Criteria: Excellent and accessible introduction to the concept of biophilic design
Key Takeaway: Recognizing the profound impact nature has on human well-being, the concept of biophilic design offers a refreshing perspective on creating spaces that seamlessly integrate natural elements into our everyday environments. Biophilic design has several benefits, from reducing stress and anxiety to enhancing concentration and creativity. With its unique three-fold categorization – direct experience of nature, indirect experience of nature, and experience of space and place – biophilic design allows educators to create learning environments that promote healthy and productive students.
Summation and Insights: Imagine sitting in a windowless cookie-cutter office, filled with fluorescent lighting and infinite cubicles; how do you feel? The feeling that such an image conjures is often dismal or even bleak, and a popular subject for comedic spoofs in pop culture, such as the film “Office Space,” or Dilbert’s comic strips. Why is it, then, that so many buildings – offices, schools, government buildings – have been designed in such an alienating way, and what is the remedy?
Enter the concept of “biophilic design.” Biophilic design is a principle that acknowledges that for thousands of years in our collective human history, human beings lived in nature and amongst the natural world, and moreover, that we are biological creatures whose well-being is directly correlated to living in more natural environments. Designing buildings and landscapes that allow us to experience nature in our human-built environments is the central principle of biophilic design, and it has been associated with a wide range of physical, mental, and behavioral benefits. Some of these empirically validated measures include: lower blood pressure, fewer symptoms of illness, enhanced recovery from illness or surgery, less stress and anxiety, enhanced attention and concentration, and improved problem-solving and creativity skill sets.
Three general principles are used in the application of biophilic design: direct experience of nature, indirect experience of nature, and experience of space and place. Some elements of design that fall into the direct experience of nature category include things like allowing for natural light and natural ventilation as well as incorporating elements such as water (for example, fountains), plants, and animals (for example, aquariums, bird feeders). The experience of interacting with animals can also be meaningfully incorporated via the use of technology such as webcams. Indirect experience of nature may include elements such as images of nature or designs that invoke nature, use of natural materials in building, biomimicry (mimicking patterns or designs found in nature), simulating natural air and light, and using natural colors (imagine, for instance, a serene ocean blue or gazing at Monet’s paintings of water lilies). An experience of space and place is aided by design elements such as organized complexity (a principle which acknowledges that human beings tend to prefer neither chaos nor stark regimentation, but rather the ability to experience complex designs in an orderly and satisfying way), transitional spaces (clear spaces that are intentionally designed to connect one space to another, such as hallways and corridors), and mobility and wayfinding (a reference to the fact that spaces designed with clear entries and exits and conducive to moving about freely and organically promote within human beings a sense of security. Conversely, spaces that lack these features can produce stress and anxiety).
All three of these general modes are reflective of a central tenet of biophilic design, which is that establishing human-produced spaces with a connection to the natural world advances people’s overall health, fitness, and well-being.
Resource: https://www.biophilic-design.com/
Year: 2015
Author: Stephen R. Kellert, Elizabeth F. Calabrese
Primary Author: Stephen R. Kellert, deceased: https://environment.yale.edu/news/article/remembering-stephen-kellert-longtime-professor-of-social-ecology;
Elizabeth F. Calabrese: https://aiau.aia.org/instructors/calabrese