In December we posted about the design-oriented microbiome course that doctoral candidate Gwynne Mhuireach would be teaching in the winter term. Students in the course were tasked to do a design charrette (short duration intense design exercise) for their final, in order to solve specific problems related to creating “healthier” built environment microbiomes.
Below is an example of what one Landscape Architecture undergraduate student came up with to improve typical apartment units, which are frequently closed off from the outdoors. This particular student inverted the relationship between the apartment units and their garden/yard, using ancient Roman courtyard homes as a precedent. The idea was to create a safe, sheltered, and unpolluted interior green space that would entice residents to open up their doors and windows for natural ventilation, while also increasing social interaction.
