Transcript

Technobiophilia: soothing our connected minds

and easing our wired lives

Dr Sue Thomas Visiting Fellow, Bournemouth University

www.suethomas.net@suethomas #technobiophilia

Part of the Biophilic Cities webinar series ‘Fostering Connections with the Natural

World’

Organised by Prof Tim Beatley and his team at the School of Architecture, University of Virginia

http://biophiliccities.org/

Do you worry about the digital world?

The talk will cover:● My background● My research● Technobiophilia● What might a technobiophilic city

look like?● Technobiophilic design● Conclusion

My Background

Professor of New Media, De Montfort University, 2005-2014

Books include:● ‘Correspondence’ 1992● ‘Hello World: travels in virtuality’

2004● ‘Technobiophilia: nature and

cyberspace’ 2013

Image: Sue Thomas in Chakryn Forest, Second Life

My Research

MetaphorThe essence of metaphor lies in understanding and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another. (Lakoff & Johnson)

Nearby NatureSmall suggestions of the natural world which, although seemingly insignificant and often out of physical reach, can play a powerful role in human well-being. (R.&S. Kaplan)

Cyberspace: a new world without names

The Computer Insectiary: A Field Guide to Viruses, Bugs, Worms, Trojan Horses, and Other Stuff That Will Eat Your Programs and Rot Your Brain (Roger Ebert & John Kratz, 1994)

Researchers at Zynga, the company that makes the Facebook game Farmville, have seen many technobiophilic responses amongst their players.

Restorative effects can be produced via windows, photographs, videos, even paintings, of nature. So why not screens?

The animated live wallpaper on my mobile phone screen.

Immersion in the computer -generated virtual reality nature space prompted ‘an increase in positive affect (happiness, friendliness, affection and playfulness) and a decrease in negative affect (fear, anger and sadness). There were also significant decreases in levels of both perceived and physiological stress’.

‘It is virtual nature that is responsible for the observed restoration and not virtual reality itself’. Deltcho Valtchanov, PhD Thesis, 2010. Urban Realities Laboratory, University of Waterloo. https://uwaterloo.ca/urban-realities-laboratory/about/facilities

“Because our society has become more urbanized and it is increasingly difficult for people to get access to nature, people will tend to experience simulated nature experiences through their exposure to virtual nature in the media. To the extent that this captures their experience of nature, it is meeting the human desire to experience nature and gain psychological benefits”2008 study of Spanish energy consumers by Patrick Hartmann and Vanessa Apaolaza-Ibáñez

"Haliaeetus leucogaster -Bundala National Park, Sri Lanka -flying-8" by Thimindu Goonatillake from Colombo, Sri Lanka - Soaring HighUploaded by snowmanradio. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Haliaeetus_leucogaster_-Bundala_National_Park,_Sri_Lanka_-flying-8.jpg#/media/File:Haliaeetus_leucogaster_-Bundala_National_Park,_Sri_Lanka_-flying-8.jpg

A video of a waterfall in Ireland that went viral on YouTube is helping millions of people who suffer from insomnia. The eight-hour footage has been viewed over six million times, and is now being used as part of medical research for several London hospitals.

Artist Johnnie Lawson uploaded the footage of the wooden bridge on the River Bonet in County Leitrim five years ago, and was surprised when it attracted a very specific fan base.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/waterfall-video-uploaded-to-youtube-helps-people-with-insomnia-10224414.html

Definition of Technobiophilia‘The innate tendency to focus on life and lifelike processes as they appear in technology’.

Key ElementsTechnobiophilia can be found in practices and artefacts which:

● connect our lives in nature with our lives in the digital

● contribute to well-being via a tech-nature balance

● support future biodiversity as technology and nature move closer together

Technobiophilia

‘A Room with a View’: live video feed of Areas of Outstanding Beauty for leukaemia patients confined to an isolation ward at Dorset County Hospital, UK.

http://dorse-48577-001.dvs.demon.net/about/arts-projects/arts-roomwithaview.html

The Dorset Hospital Biophilia Channel was developed from that first idea and now offers more content including direct feeds from nature and landscape works commissioned from artists.http://www.dorsetaonb.org.uk/news/1035-free-public-event-to-launch-biophilia-dorset-aonb-health-channel-27th-january

PIP uses images of landscape to create biofeedback which helps users measure, understand and manage their stress levels.

