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How the Construction Industry Can Help Make Biophilic Design More Popularized

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How the Construction Industry Can Help Make Biophilic Design More Popularized

A greater global emphasis on sustainability has caused biophilic design to gain mainstream attention, but the construction industry also has a part to play. Here’s how construction professionals can help take biophilic design’s popularity to the next level.

High-Profile Biophilic Projects

The simplest way the construction industry can popularize biophilic design is by exposing it to more people. Most of the population lives in big cities, so these locations are the most practical places to start. Greenifying our urban centres will improve the quality of life and give city dwellers a much-needed dose of nature.

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Pioneering Research study aims to prove The Value of Biophilic Design in the workplace.

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Pioneering Research study aims to prove The Value of Biophilic Design in the workplace.

Biophilic Design - the use of plants in providing cleaner air and connecting us with nature, coupled with natural light, certain colours, acoustics, and fragrances - has long been proven to have a positive effect on both mental and physical well-being. For over 25 years, expert horticulturalists Benholm Group have pioneered the use of plants for interiors, not only as an eye-catching focal point, but also to promote the natural health benefits that being surrounded by plants can bring.

This concept has now been brought to the forefront of a new research study led by Sustainability Lead at House of Commons + PhD Researcher, Joyce Chan-Schoof to question if we can apply a social and economic value to biophilic design.

Can biophilic design add value to the workplace - not only through improving air quality and aesthetics, but can it have a tangible impact on employee productivity, retention, absenteeism, satisfaction, engagements and up-skilling?

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How Biophilic Design creates Sustainable Environments

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How Biophilic Design creates Sustainable Environments

Connecting to the environment makes people feel more relaxed in their homes and workplaces. Incorporating nature indoors has become increasingly popular after the pandemic, we are seeing more people decorating their homes with plants and natural materials. The Biophilic Design concept can create a unique look and is excellent for the environment.

Here are some ways biophilic design creates a sustainable space.

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What are the Benefits of Biophilic Design on Healing?

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What are the Benefits of Biophilic Design on Healing?

Biophilic design can introduce better healing with natural elements and an improved look. Incorporating it in hospitals and doctors' offices could give patients more benefits than you would expect.

How can biophilic design help a patient’s healing process? Many studies have proven the positive effects of nature on the human mind. However, with modern interior design and increased times in the workplace, getting time outdoors can be challenging. Biophilic design can do a lot to increase patient and physician health. Here’s a look at some of the benefits and how to start introducing them into your facility.

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Healthy Home - Pop up Biophilic Design inspiration

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Healthy Home - Pop up Biophilic Design inspiration

Westfield London is launching a biophilic-designed home pop-up called ‘Healthy Home’, with renowned sustainable and wellbeing designer Oliver Heath, working with a range of home and interior brands to curate an exclusive collection inspired by biophilia. Visitors to the pop-up, which will be live between 19th to 22nd May, will be able to discover the benefits of biophilic design and how to transform their own homes into mindful and restorative spaces through clever designs that focus on various approaches, ranging from sensory design to supporting biodiversity.

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Space and Nature are a Need, not a Luxury

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Space and Nature are a Need, not a Luxury

From Edible bus-stops to pocket parks and Roof gardens on the tops of London Banks, journalist Hartley Milner takes us on a trip around the UK and London highlighting the difference nature has made to spaces, and how clever and heart-felt use of Nature in Design has transformed lives.

Read on for not only some interesting statistics but also there is a compelling interview with the architect of the beautiful and inspiring Maggie’s Cancer Care centre in Southampton.

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‘Biophilic Design in the Home’ – a new online course from the Oliver Heath Design School

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‘Biophilic Design in the Home’ – a new online course from the Oliver Heath Design School

Have you ever wanted to really ground yourself in Biophilic Design?

We have teamed up with Oliver Heath to give you 10% off their level 2 course. ‘Biophilic Design in the Home’ is perfect for anyone who wants to learn more about Biophilic Design, whether you’re a designer looking to add another string to your bow or are simply interested in helping yourself and others feel happier and healthier..

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The Ancient & The Modern: Luminous Spaces Biophilic Design

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The Ancient & The Modern: Luminous Spaces Biophilic Design

I became aware of the topic of biophilic design in 2008 through an online presentation by Stephen Kellert, former Professor Emeritus of Social Ecology & Senior Research Scholar, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies at Yale University.

I immediately recognized a kinship between my work in feng shui and this new discipline and have dedicated the last decade to studying and, eventually earned a certificate in biophilic design from the International Living Future Institute earlier this year. (See my earlier post on The Intersection of Feng Shui & Biophilic Design)…

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The Intersection between Feng Shui and Biophilic Design

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The Intersection between Feng Shui and Biophilic Design

Feng shui is an intuitive art that has been practiced for thousands of years. It was built on the observation of nature, common sense, and gut instinct and was used to locate the optimal places for survival. But today, the primary goal is to enhance success in life. Feng shui is a language of metaphor that requires attention to the feel of spaces.

On the other hand, biophilic design was developed in reaction to our modern, technology-driven lives. It is based on researchthat shows access to nature and natural elements decreases stress and improves our feeling of wellbeing.

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Biophilia, Five Elements and Wabi Sabi

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Biophilia, Five Elements and Wabi Sabi

Biophilia finds its way in most of my projects

It is only recently I asked myself the question “Why is it that everything I do encompasses biophilia in one way or another?

I do “Interiors with a Purpose” - mostly for workspaces - and I always invite nature into the spaces I create. It’s the most obvious way to create an environment that thrives and engenders wellbeing I believe.

It worries me whenever I see an office environment in a bad state. Of course, I like designer furniture, art ,etc. But even more I appreciate when people make an effort - when you feel that the surroundings have been taken good care of and you feel a good atmosphere. The best atmosphere is when nature is present. Humans have an innate tendency to seek connections with nature…

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We Are Who We Were

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We Are Who We Were

Many things have changed for humans since their early days as a species—how excited do you think early Homo sapiens would have been by heating, air conditioning and weather tight structures to install them in, for example?

Not everything is different, however. We still have fundamentally the same brains as the first creatures we would recognize as “one of us.” That means we process and respond to the basic sensory inputs we see, hear, feel, taste, and smell today as our earliest human ancestors did….

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Epigenetics - Why our hospitals need to look and feel more natural

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Epigenetics - Why our hospitals need to look and feel more natural

Epigenetics - Why our hospitals need to look and feel more natural. ‘Epigenetics’ is a recently established pillar of biomedicine, it examines how environmental signals control the health of our cells. the opposite of the placebo effect, the nocebo effect, which, simply put, says negative thoughts create sickness. If you believe the power of the placebo effect, think about how important it is to not fall into the nocebo effect, driven by negative thinking. This may worry many, as psychologists say that 70-80% of the average person’s thoughts are negative ones. So, coming back to the fear of being in hospital…

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Biophilic Design for the Workplace

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Biophilic Design for the Workplace

The benefits of biophilia are increasingly being accepted by workplace designers and managers as not only adding to the visual attractiveness of a workspace, but also by enhancing the wellbeing and happiness of its staff and visitors. We all know that this in turn results in increased productivity, creativity, attendance rates, stress levels and fatigue, and ultimately increased workplace performance. Read more…

Changing the World? Don't Forget Nature

Changing the World? Don't Forget Nature

What happens if you try to change the world and you’re successful?” asked William Keyes Rudolph, introducing a touring exhibition entitled Victorian Radicals*.

The answer, where interiors are concerned, illustrates the Law of Unintended Consequences. It arises from nothing more complicated than the geometry of walls….

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