Healing Harmoniously through a Community-Based Ecosystem on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

Abstract

In Western and industrialized societies, cities, buildings, and industries are often more valued than the natural world. This is an unfortunate legacy of anthropocentrism. The industrial era has only exacerbated the human-nature divide, separating the human from natural rhythms by accelerating the speed and intensity of living through the use of fossil fuels, while subjecting to stress and anxiety from urbanization. Today, people look to the wilderness for inner peace that is difficult to find in a city. This project proposes a Wellness Center on Cape Breton Island designed as a community where humans, animals, and nature may coexist in harmonious relation. Using the concepts of Shared Stewardship, Two-Eyed Seeing, and Biophilic Design, this thesis looks to heal the human-nature divide through design as an ecosystem comprised of human, animal and plant communities. The program’s core elements are to learn, grow, teach, and heal in harmony with our natural surroundings.