An exhibition that aims to inspire Bath’s future as a sustainable and climate-resilient city is to be staged at the recently reopened Museum of Bath Architecture.
Called ‘Biophilic Bath – The Green City You See’, the exhibition will feature designs by innovative architects, engineers and designers, which show future ‘biophilic’ visions of the city.
Biophilic design focuses on aspects of the natural world “that have contributed to human health and productivity in the age-old struggle to be fit and survive”.
Museum owner Bath Preservation Trust (BPT), the organisation that promotes the celebration of the city’s history and heritage, said the exhibition would present a variety of radical ideas aimed at “intriguing, delighting, energising and inspiring” visitors.
BPT CEO Alex Sherman said developers are being required to increase the biodiversity of their sites by 10% under the new biodiversity net gain legislation, so city greening and sustainability were priorities now – not just in the future.
“Through this exhibition we hope to demonstrate how urban areas within the city of Bath World Heritage Site could be complemented by biodiverse and biophilic public realm and the value this has to the future health and wellbeing of the city and its citizens,” he added.
BPT sustainability and design manager Joanna Robinson added: “We are really excited to bring the creative visions of some of the area’s talented designers to the Museum of Bath Architecture [pictured above].
“Each of these imaginative site-specific biophilic design responses includes direct or indirect experiences of nature, incorporates low carbon materials and urban greening and nurtures the love of Bath and its unique landscape setting.”
She said one of our core objectives at BPT was to promote a sustainable future for the city.
“We hope that this new exhibition will get people thinking and talking about a new consciousness towards restorative, habitat-friendly urban design for people and nature,” she added.
The exhibition runs from 10 July to September.
Opening times at the Museum of Bath Architecture, which reopened on 30 March after a four-year closure in The Countess of Huntingdon’s Chapel on The Paragon, are 10am-4pm from Wednesday to Saturday.
As part of the re-opening, the public is being asked to contribute to ideas towards the museum’s future. This will ensure the collection remains relevant and the building is sustainable for current and future users.
The BTP also owns No.1 Royal Crescent, the Herschel Museum of Astronomy and Beckford’s Tower, which is due to reopen this summer.
For more information about the Museum of Bath Architecture, visit https://museumofbatharchitecture.org.uk/
