Ecocritical Interpretation of Natural and Virtual Elements in the Residential Environment. Nature in Dwelling Spaces and its Simulacra

The transformed living space as a symptom of culture remains in regulated relation or opposition to nature. Habitation concerns living beings, humans, as well as animals and plants whose well-being requires appropriate conditions that translate into quality of life. Coexistence with nature is essential from the level of satisfying basic physiological needs to higher ones. Contemporary imitations of natural elements are enhanced by information technologies and their incarnated manifestation – the virtual space, which enables substitute solutions – the simulacra. Dwellings have become multidimensional platforms for everyday activities, combining elements of simultaneous natural and virtual worlds.

Research includes ecocritical interpretations of the natural world in architecture, exemplified by the design of a dormitory for the campus of the University of California in Santa Barbara. The aim is to indicate the direction of further development of smart residential architecture marked by modern technologies in an ecological context considering the interdependence of human and nature. The conclusions indicate that balanced natural and virtual elements are compatible but not equivalent.