Spiritual detour : the North Cascades Nature Retreat and Meditation Center

Abstract

There are three elements in the list of basic needs: food, water and shelter. Architecture would obviously fall under the category of shelter, but how does this term "shelter" describe architecture. Shelter is defined as "a shielded or safe condition; protection" (Oxford University Press 2012). And shelter, as it is used in the list of basic needs and its original intent, is shielding or protecting one from nature. While this need of protection from nature was a very real concern for people for thousands of years, many inhabitants of modern society have reached a point where the opposite is true: people need to find ways to expose themselves to nature. As of 2010, more than half of the people living in the world reside in urban areas, compared to only 13 percent in 1900 (United Nations 2005; World Health Organization 2012). And while there are many benefits that accompany an urban lifestyle (more sustainable, higher densities, easier access to cultural activities etc.), it also often results in a separation of people from the natural environment. Urban dwellers are at risk of losing a connection with nature that is not only beneficial but essential to their existence as human beings.