The Planetary Rift: Awakening the Senses to the Necessity of Nature
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Abstract
Around the world, confirmation of the deterioration of our planet’s ecosystem is
evident. It’s become so common that we are no longer disturbed by the incineration
of ancient rainforests and depletion of drinkable water and breathable air. History
shows that ancient humankind always saw themselves as fundamentally intertwined
with Nature and understood that a balanced co-existence was vital for survival.
However, as humankind advanced, we have severed ourselves from this life-giving
force perceived in the rituals and symbols in the traditional world, pursuing instead an
intellectualized agenda of productivity which has had a tremendous impact on our
treatment of “Nature.” How can we begin to weave ourselves back into this delicate
fabric from which we originated to awaken an emotional and cognitive empathy for
the unique planet we call home?
Placed in the sensitive climate of Australia to frame the devastation of our
neglected planet, this Natural History Museum and Inexhaustible Energies Laboratory
also reforms the way humankind views its entanglement with Nature by creating an
interface with the cycles and processes intrinsic to Nature itself. Various historical
perspectives showing shifts in our cultural understanding of the world are embodied
in the programmatic unfolding of spaces in the attempt to weave us back into the
fabric of a living, feeling Nature through architecture and language.