With the birth of the green design movement we saw a revitalization of many ideas and thoughts put forward by Bucky Fuller. Synergy is one word that Fuller coined to describe what he saw as the combination of elements with a system or series of interacting sub-systems to create an effect that was greater than the sum of its parts.
Holistic thinking is very similar to Synergy. The definition of Holistic or the Holon is driven by an interconnected understanding of the whole system. The whole is seen a greater than the sum of its parts. This is very different that ideas of the put forward by many scientific materialists who were criticized by many holistics for being Reductionistic which means reducing things to their essential qualities and then not reconfiguring in them in modern systems so that they reflect or even augment their natural ecological tendencies to combine and synergize with ecological systems.
Symbiosis we see in the biological form as two organisms as cooperating for mutual benefit.
Promoting Synergistic and Symbiotic Relational Patterns of Behavior
Rather than seek to create a single monolithic structure (such as is the case with Paolo Soleri’s Arcology models) EdenSpace seeks to create synergistic and symbiotic relational patternswithin buildings. These relational patterns are those that take the relations of others into account based not simply on altruism but enlightened self-interest. When we actually and truly believe the realization that we are all interrelated and part of the larger whole that defines life in the universe we see that what others achieve is not as important as how one goes about reaching their achievements. The process of existing and experiencing life and having a positive impact on others around you becomes more important than our tangible achievements.
Not only considering issues of environmental impact, landscaping and embodied energy in the design of the buildings but also to learn from nature itself —biomimicry—to design better human systems, creating a dynamic urban, social ecology. The ecological patterns in nature such as the symbiotic relationships between organisms and the closed loop recycling of resources evident in natural systems represent a pattern language that is unique to each ecosystem. Our emulation of these patterns in nature at the social, cultural, economic and political level, ensure harmony between human and natural environments.
What kind of architecture we create is determined by the social and political structures that we set up to sustain the construction of the built environment. What this implies is the social conditions that evolve from the abovementioned relational patterns of behavior are more important than the bylaws, the organizational structure and the architecture of an organization. These patterns of behavior are what eventually lead to social constructs. And how these evolving constructs are perceived by the participants are vital to the creation of an architecture that seeks to present itself as a sustainable urban archetype which is enlightened and ennobling. The term socially just has often been limited to refer to political and economic policy considerations. Yet is not the social prioritization of space and design in the built environment also related to social justice? Therefore it is stressed that any authentic architecture movement must be grounded in the principles of social justice just as we would expect of any political or economic movement that is progressively linked.
Any manifestations of the project will affirm the values and dreams of the people who participate in the project.
The people living and working in these environments will be participating actively in the design process.
Social architecture implies interconnection between the built environment and systems that underlie our socioeconomic matrix. The primary objective is to create an organizational and social reality within the project that helps to put our ideals into practical practice. If those involved in EdenSpace or those involved in a similarly focused project are able to actually create a functional (as contrasted to the dysfunctional ones that define mainstream society) "social architecture" our hypothesis is that we will be able to put theory into practice, on a level that will be unprecedented in human history. The unprecedented potential of this project we anticipate will allow us to:
Make a compelling case for a higher density, sustainable, mixed used development. Based on the belief that creatively and innovatively designed high density environments offer advantages to present low density (sprawl) environments.
Work on a practical level towards the conceptualization of value in mainstream economics.
Optimizing Organization Dynamics: Systemic Self-realization and Self-actualization
Systemic self-realization and self-actualization is dependent on personal self-realization and self-actualization. Once we begin to maximize individual potential by creating exciting, fulfilling, rewarding and stimulating environments, we can then maximize the potential of the organizations that we belong to. The rate of social transformation towards a sustainable and socially just society is of course correlative to the rate at which people become part of a social movement that is exciting and compelling to them.
The project aims to be well rounded and broad in scope. Any human habitat for it to be truly sustainable and human scale needs to develop an integrated approach to sustainable development.Therefore the subdivisions will each be integral pieces of the whole. These subsystems will interact to form an interlocking matrix with each other and the larger world.
The mantra of holistic social ecology (wondering just what social ecology is? read this by Murray Bookchin) is that the “whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” (for more on this related topic go to the Institute for Social Ecology and also the San Francisco based Institute for Urban Ecology).
Specifically in relation to EdenSpace it is important that each aspect of the project interact and interface with the others taking full advantage of the multiuse principles of ecological design/permaculture. In fact the convergence in all these terms is notable. Biomimicry is not just about learning from nature and developing technology from observing how natural systemswork, it is about learning from nature to develop the systems that will develop these technologies. Indeed for biomimicry, industrial ecology and ecological design to really transform our society and make it sustainable we need a revitalizing and humanizing social ecology; an organizational process of dynamic and iterative interactions that affirm these processes on a most basic human level. What results is an acknowledgement of systemic dynamics and a synergistic way of thinking and designing that gives the project and the larger social network that is linked to it, a comparative advantage over conventional organizations.
Social or human ecology is a way of visualizing and then creating an organic process of human interactions that is important to the social component of sustainable development. To see human relationships as part of an ecology is to see that we in society exist within a system and that this systems is complex based on the needs, aspirations and interactions among a many humans as well as the cybernetic systems of their creation. It is only by understanding the dynamics of the human struggles within the social ecology that we can create a social dynamism that can start to overcome those challenges and bring an alternative and more enlightened model to life. This human ecology is like a vast multilayered mat that covers the built environment and outlying areas of human settlement. Within this mat are nodes and connectors that create the human web of life. Within this web humans develop networks through which they interact with other humans for we are as Aristotle said social animals and with our dreams, desires, aspirations and afflictions, we need others to help us realize our goals in life, even it if is something as basic and banal as sustaining our complacency.
Social or human ecology really describes an ideal for there is a general acceptance among those who use the term that our social environments and our resulting social realities—as defined by the social architecture—are not really well suited to empowering people and creating humanizing environments in the highest and more ideal sense of the word. The result is that the vast majority of humans are not even close to living up to our potential as humans. How do we unlock this potential? A central goal of the Edenspace Project is to bring people together in a way that deals with the core social, organizational and emotional issues that keep us from the developing the structures from which to effective put our ideals into practice. With the recognition that the notion of human scale applies to more than how we design out architecture in the context of the larger built environment but relates to the way in which we interact with each other on a social level.
It is important that we consider all the issues that inhibit vibrant social contact and networking and work to resolve these issues. In Paul Hawken’s book Ecology of Commerce, what was implied was that commercial interactions should be not determine the ecology of human interactions but be determined by it. The solution people not be circumcise or circumvent the financial component of our society but civilize it, by bring people with innovative solutions together with people that have the financial resources to bring these ideas to life.
Developing linkages---this new model requires not only new networks defined by more authentic and transparent modes of operation but also a new way to link the many terms and their accompanying concepts and associated together into an interlocking matrix of evolving human consciousness. The challenge of developing an integrated approach to sustainable development is coming up with an effective way to link the complexity of our world together so that our pattern language is not simply lofty words but a way to expand our imagination so that we are more capable of developing solutions-based approach in this increasingly problem-plagued age