Adaptive sustainable reuse of a post-industrial area with a biophilic approach: 'Green museum' evaluation applying virtual reality technology

Abstract

The population of cities around the world has been growing exponentially. Population growth, city-scale expansion, and industrial development congestion have significantly changed large regional ecosystems and patterns, resulting in increased pollutant production and affecting the city's ecological environment. People nowadays spend most of their time in man-made environments surrounded by drywall, concrete, wood, and steel. Furthermore, in industrialized countries, four-fifths of the population lives and/or works in densely populated cities. These man-made habitats significantly harm human's ability to connect with their natural surroundings. Environmental and sensory deprivation abound in these settings, resulting in a reduced human-nature relationship. It also threatens the health, survival, and quality of citizen's life. Since the tendency of urbanization to increase and the expansion of urban areas leads to a sharp drop in ecological bases, Cities need to establish a close relationship with the environment. Nature can help make sense of the environment and improve the identity and quality of the city. Mechanization has damaged nature and overshadowed cities' economic growth and development, leading to urban instability. Human beings must communicate daily with nature and protect environmental and ecological values in cities because of the mutual influence of human culture and nature on each other. Human beings are instinctively eager to connect with nature as a part of the natural world; this innate desire defines as "biophilia." While human beings define their identity through building their surrounding environment, they are also a product of the natural environment and intend to interact with nature. This study identifies biophilic design as a lost concept in improving the quality of cities through the preservation and stability of the historical context to satisfy the urban experience for humans on their nature-friendly instinct level. The unity of the three perspectives of urban life, history, human culture, and nature shows that cities do not need new constructions to improve. Instead, biophilia and sustainability not only can be rebuilt by renovating existing buildings also by reconnecting their occupants to the environment. The biophilic design shows that the connection with the environment is beneficial not only for sustainability but also for human health and happiness. What is better for the environment can be better for human beings. Observing conservation and historical stabilization methods through the lens of biophilic design creates a constant development by reconnecting to the natural world while retaining its historical character. In Chapter one, this research first begins with the introduction of the thesis, scope, objective, subject matter, methodology, research questions, and study's contributions. Qualitative research methods are used to study the applications of urban design and planning ideas in human culture and environmental interactions, including social ecology, sustainability, green architecture, biophilic design principles, landscape urbanism, and wild urban forest elements. By reviewing the documentation, gathering data, and doing literature reviews on social ecology, biophilic planning and design, and sustainable development circumstances, the theoretical framework for the study was created. Numerous urban concepts are developed and used in cities all around the world in response to these issues as well. Some of these ideas, such as including a green corridor into city textures, offering social sustainability leading designs, utilizing green cultural centers and museums for knowledge growth, and utilizing contemporary technology to build cities, are evaluated and explored in this thesis. According to these concepts, questions arise such as whether the influences of the transformation of an abandoned post-industrial area into a cultural public space with a sustainable biophilic approach on the neighborhood's quality are positive or how Green Museum contributes to the public and what green design techniques can be used in the development of green Museums, or whether the smart city tools a VR sufficient 100% and the responsiveness of smart city tools such as VR technology to the sustainability approaches. In Chapter two, the role of urban and environmental concepts such as social ecology, sustainable development, social sustainability, landscape urbanism, biophilic design, green public space, historical monuments, wild urban woodland, etc. in evaluating features of urban spaces, and also the smart city features and some of its application tools, such as Virtual Reality technology and their approach to urban design and planning, are reviewed. Furthermore, the Green Museum scheme is studied as a public green space by examining and studying similar examples and data collections. In the next step, Chapter three assigned to the evaluation of the study area and the case study named " Şişecam bottle and glass factory Group of Paşabahçe" located in Beykoz district, Istanbul, Turkey. Also, the historical background of the facility and other analyses are given for more and better perception of the case study features and situation. In Chapter four, evaluation and discussions have done on the results of the study and the proposals for adaptive reuse of the Şişecam bottle and glass factory group of Paşabahçe. Pursuing those evaluations, a trial proto-design was proposed and accomplished by a 3D digital model. Results are displayed by VR model generated in SketchUp application, and presented by panoramic Virtual Reality tool on Lumion application and VR generating Websites such as EasyVR and VRdirect, to check either the positive or negative responses of the proto-design alternative to the mentioned problems and get observed virtually without any physical presence in the actual place. The importance of VR technology in this study is to deal with concerns about the effectiveness of the Green Museum design and the inability to accurately measure the services of this space due to its immaterial and intangible. Results represent humans as parts of nature, and nature is where their instincts come from. Human culture and city planning directly impact other living things in urban environments and human-city-nature concepts are always exchanging with each other. The sustainable development paradigm as an important mutual feature in almost every concept ensures future generations' survival by ensuring the stability, and sustainability of things that must endure during the evolution of phenomena. We need to alter citizen culture to alter the structures of cities because culture is always influenced by history and nature. The finest locations for group learning in cities are museums. People can engage in group activities, mingle, and study in museums. The virtual 3D model of the green museum provides sustainability contributions and also responsiveness to the smart city features. By providing a trial proto-design 3D model of the proposal, this research aims to present an experimental and more visual and tangible space to have a better perception of the design strategies and the application of concepts and approaches used in the reuse of the recommended area. This study's results can guide designers and assist the future researches for digital and smart city developers and urban planners.