When looking to identify the key arena in which to create the change I want to see, around behavioural change in approaches to intrinsically incorporating nature into the built environment; I needed to unpack spaces in which food is consumed. Currently my question states the arena of ‘spaces in which food is consumed’ but I feel this needed to be narrowed down and made more precise in order to be able to create lasting change in my arena. Consequently, I developed the mind map shown below to demonstrate my thinking around the most suitable arena to create my change in and to help in trying to define this arena.
Reflection/ Analysis:
The key struggles still facing my decision in narrowing down my arena for change are as follow:
Inside Vs Outside
I am still in the debate of whether my change should focus upon tackling inside or outside spaces in which food is consumed. Outside spaces are massively rising in popularity due to the restrictions imposed as a result of the pandemic. Outdoor spaces also have a more accessible link to nature due to the spaces being in the outside world; potentially making the task of intrinsically incorporating nature into these spaces easier or more seamless. But, as much as that may seem a pro for choosing outside spaces, the is an argument it is in fact a pro for choosing inside spaces, as inside spaces require more work to intrinsically incorporate nature into; thus, creating change inside may be more profound and lasting. Additionally, inside spaces in which food is consumed will most likely once again be the predominate spaces in which food is consumed after they reopen and so maybe they are the more impactful space to make change in?
Which Aspect of Hospitality?
In exploring my arena for change further, it became clear that a natural progression in the evolution of my question should be to change the vague wording of ‘spaces in which food is consumed’ to be ‘hospitality spaces’. Hospitality spaces encompasses all the areas I have been looking to address and helps to keep the scope of my research more precise and refined. However, the struggle I now face is what aspect of hospitality should I tackle to evoke change in? I have decided to work on identifying this distinction within the hospitality arena after further work with my stakeholders, so that I can identify which sector of hospitality perhaps requires change more or that I would create greater lasting and meaningful change within.
Background To Narrowing In On My Arena For Change:
My research identified that biophilic design and the incorporation of nature into spaces is being readily applied mostly (that I have discovered so far) to be in the sector of the workplace. There are multiple models and academic works looking at the application of biophilic design in the spaces of offices and workspaces to improve the wellbeing of those working in these spaces; consequently making them more productive and generating a greater profit for their employers. A selection of the key takeaways from such research can be seen in the infographics I have put together, below.
Subsequently, I decided to tackle the hospitality arena, as this seems to be a much less explored sector to intrinsically incorporating nature to improve wellbeing within. Additionally, the hospitality sector is a space I am much more interested in as I love cooking and have had a passion for discovering new foods, restaurants and spaces to visit in the hospitality sector for the majority of my life.
Biophilic Design In Hospitality
Some hospitality spaces are presenting groundbreaking models of biophilic design, one such space is the Parkroyal Collection, Marina Bay, Singapore. The hotel boasts a strong biophilic design developed by architect John Portman whilst making sensible design decisions. Some of these designs can bee seen in the images below collated form the hotel’s website and information about which can be seen in the summary taken from LinkedIn. Aspects and inspiration from this hotel can help to establish how nature can be intrinsically incorporated into other hospitality spaces.
Panpacifc (2021)”Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay, Singapore” Panpacific [Online] https://www.panpacific.com/en/hotels-and-resorts/pr-collection-marina-bay.html Accessed 19/03/21
Analysis: Key things to consider from this line of thinking are:
- How to achieve similar positives from this design at a lower cost
- Or in spaces that cannot be redesigned from scratch, so how could the design aspects be added into existing spaces to create similar benefits?
- How to measure the benefits of different aspects of the design to test their efficacy in improving wellbeing