Photoperiodism of Building A Live Building responding to Nature Dynamically

Photoperiodism of BuildingA Live Building responding to Nature Dynamically

Topic: Natural Light and Circadian Rhythms

Before Electric Era

0.2 Lux is the lighting level under a full moon night. The two receptors in our eyes: cones and rods help us to orientate ourselves. When it falls below 1 lux, the cones cease to act and only rods will be activated, so our eyes quickly switched to a condition to see the faint objects. When vision is not activated fully, the other four senses of human will be more acute and we may have a strengthened sensual experience, that is why the far ago age seems to be more textured, the dusk makes us tranquil and relaxed, and we tend to fall into meditation in a dark room.

Artificial light lights up human civilization, but weakens primitive senses. In the past, without electronic equipment, the starry sky embracing us makes us feel like an infinitesimal part of the universe; the chirping of insects in a summer night like an echo song, depicts the hollowness landscape outside the window; in the days before refrigerators, fermentation turned the food’s enemy, Time, to its friend.

Problem:

For human, the light pollution glow in the night city lets us lose the chance to have a complete sensual experience in nature, and increases the rate of diseases both physiological and mental. For other animals, the artificial light brings greater intrusion. The intrusion for human and animals is on their Circadian Rhythms.

Solution:

If the human intervention to nature lets people lose the humility when looking up to the starry sky, we need to rethink about it more. We need a retreat far away from metropolis, to return to the original Circadian Rhythms, to heal ourselves, to feel nature with five senses, and to withdraw from the bustling urban life. Learn to respect nature and find healing method from it. Circadian Rhythms are important, and the photoperiodism exists in both plants, animals and human, every creature relies on natural light period, so does the artificial buildings. We see how natural light period brings different effects on architecture, so what about its impact on the building itself?

Location:

The natural hiking area Monvalle near the lake Maggiore can be a convenient retreat for people living in metropolis like Milan and industrial city Turin.The flat terrain from east to west there, can supply views for sunrise, sunset and moon phases.

Architectural Design:

It is a Baubotanic Tea Lounge, which means its every structral compositional element is a plant part with biological activity. The building itself can seed in spring, grow leaves in summer and wither in autumn. Some of its parts can grow up into tall trees after several cycles of seasons, then at that time, no body knows how it will form a new space for human, insects and birds. It is a Live Building responding to Nature Dynamically.

It is a lounge along south-north direction, and the main landscape viewing elevations are facing east and west. Garden fence-shaped elevations blur the threshold between artificial space and nature, and every of its element is a live tea tree branch after Grafting. Sufficient natural light along east-west ensures the grow of tea, in every April of spring, people can pick the ripe tea leaves from elevation and make artificial tea production to consume or to reserve for the whole year. In the season of withering, the decayed plants offer a grow environment and natural material condition for fireflies.The viewing hollow on the fence facades is as a window and a frame to capture the every moment of sunrise, sunset and moon phases from east to west.

Tea tree, fireflies and human, compose a small Ecological Cycle, to supply what they need for each other.

The Tea Lounge is located far away from bright cities and the disuse of artificial light allows it to be a healing space for human mental health. It emphasized the Circadian Rhythms, which we should respect, for people’s health, also for survival of other animals.

Construction Methods:

For vertical and horizontal elements, many tea tree branches are connected in the straight line via the method of Grafting in agriculture.For joints between vertical and horizontal elements, those two parts are connected in different directions via Grafting.