Humans and the Forest

Introduction

This is my Final Major Project, which has a lot of weight to it. My working titles are ‘The Urban-Natural Relationship’ and ‘Humans and the Forest’, but I’ve chosen Humans and the Forest for the final title. I want to explore the boundaries between artificial and real nature, and the possibilities that lie within integrating biological elements with consumer-facing design.

Research

Rambouillet Biological Lighting Trial

In the French town of Rambouillet, an experiment involving light emitting marine bacteria is underway. The goal is to determine whether the energy (nutrients vs electricity), maintenance and light emitted is comparable or superior to conventional LED street lighting (Yeung, 2022). If the experiment is successful, it could lead to a new kind of symbiosis between light emitting organisms and their human beneficiaries. More likely however, it’s the light emitting mechanism that will be extracted for our use.

As biotechnology gets more advanced, the question of how to integrate biological engineering into our daily lives gets more relevant, and the lines formerly separating ‘us’ and the wealth of organisms that fall closer to ‘nature’ start to blur.

Marimekko Design

The Finnish design brand Marimekko are well known for their naturally inspired or derived patterns.

In a collaboration with Ikea, they highlight the connection between design, wellness and nature as they explore the ritual of the sauna. The objects reflect natural elements, such as the ‘steam flower’ pattern below, or the play of natural light, as in their set of glasses and jug (second image) and lantern .

Images credit: IKEA (2023)

Naturally inspired design is not new, but as we move towards an era of eco-consumerism, design will likely increasingly reflect our (not necessarily real) reality in the style. This work has inspired me to create a series of lanterns, which I will be working on next week.

Neri Oxman and ‘Oxman’

The Israeli scientist and MIT professor Neri Oxman’s work often incorporates elements in collaboration with nature, or inspired by it (Wikipedia Contributors, 2020). During her time at MIT, leading the ‘Mediated Matter’ group, they produced the piece ‘Silk Pavillion’, which combined cnc controlled laid silk threads, in polygonal panels, with reinforcements by natural silk worms (Mediated Matter, 2019). This demonstrates how natural organisms might be used in construction, and how to avoid destroying the silk worms in the process of using them to our benefit. The final structure had natural variations in density as a result of the pattern in which the silk worms move and lay thread.

Image credit: Mediated Matter (2019)

London is a Forest

The book ‘London is a Forest’ (Wood, 2019) has inspired my love for the forest, and my desire to integrate it into my design. Across several chapters he completes walks, connecting different strips of wood and forest across the Greater London area. The opening pages highlight the idea that, by a certain UN definition, London is in fact a forest — having more than 20%> tree cover. The redefinition of the environment changes our relationship to it, expanding our connection beyond the limitations of the urban environment, and making us a part of an ecosystem we may have previously denied as our own.

Wild Swimming

The act of wild swimming established a connection with a natural space, as you immerse yourself fully in an environment. There are some small studies which confirm anecdotal evidence that wild swimming can help fight certain mental ill health problems (Rhiannon, 2018), through cold water effects. There is a spiritual element, as you reduce yourself to a small part of a largely non human environment.

Nature Therapy

Currently a field with limited practical use, nature therapy involves a wide range of techniques to improve mental or physical health, commonly including forest immersion. The field is controversial given some of the pseudoscientific subfields included within it, e.g grounding, which has limited research supporting it (Wikipedia Contributors, 2019).

Tom Hunter

Tom Hunter’s series ‘Life and Death in Hackney’ used the post-industrial wasteland of the hackney marshes and surrounding lee valley, with its warehouses and alternative cultural activities, as a backdrop to historically inspired paintings. The landscape, where ‘the wild buddleia and sub-cultural inhabitants took root and bloomed’ (Hunter, s.d.) is made all the more beautiful by the strange way that nature takes back the space.

’The Way Home’ — Hunter (2001)

This image, referencing the painting ‘Ophelia’ (Millais, 1852) challenges conventional ideas surrounding nature and beauty, as the weeds set the backdrop. Many of Hunter’s images reference high-culture art using low, youth or alternative culture subjects, challenging the notions of value we apply to different ideas and people. Importantly to my work, he gives value to alternative ways of life, and in the way counterculture often is, ways that exist less disruptively with naturally structured environments.

