Design strategies that can help both our overall well-being and our environment

Growing up in several different small towns in British Columbia, architectural science assistant professor Dr. Terri Peters, describes how she was fascinated by the city. As she started talking to people and seeing how they utilized their urban spaces, Peters began her architecture journey by pursuing a bachelor’s degree in the history of art and architecture.

Spending the early part of her education studying and traveling to cities including Paris and Tokyo to complete study abroad programs, Peters decided to move to London, where she worked on her graduate studies.

“I was really inspired by people and the built environment,” described Peters. “My passion for architecture was motivated by my curiosity to travel, explore and talk to people.”

Today, after receiving her professional degree in architecture at London Metropolitan University in the UK and her PhD at Aarhus Architecture School in Denmark, Peters focuses on, what she calls, “superarchitecture.” This idea looks at how living environments can be environmentally sustainable while also improving our well-being.

Often when thinking about sustainable design, we see ourselves as separate from nature. However, Peters believes that the strategies that can help us, physically, mentally, and emotionally, are the same ones that can help our environment as well.

“For example, there’s often a lot of synergies in passive strategies, for example designing a building to have great daylight. Not only is that great for peoples’ health, but it’s also great for reducing energy use for electric lighting and buildings, so incorporating nature in that way too,” said Peters. 

That’s why, in Peters’s research, she is looking to find the overlaps and relationships between approaches that are good for the environment and people. For Peters, much of that research includes measuring things that most might think are qualitative or more difficult to determine, or “supermeasurement,” as Peters calls it.

“I’m trying to quantify and bring into the conversation things that aren’t often measured, such as whether something is considered to have a good view. Anything that we value and that is important to us, we can begin to quantify,” said Peters. “You can talk to people, take measurements, look at standards and examples, ask questions and begin to understand options and ideas. By doing this, we can measure things that we don’t often take into consideration, like whether people feel motivated, happy, or inspired in a space.”

As an assistant professor, Peters describes how this role allows her to pursue questions and inspires her to find new ideas by teaching fresh minds.

“I love teaching and seeing students develop their own ideas about what’s important to them in terms of things like housing and everyday environments. I get to see them come up with new ideas and new approaches and bring their background into this,” said Peters.

“I think that’s what we need in architectural practice and the industry, this injection of new ideas and perspectives.”