Why is a body of water so magnetizing?

The lakes, beaches, and almost any outdoor activity connected to nature grounds you to spend more time at that place. I have noticed that when one goes to a plaza or outdoor mall. A public space makes a world of difference to a person’s mood to stay longer or not in that area. But, adding a water fountain in that public space makes it enticing towards a person’s mood. For example, going to a town center or plaza where the parking is in the center, and the retail stores are in the end with no public space is perceived as a chore to purchase what you need and go. Perhaps a restaurant might retain you a little. However, a mall with public space is a trip for a night outing, especially if there is a water fountain in that public space. 

Possibly, being the most primitive instinct of survival. A study for this behavior addresses that the most attractive painting for a person to possess in their homes and everywhere in the world, for that matter. It is a painting of outdoor nature with trees, a meadow, animals, a blue skyline, and the most important piece of the painting is a body of water. These instinctive survival elements can give a person a piece of mind for a moment. Yet, people are always seeking something eccentric, magical, and complex without observing what is in front of them.

As complex as the studies of the renaissances golden ratio (phi) to design the perfect geometry found with every simple shape in nature to build the crossed-shaped cathedral in Italy, one only marvelous at its complex beauty. The person praised the most in that era was Leonardo Da Vinci because he observed and studied nature at its simplicity and brought forth new ways to combine art and science. Because he trained himself as a boy. Similarly, another man in history that many refer to because of his contribution to the study of nature was Charles Darwin. He absorbed himself in examining nature. Frank Lloyd Wright was an architect that spent many hours studying nature as a young boy, making aesthetically inclined structures that could sustain any natural disaster. 

Can biomimicry perhaps be a new style or approach to architecture?

Today, some Designer pioneers like architect Neri Oxman are looking into the possibility of creating a new form to design structures with bio-mimicry. One of the most primitive and communal instincts we share is nature. So why can’t we preserve it? Why are we still predisposed to the hope that natural elements like renewable energy, bio-mimicry, bio-luminescence…etc. Will it save us from global warming? Architect Diego Romero Evens stated, “as designers, we cannot solve climate change alone nor as a firm, city or country. We need to make a diagnosis and collaborate as designers worldwide relinquishing our egos and humbly working together for a greater purpose than ourselves”.