Biophilicly designed spaces recreate (at least conceptually) the features of the sorts of places where our species thrived when it was young and first taking its current form.
People in spaces crafted with an eye toward biophilic design feel good mentally and physically; their well-being is better than when they’re in places that don’t incorporate biophilic design.
Terrapin Bright Green, a design consulting firm, has revised its often-quoted Economics of Biophilia (originally published in 2012) to provide insights into biophilic design. In the book, authors Ryan, Browning, and Walker analyze material related to biophilic design in offices, schools and universities, retail settings, hospitality venues, healthcare facilities, and community spaces. The authors also review the psychological, financial, and health-related implications of biophilic design.
The authors share that their “publication argues in favor of biophilic design by examining scientific studies on the effects of nature-based experiences on human productivity, preferences, and attention … The aim of this research summary is to show the economic value of offering biophilic experiences, not as a luxury but as an investment opportunity with calculable returns.”
Here are some of the characteristics of biophilic spaces, so that you can begin to imagine how you might incorporate them into your own spaces.
- Natural light is plentiful during the day, and warmer, dimmer light prevails at night. When natural light is just not an option or needs to be supplemented, circadian lighting is installed.
- Light from warmer bulbs is lower on “horizons,” in tabletop or floor lamps, and cooler light is overhead in ceiling-mounted fixtures.
- There is an indoor plant in each view across the space (not more because of visual clutter issues; see the next point).
- A moderate amount of visual “stuff” is happening in the space; it is not visually cluttered or stark (too little to see stresses us just as much as too much). The number of colors, shapes, and patterns in view factor into the amount of visual complexity present in a space, and so does the apparent order underlying the use of those colors, patterns, etc. For user comfort and well-being, the goal is a space with medium levels of visual complexity, like a residential interior designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
- In temperate zones, windows can be opened to let in fresh air.
- Curved lines (in two dimensions) and shapes (in three dimensions) prevail.
- Natural materials, such as wood with visible grain, are in use. Materials that develop a patina (such as copper) or show gentle signs of wear (as leather can) are biophilic design staples.
- Some water is present, either in a brook seen through a window, an aquarium, or a desktop fountain. In any case, the water needs to be “friendly”—no torrential downpours reminiscent of hurricanes, for instance. A controlled fire (for example, one in a fireplace) influences what goes on in our heads just as a water feature does.
- Nature sounds, like those found in a meadow on a lovely spring day (such as burbling brooks, gently rustling leaves and grasses, and quietly singing songbirds), are present.
- Some seats feel secure (because, for example, there’s a tall plant behind them, so no one might sneak up from the rear) and have a view out over the nearby world.
- Curving paths flow through the space.
