Biophilic Design healing our earth - interview with Jojo Mehta co-founder of Stop Ecocide International

"I love this term biophilia, because it's this, in a sense, it's a love of nature in a word, isn't it? And I had this beautiful description recently of what it actually means to love something or to love someone. In very plain terms, it means to include that person or that thing's interests as one's own." Jojo Mehta, Co-founder, Stop Ecocide International.

For me Biophilic Design has the potential to heal more than just physical and mental health of people, it has the potential to help heal our earth too. If we implemented Biophilic Design in cities for instance, we can help mitigate climate change, even just by planting more trees which is a Biophilic Design solution, we increase tree canopy cover, increase biodiversity, mitigate flooding. There are many more, from creating Blue cities with cleaner rivers and waterways to planting on roofs and sides of buildings helping reduce the need to switch on air conditioning units in the summer and heating in the winter, which in turn reduces energy consumption. Also, as interior designers we specify more natural materials, reducing plastic, are more considerate of what textiles are made of and originate from.

With our global temperature reaching a danger point, we need to do all we can as designers, architects, fit out managers and anyone who works in the built environment at any point.

Today we have got the amazing Jojo Mehta with us on the podcast. Jojo is CEO and co-founder of Stop Ecocide International (SEI), the hub of the global movement to create a new international crime of ecocide to protect the Earth from the worst acts of environmental damage, a movement that is gaining significant political traction. She co-founded SEI with the visionary lawyer, Polly Higgins, who died in 2019, having devoted the final decade of her life to the cause.

We explore and put into context just WHY we need to do more as designers, seize every opportunity we can to create better environments, not just for people, but for planet too and also how Biophilic Design is an essential part of the solution.....

Is Sustainable Design achievable? There are so many designers out there creating spaces which are not only just beautiful but also sustainable and regenerative. We speak with Chloe Bullock, a renowned interior designer; through her company Materialise Interiors she helps clients who want a more consciously sourced and specified interior with sustainability and human-centred design at its heart. She is a founding signatory of “Interior Design Declares” which is a body that exists for people working in the interior design industry and its supply chains to strengthen working practices and the design of spaces that have a more positive impact on the world around us.

Chloe’s early career included 10 years working with Anita Roddick at the body shop during which time she developed the strong commitment to ethical business and sustainable design that drives the work of Materialise Interiors. Her designs focus on compassionate design, the use of healthy materials, ease of repair and the use of regenerative design principles.

We talk about many things, including her NEW BOOK Sustainable Interior Design. Listening to her speak, it’s clear why she is a popular panellist/commentator and regularly has articles in the press. In this insightful podcast Chloe explains how her principles drive her work and how important Biophilic Design is to her.

From her early days with the Body Shop and through the period of its early success, she saw how exciting it was to learn about transparency, material health and sustainability as she it became a global brand.

Experience she cites as being invaluable in defining her interior design career…. Listen to the podcast and read on.

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