Healing Village: Implementing Biomimicry, Natural Architecture to Promote Sustainability in Healthcare

Abstract

Sustainability in healthcare is essential to have many beneficial outcomes. Healing Village is a healthcare project in Tehran, Iran which is designed not only for the patients to have better healing experience, but also for all people living in the surrounding community. Healing Village aims to spread long-term health and wellbeing through biomimicry and sustainable natural architecture. In this redesign process, the researchers present a new healthcare center completely adaptive with its surrounding environment. This center would produce and consume based on its resources and needs. Analyses of the surrounding neighborhoods and the climate reveal challenging issues like air pollution, as well as other characteristics the project such as its limitations, weaknesses, and strengths. The function of the hospital in the Healing Village is considered as a prospective example of biomimetic architecture operating similar to natural organisms that create a living structure which is transforming, breathable, and self-cleaning to protect the indoor building and help users reach better outcomes. The biomimicry and natural architecture methods make Healing Village a good example of well-being for the city of Tehran and could be used as a model for other polluted cities in the world.