Part of a joint presentation with Kristi Cook and Eti Trindade following a workshop run by the Living Future Institute, Australia.

Biophilia loosely translates to ‘love of life’ and broadly describes the inherent human affinity with natural systems and processes.

In the words of Stephen Kellert, sometimes called the godfather of biophilia; “we have evolved in adaptive response to nature, and we have an inborn need to affiliate with the natural world. That’s deeply embedded in our biology and it’s essential to our mental health and productivity and well-being, and so the challenge is how do we bring that connection into the urban context and redefine what it means to be a city and having both a built experience, a created experience, a constructed world, but also one that maintains that sense of relationship to the natural environment. … It is in our own self-interest for economic prosperity and sustainability and quality of life and health…”

Environmental movements have long sought to protect the environment and the natural world from human impact; to ensure sustainable practices in our interface with nature. Sustainable design stems from that and reminds us to design with the future in mind, using materials and practices that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Biophilic design is sustainable design’s anthropocentric and sassy younger sister. It reflects that humans are a part of nature and that we also must be sustained and supported in order to thrive and grow. “Biophilic design is about creating a better habitat for people in the modern built environment that satisfies the need for a beneficial contact with the natural world.”

Since earliest times, we have incorporated references to nature, both plant and animal into our architecture; the Sphinx of Giza, the acanthus leaves atop Corinthian columns, the work of Gaudi, the Craftsman movement, Art Nouveau; and we have incorporated natural spaces into our built form. Think, courtyard gardens, fish ponds, green walls. This desire for a connection to nature is universal. Without articulating the tenets of biophilia, villagers in Tanzania will plant flowers at the base of the walls of their mud hut; a Louis will commission the Gardens of Versailles; we intuitively look to nature for beauty, and to elevate our spirits.

Whilst we know this innately and anecdotally, scientific research also supports the inclusion of natural elements or references to natural elements into our built places, to enhance our health and well-being. When we are deprived of access to nature, that affects us in a detrimental way.

In architecture, in Australia, the NCC seeks to ensure our safety and physical needs are taken care of. Biophilic design takes the NCC, adds sustainable design, and raises it, seeking to nurture our health and well-being by tapping into our deeply ingrained love of and connection with nature and the natural world. It “articulates the relationships between nature, science, and the built environment” and defines how we can achieve that in the work that we do.

There has been steady growth in knowledge over the past decade and a half around “the intersections of neuroscience and architecture, both in research and practice”. Incorporating biophilic design into our buildings “can reduce stress, enhance creativity and clarity of thought, improve well-being and expedite healing” for that building’s occupants. Patients in hospital rooms with a view request 30% less pain medication, students exposed to daylight improve test scores by 26% and learning rates by 21%, and there is lower absentee-ism. “Improved connections to nature in the workplace can enhance worker productivity and morale, and even help recruit and retain talent”.

Vegetated spaces can improve an individual’s self-esteem and mood, while the presence of water can have a relaxing effect. Using locally available materials, climate responsive design and native plants will achieve a biophilic connection to place. Fun fact; “quality daylighting has been reported to induce more positive moods and significantly less dental decay among students attending schools with quality daylight than students attending schools with average light conditions”

Clearly, adding plants to a room has benefits to well-being, but biophilic design provides much more opportunity and instruction than that. Stephen Kellert, quoted earlier, advocated using biophilic design as a framework for the built environment, recognising that buildings can advance the health, fitness and well-being of those who use them.

He identified six Biophilic Design Elements and Attributes, they being

· Environmental features

· Natural shapes and forms

· Natural patterns and processes

· Light and space

· Place-based relationships

· Evolved human-nature relationships

Under these headings are around 70 specific items noted which share practical details on what they include. Some are direct and obvious, others more subtle and indirect.

Building on these elements and attributes, Terrapin Bright Green, a U.S. based environmental consulting and strategic planning firm, has developed a list of 14 elements, presenting as a ready-to-use design tool. This list, which they call “patterns of biophilic design” give us practical coaching on the patterns found in nature and how they might be utilised in the built environment to mitigate common stressors or enhance desirable qualities that can be applied across many sectors and scales. Any building intended for occupation will benefit from integrating these design elements and attributes and patterns, or at least the people occupying them will.

We’re talking about design that engages multiple senses and connects us to living and life. Quoting Stephen Kellert again, “biophilic design is about bringing buildings to life.”

The Living Future Institute provides a step by step approach to formulating a biophilic framework and plan towards including the design elements discussed, that nurture the innate human-nature connection. At the beginning of each project, the following questions need to be considered;

· How will the project be transformed by deliberately incorporating nature through Environmental Features, Light and Space, and Natural Shapes and Forms.

· How will the project be transformed by deliberately incorporating nature’s patterns through Natural Patterns and Processes and Evolved Human-Nature Relationships.

· How will the project be uniquely connected to the place, climate and culture through Place-Based Relationships.

· How will the project provide sufficient and frequent human-nature interactions in both the interior and exterior of the project to connect the majority of occupants with nature directly.

The plan should contain methods for tracking biophilic design at each design phase. It should also include cultural, ecological and climatic studies that thoroughly examine the site and context for the project.

In this way, we can use the Biophilic Design elements that make the most sense for this place, this purpose, and this time.

Biophilia

Presentation to Brown Falconer studio in June 2018