ABSTRACT
Introduction: Architecture and the Forest Aesthetic
The spaces that humans inhabit have been dependent on the forest for balancing the atmospheric and climatic conditions necessary for humans to thrive. That humans prefer the forested landscape to most other kinds may reflect awareness of the importance of the forest for survival. With this in mind, designers of urban space on the smallest to the largest scale may be inspired by the archetypes and metaphors derived from the forest. The forest aesthetic calls designers to the forest as a model for urban spaces with permeable floors, protective canopies, connected food chains, beneficial decomposition, and resilient ecologies.
Introduction: Case Study Projects and Design Taxonomy
This essay outlines the geographic scope of the seven primary case study essays and supplemental short snapshot case study essays. The case study projects fit within the traditions and climate conditions in the temperate forest terrestrial biome. Together the case studies yield a taxonomy of design tactic terms that define forest aesthetic. Each essay has an associated design tactic that is listed as a different approach to architectural and urban design practice and theory.
