Divine Intervention: Designed for Social Evolution by Integrating Natural Order

There is a long tradition in architecture of using ordering systems found in nature and science to create built space. This thesis builds upon such line of thought to propose new design methods based on ordering systems with a particular focus on social relations. It focuses on the design of a community center in the city of Atlanta which is considered as a catalyst for jumpstarting the betterment of society through improvement of social bonds, community involvement, activism, meditation, and the integration of nature in the community. The design is situated on the Bellwood Quarry site and creates an ecological balance by combining the man-made and natural environment where man and nature co-exist in a mutual symbiotic relationship neither having adverse effects on the other, and the reconstitution of public realm by finding order in the chaotic behavior of the site. The design methods aim to augment existing ordering systems based on geometrical elements with new ordering systems based on topological qualities that depict social relations. The thesis questions is it necessary to first understand order within nature, to achieve order within ourselves and the built environments that surround us; proposing that when natural ordering systems are used in a spatial context, an architecture can be created that will help enhance the socio-economic development, and place of underserved people, making architecture a direct solution to the many problems that face disadvantaged and impoverished communities today