, health and productivity gains, marketing benefits and new business opportunities.
In the late 1990s, William McDonough (the founder of ecological architectural firm William McDonough and Partners) and Michael Braungart (the co-founder of McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry, which helps firms implement their sustainable design) created the Hanover Principals for the World Expo 2000.
These rules for sustainable design and construction have been adopted by World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, the largest project of this type ever attempted. The rules are quickly becoming the new baseline in sustainable building worldwide.
A great example of a scheme that will adopt and champion sustainability is the Las Vegas Springs Preserve, which will open in 2006. This 'historic eco-island', three miles west of downtown Last Vegas, aims to inspire visitors to pursue more sustainable lifestyles by addressing issues such as water conservation.
The facility (including a visitor centre, desert living centre, gardens and the Nevada State Museum) will be a model of sustainability, and will therefore provide huge cost savings for the operators.
The principles are as complex and simple as life in a rainforest. Use natural ventilation to manage the building's microclimate(s). When possible, use passive solar solutions to heat and cool the building. By obtaining water locally, storing and using rainwater, creating pure water and percolation and using grey-water, your development can sustain the environment and save money.
Use safe and bio-degradable materials. More and more of these products are available as more designers demand them.
Rhythm
For many nature-inspired designers, the discussion might end here. But there's a bigger picture. Beyond encouraging education, solving design issues and making sure our spaces are economically sound, how do we inspire future generations? How do we sustain sustainability?
Maybe we can find the future by embracing the past. For centuries humans were connected to the land. Myth, folktales and traditional storytelling revolved around man's desire to find a place in the world. The natural world was our guide and teacher.
The world changed dramatically in the industrial era. Suddenly we found ourselves displaced into urban centres, disconnected from the natural world. For every triumph we had (the automobile, the train) we produced a challenge (pollution, global warming). Now we find ourselves looking once again towards nature for meaning.
It has taken the emerging global environmental challenges to reveal a great opportunity. Because of our primal need to survive, our purpose is being revealed. Darwin got it wrong when he described life as survival of the fittest. William McDonough has a better phrase - 'survival of the fittingest.'
I believe we are here to maintain the world and each other in the greatest harmony possible. We're not here to overcome or dominate nature - we're here to learn from and mimic nature's quiet miracles, to make it more likely for humanity to survive.
This process involves endless questioning. How do we design places that allow us to learn, share, explore, move others and be moved ourselves? How do reveal the mystery of science, art and life without 'explaining' it (and robbing it of its mystery)? Most importantly - if it doesn't make the world a better place, why build it?
We are ready to do more than create new museums. We are ready to create a new type of museum - a place of exploration and discovery, a place that embraces its natural environment, a place of social gathering and continued outreach to a community and a world.
A place that connects us to the past, inspires the future and celebrates diversity and our relationship to the natural world. A place that rewards questions, where guests are free to learn, a museum that is a living structure as simple, complex and elegant as a waterfall. Like nature, it will be an exultation to the possible.
Christian Lachel is the creative director of BRC Imagination Arts, an experiential design and production firm. He was the first designer in the industry to become certified in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standard (part of the Green Building Council - www.usgbc.org).
He recently launched the Green Exhibition and Museum Task Force. At the ECSITE conference this month he will convene a panel on nature-inspired design and host the first Green Exhibition and Museum Task Force meeting in Europe. Contact him at clachel@brcweb.com
Rather than battle millions of years of evolutionary hard-wiring, designers should analyse the mystery, attraction, balance and rhythms of nature so we can create places of contemplation, learning and discovery that delight our visitors and our stakeholders.
Attraction
Professionals in biology, psychology, education, interior design, architecture and performance optimisation have found that people respond more deeply to just about any natural thing than to just about any man-made thing, a phenomenon known as biophilia.
For reasons dating back to our nomadic days on the savannahs of Africa, we migrate towards spaces that mimic the natural settings that offered our distant relatives refuge, survival and renewal.
Today's landscape architects create shade, water and topographical elegance - the same elements that nourished our hunting/gathering ancestors. Why shouldn't interior habitats be designed with the same kind of attention to our primal need for fresh air, light and natural beauty?
Study after study has proved the positive effects of daylight and natural ventilation. The Heschong Mahone Group, a collection of architects with an interest in energy efficiency, had found that elementary school students in classrooms with the most daylight showed a 21 per cent improvement in learning rates compared with students in classrooms with the least daylight.
The best museums produce education and inspiration by encouraging discovery and exploration. John Falk and Lynn Dierking explain in their book Learning From Museums that most human learning is self-motivated, emotionally satisfying and personally rewarding.
The book says: 'Humans are highly motivated to learn when they are in supporting environments where they are engaged in meaningful activities; when they are freed from anxiety, fear and other negative mental states; when they have choices and control over their learning; and when the challenges of the task meet their skills.'
The best way to do this is to create an environment featuring dynamic and diffuse daylight; natural ventilation and temperature fluctuation (subject to curatorial demands); local, natural materials; and frequent, spontaneous and repeated physical and visual contact with nature throughout and between buildings.
Museums should also mimic nature by offering connections between interior and exterior surfaces, 'quiet spots' where visitors can read, think and mentally recharge. There should be a variety of views over water and green spaces, which create a sense of openness and security, interspersed with interesting objects to pique our visitors interest.
When an unusual type of botanical garden first opened in an abandoned quarry in the remote region of Cornwall, everyone was amazed by the response. There were three times the number of expected visitors.
