An interdisciplinary argument for natural morphologies in architectural design

Humans have evolved in natural environments, a process which has resulted in the development of a neural system specialized in the processing of information about the natural world (for example, plants and animals). To a certain extent, the existence of such a system can explain the perennial interest of the architectural field in applying conceptual ideas about nature to architectural theory and in integrating natural form in architecture. Yet, owing to the decreasing contact with natural form in the modern world, this system is becoming less stimulated and, ultimately, underdeveloped. A probable effect of this trend is that the architectural field will become increasingly disinterested in adopting natural morphologies. It is argued that this can lead to three interrelated types of impoverishment. These underscore the importance of integrating natural form in architectural design.