Biophilic design is a concept in architecture that aims to link human life with nature. It combines natural elements, light, plants and other experiences of the great outdoors into modern-day built environments. This multi-disciplinary strategy improves creativity, reduces stress levels and boosts cognitive capacity among its users.
Origin & Growth of Biophilic Design
Derived from Greek words for ‘life’ and ‘love’, biophilic design began emerging during the early 1980s as an extension of environmental psychology by placing emphasis on people-centered designs.
Ideas were largely motivated by pioneering researchers such as E.O Wilson’s theories about evolutionary biology plus Stephen Kellert’s investigations into attitudes toward nature. With basic concepts already outlined at this stage, various studies have since been conducted which continue contributing towards developing practical applications of these principles today.
O. Wilson and Stephen Kellert hypothesized that humans have an inborn yearning to establish relationships with nature and other living things.
Elements of Biophilic Design
Immediate Nature Connections
Direct links to the outdoors are imperative components of biophilic design, which contain physical elements like water, greenery, and illumination into a concept’s structure. Those natural features offer quick access for people to engage directly with their surroundings.
Indirect Nature Relationships Indirect associations take on the form of art pieces or architectural designs suggesting forms from nature itself. Examples include paintings, sculptures or structures displaying shapes inspired by the environment around us.
Human-Nature Relationship: Exploring the Benefits of Biophilic Design Connecting with nature can be beneficial to both physical and psychological health. Incorporating biophilic design elements into our surroundings has been shown to improve mood, reduce stress levels, lower blood pressure and even increase productivity!
Let’s take a closer look at how human-nature relationship factors create an environment that enables us meaningful interactions with nature – for example pathways that encourage walking or open spaces that invite social interaction.
The Enhanced Well Being That Comes With Biophilic Design
It turns out that exposure to natural elements within a built environment is really good for us! People who are exposed have reported reduced stress levels, improved cognitive function and even lower blood pressure. How incredible is it that incorporating certain features in our homes may contribute so positively towards our wellbeing?
Increased Productivity Through Workspaces Utilizing Natural Elements
We all know focusing on tasks isn’t always easy; but what if we said there was something you could do from your workspace setting which actually increases productivity? It’s true – studies show introducing things like natural light helps people stay focused as well as perform better job wise.
Who knew spending time outside could help improve work performance too?!
Environmental Sustainability
When it comes to environmental preservation, biophilic designs often favor the use of sustainable materials and are focused on energy efficiency. Doing so not only helps promote people’s health but also boosts conservation efforts.
Implementing Biophilic Design: Practical Steps
Carry Out a Site Analysis
To start off, you should conduct an exhaustive site analysis in order to figure out which natural elements can be implemented. This normally consists of an exact appraisal of regional plants, animals as well as existing structural characteristics.
Select Your Materials
Choosing your materials is essential; they must both be eco-friendly and give the feeling of being close with nature. Think about using reclaimed wood pieces, bamboo or even stone for instance!
Design Layout
The design layout should make it easy to access natural elements. For instance, if there’s a water feature in the design, paths should be set up so people are encouraged to walk around it.
Post-Implementation Review
Once the plan has been put into action, an evaluation process needs to happen to evaluate how well biophilic features worked out. Employee satisfaction levels, energy savings and other metrics can all be measured so that we get the complete picture of what kind of impact was made.
Case Studies: Examples of Successful Biophilic Design Implementations
Google’s head office, the Googleplex, includes a number of biophilic design features like living roofing on top, natural lighting and organic materials.
The same is true for Amazon’s Spheres in Seattle providing employees with an indoor rainforest setting; this shows how profitable it can be to apply biophilic designs.
Future Trends in Terms of Biophilic Designs
With climate change being talked about everywhere nowadays along with sustainability topics coming up more often than ever before, one should expect to see even bigger amounts of embracing biophilics by people.
With technology advancements such as VR or AR, we are likely soon going to have virtual versions too that will greatly affect and reach when it comes down to making use of these transformative ways of designing architecture.
What does all this mean?
Basically speaking, Biophobic design isn’t just something you hear your peers talk around water coolers anymore; rather its become a major shift away from traditional ideas towards ones environment.
By developing stronger connections between us humans & the surrounding world our wellbeing has been positively affected shown through productivity increases & conservation acts alike.
