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Medium-Density Housing Designed to Conserve and Regenerate Native Biodiversity in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand

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Thesis(208.9 MB)

Date

2024

Authors

Du Preez, Robyn Kay

Supervisor

Pedersen Zari, Maibritt
Bloomfield, Sibyl

Item type

Thesis

Degree name

Master of Architecture (Professional)

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Publisher

Auckland University of Technology

Abstract

How homes are designed has changed through the centuries. Design drivers rotate through a hierarchy of form, function, and aesthetic. Houses are designed and built separately from the natural environment and in most cases create a physical divide between the two. Thus, houses are built in a way that disconnects us from the outdoors and encourages us to time spent inside. New developments tend to be human-centric designs that push the non-human out, leaving biodiversity without habitat and ecosystems degraded. The humans in these developments suffer from a lack of exposure to nature and its biophilic benefits. The disconnect of humans from the natural environment means people can not see the damage they are doing to their ecosystems. There is a gap in knowledge on how to design residential housing that increases biodiversity. To successfully design medium-density houses that regenerate and conserve biodiversity, the relationship between humans and nature needs to be examined and repaired. This places humans back into their ecosystems and removes the nature-human binary so they can see how their actions have repercussions on their ecosystems and thereby rejuvenating human's roles in conservation may be key. This thesis explores how houses can be designed to shift human’s connection to their ecosystems while tangibly supporting the capacity of biodiversity, specifically birds, to thrive in urban settings. This knowledge pushes built environment designers to acknowledge their role in biodiversity loss and provides a framework for designing a biodiverse future more effectively, through the medium of architectural design.

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Permanent link

http://hdl.handle.net/10292/18698

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Masters Theses