Biome building to stand at the middle of a £3 million research project exploring the breadth of Biophilic Design for Climate Adaptation, funded by the AHRC.
The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) has awarded funding to a four-year research project that will use the Biophilic Living building as a case study for Climate Adaptation in the built environment.
Retrofitting for the Future: Nature-Based Solutions for Climate Adaptation
The multidisciplinary project titled, Retrofitting for the Future: Nature-Based Solutions for Climate Adaptation, is bringing together academics and societal partners from a range of fields, many already at the heart of Biophilic Living, to not only ensure every reach of the project is explored, but to also adapt the way such research projects are carried out, through diversity and team leadership.
Project Partners
Swansea University, University College London, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Hacer Developments, Pobl Group, Natural Resources Wales, City and County of Swansea Council.
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UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES, Arts Council of Wales, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, the Green Infrastructure Consultancy, Hywel Dda University Health Board, Public Health Wales, Urban Foundry, Inner Development Goals, West Glamorgan Regional Partnership Board, European Federation of Green Roof and Living Wall Associations – EFB, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Blake Morgan, The Biophilic Institute, St. Helen’s Primary School, Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Bryn y Môr, Emergence, Purposeful Places, Welsh Government, Swansea Bay City Deal, Bridgman & Bridgman and Gower College Swansea
The multidisciplinary nature of the project will enable the researchers to explore the cultural, social, environmental, ecological, and economic impacts of Biophilic design as a way of tackling current issues. With a focus on the Biophilic Living building, the team will be addressing Biophilic retrofitting across six ‘braided threads’: Restoration, Experience (Lived), Performance, Adaptation, Integration, Reflection (Futuring), R.E.P.A.I.R. so each scope of the project is addressed within its own right to maximise knowledge and understanding, and subsequently strengthen the crossovers.
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Across these threads, the project explores nature-based restoration, green infrastructure, architecture, wellbeing and social needs, societal opinion, barriers in law and policy, financing, construction, user experience, and everything that comes with this, to ultimately discover what works and what doesn’t for effective climate adaptation.
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Hacer Developments will sit mainly within the Performance thread, exploring how the green infrastructure in the building performs environmentally, economically, and socially, and how we measure and communicate this, from data displays to creative writing.
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The multidisciplinary nature of the project highlights the climate issue as a multifaceted problem requiring a widespread, team effort to counteract. It affects us all. Each researcher works in their own way and has access to a different audience, enabling the presentation of findings to reach as many people as possible to inspire, educate, and evoke change.
The REPAIR project will have a presence within the Biophilic Living building ‘Biome’, once complete, to illustrate the work being done, enable public engagement, and strengthen relationships with building users.
