As populations are moving into high-density urban living conditions, everyday opportunities for people to encounter tangible and healthy experiences of nature are being diminished. This study explores the link between people and nature, and how this affects people’s lives and their connection to urban surroundings. People’s perception of nature and the importance of the bond between people and nature has been explored through a range of research techniques with the aim of understanding the boundaries that are currently disconnecting people from nature, and determining how the relationship might be acknowledged and strengthened.
Through speculative design experiments and prototyping, a series of tangible, nature experiences at different scales have been developed toward design propositions that encourage and enable people to inhabit reconnections to natural systems and processes. The design aims to bring a shift to experiencing nature at the Docklands waterfront through a series of installations, allowing high volumes of people to be provoked to encounter and potentially experience the benefits.
The installation utilised a felt made from recycled plastic bottles, collected from the local area, thus providing a sustainable solution to the nature experience.
The most important aspect of the design is its tangibility, as the connection to people’s senses creates a more memorable experience, enhancing the bond between people and nature. This is accomplished by selecting plants that are suitable for propagation from cuttings, which allows the public to engage with the plants lifecycle by interacting with the Docking Life installation.