Three students from the Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia (DA FTUI) designed a Beeophile, a building structure that functions as a residence, green space, and also a place for interaction. Thanks to this design, Alfira Kurniawati, Shafira Izzatunnisa, and Yasyfina Aflah won 2nd place in the competition. Yearning to Breathe International Design Competition 2022, organized by the Archiol Competition was announced on March 11 2023 via the www.archiol.org/results/yearning_to_breathe_2022 page.
The Yearning to Breathe International Design Competition 2022 is an international design competition which was held for the first time and there were 216 entries from all over the world. In this competition, the participants had to create urban housing designs based on biophilic architecture and interiors. This competition challenges participants not only to think of design ideas that can improve human interaction with nature but also to treat mental disorders.
This year, the Yearning to Breathe International Design Competition 2022 has the theme “A Biophilic Residence that Responds to the Dense Concrete Fabric of the City”. The participants were asked to design an architectural design to overcome the problem of declining connectivity between humans and nature which leads to mental disorders. In this competition, the three students competed under the guidance of the FTUI Architecture Department Professor, Prof. Ir. Evawani Ellisa, M.Eng., Ph.D., Professional Architect, Baiq Lisa Wahyulina, S.T., M.Ars., IAI., and Assistant Lecturer, Aulia Urrorhmah, S.Ars.
Many health studies have documented an increase in stress which increases mental disorders in urban communities. One reason is the decreased interaction between humans and nature. Departing from these problems, in this competition the participants are expected to be able to design urban homes that concentrate on architectural and interior conceptual design innovations based on the concept of biophilia to create connectivity between humans and nature.
“Most urban people live in dense residential areas with very limited green space and high levels of air and noise pollution. This results in high levels of stress and a sense of isolation for the residents. Our team is interested in trying to propose intervention ideas in major cities in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, which are dominated by shop-type buildings. “Beeophile is a simple concept that not only overcomes the boring appearance of a collection of shophouses but also makes it more lively so that residents and nature can be connected to each other and have a positive impact on their mental health,” said Prof. Evavani Elisa.
“Our design is the answer to the dense construction of concrete structure shophouses in urban areas by utilizing elements of biophilia modules to create green space in buildings. This green space is built in empty spaces that have not been used by residents so far, such as the façade (vertical space) of shop buildings and the rooftop area (horizontal space),” said Alfira.
The FTUI team uses the Biophilic concept to increase human connectivity with nature, both directly and indirectly. In the Beeophile design, the biophilia module is an additional entity on the side of the vertical plane of the building that is connected to the main residential unit to increase the amount of green space. However, because the module alone is not enough. So the Beeophile design also makes use of negative space or large unused spaces such as rooftops, or abandoned spaces in parking areas. It is hoped that with the addition of green spaces between the rows of shophouses that dominate urban areas, the stress level of the residents can be reduced.
Dean of FTUI, Prof. Dr. Heri Hermansyah, S.T., M.Eng., IPU., appreciated this achievement and said, “The concept brought by the FTUI Architecture Department students using the concept of biophilia is a solutive effort to increase visual and non-visual connections between humans and nature. Interaction between humans and nature good work will have an impact on mental health. Congratulations on the achievement. Hopefully, the concept that was initiated can be implemented and bring a superior impact on society.”
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Bureau of Public Communications
Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia