BIOPHILIC DESIGN : Creating Happy Spaces

BIOPHILIC DESIGN

Have you ever noticed how you feel outside? Maybe it's a walk on the beach or through the forest. At home, or in your working environment, you can have extraordinary fun in your own garden. Even your modest pot plants can bring you joy!

This feeling is what forms the building block of Biophilia. But it's not just about how we relate to nature; it's about how contact with nature makes us happier.

This is not a trend but comes from our core.

By 2030, 60% of the world's population will live in urban environments and we are nowadays 90% of our time indoors or within the built environment.

Biophilic Design uses these ideas as principles to create a human-centered approach that when applied improves many of the spaces that we live and work in today, with numerous benefits to our health and well-being.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF BIOPHILIC DESIGN?

There have been numerous studies over the last 35 years on the benefits to the built environment through improving a connection to nature.

• Office design: productivity can be increased by 8%, rates of well-being up by 13%, increases in creativity, with reduced absenteeism and presenteeism
• Hospitality design: Guests willing to pay 23% more for rooms with views of Biophilic elements
• Education spaces: increased rates of learning 20-25%, improved test results, concentration levels and attendance, reduced impacts of ADHD
• Healthcare spaces: post-operative recovery times decreased by 8.5%, reduced pain medication by 22%
• Retail: the presence of vegetation & landscaping has been found to increase average rental rates on retail spaces with customers indicating they were willing to pay 8-12 % more for goods and services.
• Homes: can become more calming & restorative, with 7-8 % less crime attributed to areas with access to nature and can command an increase of 4-5% in property price.

In my series of BLOGS, you will learn pattern by pattern, how to achieve a Biophilic Design Interior.