Abstract:
The psychologist Theodore Roszak is a pioneer in a new field of study, ecopsychology. He begins to search for a deeper, more basic root of today's societal dysfunction- mainly the lack of connection people have with the earth. According to ecopsychologists, a d d i c t i o n s,destructive behavior, and strained personal relationships, are just some of the effects of this distance from nature. Can technology (architecture, the built environment) help reverse this condition? Can they re-introduce elements of natural life cycles? This thesis will look at the problems associated with this lack of connection and how the built environment can re-establish that association with the earth in a setting where it is needed the most. It will show that the distance between humans and the earth can be bridged by re-introducing plant and animal life, natural elements and sustainable design using newly developed technologies into the world of the city, creating psychologically pleasing spaces. The context of this project is one that is notorious for it's lack of "natural" surroundings, the concrete jungle - the city. The project here will be a forty story mixed-use towerlocated in downtown Chicago, IL....the core of the mind is the ecological unconscious. For ecopsychology, repression of the ecological unconscious is the deepest root of collusive madness in industrial society.Theodore Roszak.
