Equus as Client: A Biocentric Retreat

The foundation of the built world has been acknowledged to be based on ergonomics and the study of the human scale. For architects, this often leads to manifesting a safe, comfortable and inspiring habitat for mankind. This thesis asks what would happen to architecture and design if we shift the perspective towards animals and their natural habitat, well-being and social interactions? The horse will be used as a scalar measure for a re-thinking of architecture and space. This will lead towards re-defining a program for an equestrian facility using the horse as the scale figure, with a programmatic interest in hippo-therapy. An amalgamation of the horse, the site and the client/owner's requirements will be attempted with the horse as the front runner for design strategies. The thesis proposes to retrofit an existing ruin in France into a holistic design that provides therapy for the horses, humans and the ruins.