For my research interest I would want to research how to adapt the ant system to something as small as a building or as a big as urbanism. It would be interesting to create a certain pattern or algorithm that would help the design to make people be more aware of their surrounding and knowing the importance of all the small tasks we pursue every day to create a more interconnected comprehensive whole. Design should be influenced in my opinion by these 5 emergence principles because they help us understand some ground rules in creating a more complex and comprehensive final picture by small simple steps that will affect the whole. A big lesson learned from ants is that simplicity, interconnection and order can lead to very complex yet functional designs that could cater for a better life. If the ground rules of the ant colony system could be integrated in our design and considered in design concepts it could lead to a better standard of living and a more efficient system of design that will help create a better bigger picture and help people contribute more to a higher standard of living.

The Moriyama House-Ryue Nishizawa is under the category of disturbed relation. The Architect created a house with flexible spaces that are surrounded by gardens. The relation between the gardens and rooms is proportionate to creating a strong relationship between natural and the manmade element; compared to the traditional way of enclosing the courtyard within the building. In a way, a small urban community was created within one house. The rooms are separate but through the planning and the logistics, they still have commonality for the individuals occupying them. There is a very thin line between the indoor and outdoor space that creates a strong relationship within the community and helps connect between the different architectural components that are in essence separated.

In the Cooking, Yo-ing, thinking text Sandford Kwinter drew a very interesting relationship between nature and the digital realm. In his opinion, computers are not a tool in our lives but an aiding medium in changing the way we perceive and deal with nature. Through the help of computers we can understand the infrastructure of nature and process it better. Computers help us have a more global vision about nature so we can draw more accurate conclusions of how to improve it and be a better part of it. Through computers we are capable of digitalizing and measuring the non “physical” variables of nature. The writer also clarifies that it is important to understand the relationship between all 3 environments, as every environment has its own characteristics, and only when they are all combined the full picture appears and is coherent. Which therefore, would lead to more complex and complete designs.

I think it’s interesting to see the thin line that has been created between nature and manmade architecture. “Disturbed relation” in my opinion is a metaphor in itself because by adding singular elements of nature to include in architecture, you create a strong relation between buildings and nature. It is in my opinion not an isolation of nature but a completion of nature because it integrates both elements combined. We should not treat the manmade buildings as a disturbance to nature and not completion as humans are just as part of nature as animals. Why should we consider a bird’s nest part of nature, yet a building a disturbance to nature?
I am very interested in the idea of the blurred lines between nature and buildings. Instead of treating buildings as a separate entity that is destroying nature, I think we need to find a way to create buildings that blend in perfectly with their natural surroundings. Instead of having the building be a standalone structure it’s important to make it a living organism that contributes in way to the surrounding nature and uses its resources. Given in my home town environmental aspects are not really considered I would like to find a way to create self sufficient houses that are still affordable to the middle class public and add to the importance of the understanding of nature and how it could contribute positively to our lives.

Photo link: Tadao Ando Building  http://graphicsideoflife.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/11_nao2.jpg