Journal of biophilic design - articles, research, podcasts, videos on biophilia
London’s iconic Barbican conservatory couldn’t have been more fitting for a conference dedicated to the immense benefits of a world designed with biophilic principles. Visionaries, designers, architects, lawyers, academics, entrepreneurs, advocates and professionals across various walks in life, came together to share their perspectives for one full day in a series of talks.
Did you know that every year, millions of people turn off their energy use all around the globe for an hour.
“Earth Hour is moment of unity that brings the world together, shines a spotlight on nature loss and the climate crisis, and inspires millions more to act and advocate for urgent change. Each year, we work together to turn a single Earth Hour into thousands and millions of hours of action for our one shared home.”
I’d like to invite you to do the same. Switch off and Give an hour for Earth on Saturday, March 23rd at 8:30 pm your local time. Together, let's create the Biggest Hour for Earth!
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.
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..
You may have heard of the “sick building syndrome” where the actual building we live and work in is making us sick. There are a mass of chemicals that are hidden in the paint we use, the cushions and chairs we sit on, the clothes we wear, the carpets we walk on… it can cause everything from coughs, allergies, skin problems, dry eyes, right down to cancers and inflammatory diseases of the respiratory tract.
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.
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…
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….
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…
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…
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….
Croner-i published an article announcing the launch of the new UK Association formed to promote hearing conservation in the UK. The UK Hearing Conservation Association (HCA) claims that current noise risk at work management programmes are not working, and that improvements are needed in several key areas.
We are particularly interested in that their focus will be on preventable causes of hearing loss and hearing health impact “through common sense, cost effective, evidenced solutions”.
70 million working days are lost each year due to mental ill-health, costing Britain £70-£100 billion, according to the Mental Health Foundation, with a 24% increase to the number of working days lost in the past 6 years the number of working days due to stress, depression and anxiety. How do we improve this? The solution is closer and cheaper than you think…
“Rethinking the intensive care environment: considering nature in nursing practice” is an excellent paper by Claire Minton, MN, RN, Lesley Batten, PhD, RN, it “explores evidence related to the negative impacts of the intensive care unit environment on patient outcomes and explores the potential counteracting benefits of ‘nature-based’ nursing interventions as a way to improve care outcomes.”…
A fascinating report in HERD: Health Environments Research and Design Journal, reports results of research studying the influence of nature stimulus in enhancing the birth experience.
“These findings support the study hypothesis which states that the nature images would influence the labor experience positively. In addition, the findings emphasize the importance of incorporating non-pharmacological techniques in the labor and delivery room (LDR) units to soothe the pain. Adding nature imagery to the LDR environment can be one of these techniques.”
What would you rather stare at, flappy A4 photocopies, manky laminated words, nothing visually attractive. Would you create your home like this? Making an environment pleasant for all of us, whether Doctors or Patients should be important. Psychology and positive feelings engender healing and recovery. That’s not rocket science and is generally accepted. So what if there is an affordable solution that would help accelerate healing and bed space? Interesting, no?
We developed our biophilic range of fine art so it can support the wellness movement and help improve the lives of workers, patients and families. Our Hyper-Real print range is water-proof and fire-retardant and can go anywhere from surgery to recovery room, board-room to nursery, wet-room to a living wall.
While ideally one would install natural light, plants, waterfalls within a hospital environment, of course it is not practical in buildings already designed and built. Often there are no windows in rooms, or recovery rooms are soulless places, missing something natural. Hospitals and healthcare spaces are sterile environments for health reasons and so they should be, one advantage of installing Argenta-Wellness imagery into any recovery room, surgery, waiting rooms, A and E, Isolation rooms is that they can be cleaned with detergent (they are waterproof and fireproof). You can even install them in wet rooms to create a feeling of wellness as patients are washing, bringing a spa feeling to an otherwise unlikely environment. So also there are no concerns for an increase in maintenance costs, as they can be cleaned and wiped as part of the usual clean-up procedures.
Bringing the outdoors in can enhance the wellbeing of staff and patients alike, encouraging staff retention and happiness, and recovery for patients freeing up beds.