https://thepip.com/en-gb/

Changing a landscape with the power of your mind is hugely relaxing. (Sue Thomas, The Conversation, https://theconversation.com/changing-a-landscape-with-the-power-of-your-mind-is-hugely-relaxing-31156)

Great Chapparal by Adam Thwaites, in Grand Theft Auto (GTA)

http://www.flickr.com/groups/landscapesoflossantos/pool/

“GTA V is a truly living and breathing world, created with so much depth and attention to detail, that it now even enables this kind of virtual landscape photography. I love how a game based on crime can, on the other hand, offer an opportunity for creativity and the appreciation of natural beauty. Nothing beats actually going up into the mountains and breathing the air up there and I’d never want to replace that with technology, but games like this need to be appreciated for what they can offer in their own way too.” (Adam Thwaites)

What might a technobiophilic city

look like?

Biophilic Cities“Cities of abundant nature in close proximity to large numbers of urbanites; biophilic cities are biodiverse cities, that value, protect, and actively restore this biodiversity; biophilic cities are green and growing cities, organic and natureful’. (Tim Beatley)

Gardens by the BayImage: www.natureinspireddesign.com

Technobiophilic city?

Escale Numérique (Digital Break), Paris, France, offers a wifi refuge designed like a park. The idea came from the network of public water fountains built in Paris in the 19th century.

http://www.mathieulehanneur.fr/projet.php?projet=174

Bioluminescent treesDesigner Audrey Richard-Laurent proposes combining trees and streetlights into bioluminescent trees. In urban areas, one usually sees a row of trees parallel to streetlights. Why not hybridize them? Some organisms such as jellyfish, fireflies and mushrooms, can emit light. Genetic engineers have transferred genes responsible for these luciferin and luciferase proteins into a tobacco plant. These firefly proteins were then manufactured by the plant, causing it to glow and emit light. What if this technology could be extended further to say, a maple tree or a juniper bush? http://www.nextnature.net/2009/07/bioluminescent-trees-will-replace-streetlights/

CyberparksFostering knowledge about the relationship between Information and Communication Technologies and Public Spaces supported by strategies to improve their use and attractiveness. (26 EU countries, 4 year project)

Working definitionA cyberpark is a new type of urban landscape where nature and cybertechnologies blend together to generate hybrid experiences and enhance quality of life.

Photo: EvaM. Lisbon, 2014. EU Cooperation in Science & Technology, Transport & Urban Development Action TU1306

http://www.cost.eu/COST_Actions/tud/Actions/TU1306

Technobiophilic Design

Biophilic design applies biophilic concepts to architecture and design in such a way that it “connects buildings to the natural world, buildings where people feel and perform better” (Stephen Kellert)

Technobiophilic design connects our digital lives to the natural world so we can feel and perform better.

https://suethomasnet.wordpress.com/technobiophilic-design/

Image: Carolyn Black

Technobiophilic design challenges for developers● Apps and wearables● Hardware and software

https://suethomasnet.wordpress.com/technobiophilic-design/designchallenges/

SymbioDesigned at the Nucleus of Art and New Organisms, a trans-disciplinary hothouse of artistic and engineering talent in Rio de Janeiro where they research and develop technological, organic, and sensorial hybrid systemshttps://theconversation.com/talking-to-houseplants-might-make-them-happy-but-one-app-calls-for-a-deeper-connection-28027

Conclusion

Definition of Technobiophilia‘The innate tendency to focus on life and lifelike processes as they appear in technology’.

Key ElementsTechnobiophilia can be found in practices and artefacts which:

● connect our lives in nature with our lives in the digital

● contribute to well-being via a tech-nature balance

● support future biodiversity as technology and nature move closer together

The Technobiophilic City- the creativity and innovation of the urban- the restorative stability of the natural world- the global connectedness of the digital.

“Bringing together what is actual with what is dreamed” (Barry Lopez)

Daan Roosegaarde, Van Gogh Bike Path, The Netherlands. Inspired by Van Gogh’s painting ‘Starry Night’. The 1km bike path is illuminated by thousands of twinkling stones that feature glow-in-the-dark technology and solar-powered LED lightshttp://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/14/travel/starry-night-bike-path/

Thank you

Sue Thomaswww.suethomas.net

#technobiophilia @suethomas