Treehouses — Stop HS2

Image credit: Dan Burn-Forti (Barkham, 2020)

An extension of extinction rebellion, groups of protestors have protested the destruction of ancient woodland along HS2, as well as opposing new construction on an emissions reduction basis (Barkham, 2020). To avoid bailiffs, the protestors build small, quick to construct treehouses. Fibreboards and beams are combined using ropes to make semi-permanent dwellings, out of the reach of conventional security, requiring specialist teams to remove them, and so prolonging the delays.

The movement is defined by it’s opposition to the rail project, but members report more connectedness with nature as they live locked-on — ‘Being back in the wild after being in London I really felt like I connected with myself a bit more and with my [lost] brother. We used to build treehouses together.’ (Barkham, 2020).

Trying to locate Forest Communities in Blean

A conversation with costudent Eleanor led to the story of groups of individuals who historically (around the 1990s) lived in the Blean Forest, camping out in groups of teepees. I’m going to pursue the idea of an interview next week, if possible.

I thought I would first see if there was any existing media on their presence, before I (if possible) met them. Several google searches and a conversation with the librarians turned nothing up, so I will pursue the leads given by Eleanor.

’Ritual’

As part of my primary research, a group of friends and I decided to make a visit to the forest, to try to find some kind of role for it to play in social connection.

We cycled to the Blean or West Thornden wood around 00:00, bring tea-lights and alcohol, as well as coffee. We didn’t end up drinking the alcohol, instead we sat around a table formed from reclaimed wood, and lit 30 of the candles.

The actual ‘ritual’ element of the trip didn’t provide much value, other than the images we took. The group travelling through the trees, however, created the value for the experience, escaping the routine of the day so far and immersing ourselves in the moonlit pine groves.

View post on imgur.com

Video of the candle lighting, hosted via Imgur.

Reference list

Antonelli, M., Donelli, D., Barbieri, G., Valussi, M., Maggini, V. and Firenzuoli, F. (2020) 'Forest Volatile Organic Compounds and Their Effects on Human Health: A State-of-the-Art Review' In: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17 (18) p.6506. At: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7559006/ (Accessed 07/02/2023).

Barkham, P. (2020) '‘Seeing the trees being ripped down is really hard’: meet a father and son protesting against HS2' In: The Observer 05/07/2020 At: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/05/seeing-the-trees-being-ripped-down-is-really-hard-meet-a-father-and-son-protesting-against-hs2 (Accessed 06/03/2023).

Hunter, T. (s.d.) Life and Death in Hackney, 1999-2001 | Tom Hunter. At: http://www.tomhunter.org/life-and-death-in-hackney/ (Accessed 06/03/2023).

Hunter, T. (2001) The Way Home. [Online image] At: http://www.tomhunter.org/life-and-death-in-hackney/ (Accessed 06/03/2023).

IKEA (2023) The BASTUA collection: a collaboration with Marimekko. At: https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/new/live-boldly-joyfully-and-well-with-the-bastua-collection-pub7b1d64c0 (Accessed 07/03/2023).

Lee, H. J. (s.d.) 빛 그리고 빛(Light Green Leaves with Light), 2012. At: http://www.hyunjeanlee.com/works/eachpage/Light_Light.htm (Accessed 30/01/2023).

Mediated Matter (2019) Project Overview ‹ Silk Pavilion – MIT Media Lab. At: https://www.media.mit.edu/projects/silk-pavilion/overview/ (Accessed 06/03/2023).

Millais, J. E. (1852) Ophelia. [Oil on Canvas] London: Tate Britain. At: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:John_Everett_Millais_-_Ophelia_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg (Accessed 06/03/2023).

Rhiannon (2018) Cold comfort: How sea swimming boosts my mental health. At: https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/your-stories/cold-comfort-how-sea-swimming-boosts-my-mental-health/ (Accessed 06/03/2023).

Wikipedia Contributors (2019) Nature therapy. At: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_therapy (Accessed 08/03/2023).

Wikipedia Contributors (2020) Neri Oxman. At: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neri_Oxman (Accessed 06/03/2023).

Wood, P. (2019) London is a forest. London: Quadrille, An Imprint Of Hardie Grant Publishing.

Yeung, P. (2022) The French town where the lighting is alive. At: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220407-the-living-lights-that-could-reduce-energy-use (Accessed 21/02/2023).