Biophilic Design has so many aspects to it, it is not just plants, greenery, light, colour ways, it is also about using natural materials in products, using natural materials to enhance a space and provide happiness and comfort to those using it. I spoke to the design team of AAID, Allen Architecture Interior Design, working together they created an hexagonal modular wall system made out of sustainable local and recycled materials which also employ local artisans and labour. Just as we do, each 'LINK” block relies on the one below, and can be adapted as shelves, planters, like little pods. Obviously the hexagon is an important shape in nature, just look inside a Bee Hive.
Arts in Healthcare and Beyond
Should art in hospitals and elsewhere incorporate biophilia? With the arts quite starved of funding generally incorporating visual arts into healthcare and other environments is a challenge. We speak with Victoria Hume, Director of the Culture, Health and Wellbeing Alliance to find out how the Alliance is helping broker arts into healthcare and beyond through a network of regional “champions”, building on grassroots arts programmes and building bridges to network positive creative solutions to those who need it. Her own background as a musician and arts worker is fascinating in itself, as is her work on delirium which includes composing music that address delirium.