Why? Because the Eden Project embraced biophiliac design. You can see it in everything from the molecule-formed domes to the warm and lush, or arid, natural environments that give visitors a chance to cool off and ponder this remarkable place.
Design
Perhaps Picasso said it best: 'God is really only another artist. He invented the giraffe, the elephant and the cat. He has no real style. He just keeps trying other things.' For centuries, designers, artists and innovators have studied the natural world for inspiration.
Using nature as a design base is a process known as biomimicry - innovation inspired by nature. The earth has produced 3.8 billion years of research and development for us to study.
Can we create a solar cell as elegant as a leaf? Can we produce ceramics as efficiently as an abalone? Can we create a fabric that is as light, strong and waterproof as the thread woven by a spider? Can we create a transportation system as efficient as a beehive? More importantly, can we create buildings that successfully produce the kind of energy and flow that is found in all natural systems?
We already live with several revolutionary products that were inspired by nature - Velcro was inspired by barbs on weed seeds; the Sydney Opera House design was inspired by milkweed pods and seashells; the telephone mimicked the human tongue and eardrum; and the most famous of all birdwatchers were the Wright Brothers.
The new California Academy of Science has taken on the challenge of creating a 21st-century museum that is as beautiful and productive as the space (the Golden Gate Park) that surrounds it.
Designed by Renzo Piano, the building will feature a 'living roof' that will look like hills to birds passing overhead. It will sit on three acres of green space, use natural materials, natural sunlight, and will employ sustainable systems. It will excite young people about the natural world and possibly inspire them to study the science of sustainability.
Balance
Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could create buildings that produced their own energy, water and oxygen, consumed their own waste and provided in advance for their own decomposition? The best way to achieve this is to design-in sustainable elements.
According to the Sustainable Building Task Force, 'minimal increases in up-front costs of about 2 per cent to support green design would, on average, result in life-cycle savings of 20 per cent of total construction costs' - ten times the initial investment.
More recent studies indicate that when the aim of having no harmful effect on the environment is taken into account at the early design stages, these increases can be reduced or even eliminated.
Green building can provide reduced capital and operating costs, valuation premiums and enhanced absorption rates, reduced liability risk, health and productivity gains, marketing benefits and new business opportunities.
In the late 1990s, William McDonough (the founder of ecological architectural firm William McDonough and Partners) and Michael Braungart (the co-founder of McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry, which helps firms implement their sustainable design) created the Hanover Principals for the World Expo 2000.
These rules for sustainable design and construction have been adopted by World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, the largest project of this type ever attempted. The rules are quickly becoming the new baseline in sustainable building worldwide.
A great example of a scheme that will adopt and champion sustainability is the Las Vegas Springs Preserve, which will open in 2006. This 'historic eco-island', three miles west of downtown Last Vegas, aims to inspire visitors to pursue more sustainable lifestyles by addressing issues such as water conservation.
The facility (including a visitor centre, desert living centre, gardens and the Nevada State Museum) will be a model of sustainability, and will therefore provide huge cost savings for the operators.
The principles are as complex and simple as life in a rainforest. Use natural ventilation to manage the building's microclimate(s). When possible, use passive solar solutions to heat and cool the building. By obtaining water locally, storing and using rainwater, creating pure water and percolation and using grey-water, your development can sustain the environment and save money.
Use safe and bio-degradable materials. More and more of these products are available as more designers demand them.
Rhythm
For many nature-inspired designers, the discussion might end here. But there's a bigger picture. Beyond encouraging education, solving design issues and making sure our spaces are economically sound, how do we inspire future generations? How do we sustain sustainability?
Maybe we can find the future by embracing the past. For centuries humans were connected to the land. Myth, folktales and traditional storytelling revolved around man's desire to find a place in the world. The natural world was our guide and teacher.
The world changed dramatically in the industrial era. Suddenly we found ourselves displaced into urban centres, disconnected from the natural world. For every triumph we had (the automobile, the train) we produced a challenge (pollution, global warming). Now we find ourselves looking once again towards nature for meaning.
It has taken the emerging global environmental challenges to reveal a great opportunity. Because of our primal need to survive, our purpose is being revealed. Darwin got it wrong when he described life as survival of the fittest. William McDonough has a better phrase - 'survival of the fittingest.'
I believe we are here to maintain the world and each other in the greatest harmony possible. We're not here to overcome or dominate nature - we're here to learn from and mimic nature's quiet miracles, to make it more likely for humanity to survive.
This process involves endless questioning. How do we design places that allow us to learn, share, explore, move others and be moved ourselves? How do reveal the mystery of science, art and life without 'explaining' it (and robbing it of its mystery)? Most importantly - if it doesn't make the world a better place, why build it?
We are ready to do more than create new museums. We are ready to create a new type of museum - a place of exploration and discovery, a place that embraces its natural environment, a place of social gathering and continued outreach to a community and a world.
A place that connects us to the past, inspires the future and celebrates diversity and our relationship to the natural world. A place that rewards questions, where guests are free to learn, a museum that is a living structure as simple, complex and elegant as a waterfall. Like nature, it will be an exultation to the possible.
Christian Lachel is the creative director of BRC Imagination Arts, an experiential design and production firm. He was the first designer in the industry to become certified in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standard (part of the Green Building Council - www.usgbc.org).
He recently launched the Green Exhibition and Museum Task Force. At the ECSITE conference this month he will convene a panel on nature-inspired design and host the first Green Exhibition and Museum Task Force meeting in Europe. Contact him at clachel@brcweb.com
