What is EnviroHacking

When we initially tabled the concept of EnviroHacking, we didn't anticipate it sparking such a whirlwind of discussions, speaking engagements, interviews, and inquiries about its origins, meaning, and legitimacy. Recognising this, we feel it's high time to provide a concise summary and overview of recent discussions and fundamental principles.

EnviroHacking in a sense could be seen as the ultimate mash-up of biohacking and environmental design, completely flipping the script on how we understand and shape our environments for better health and well-being.

In the biohacking scene, the lightning-fast pace of medical advancements has left doctors playing catch-up. In the 50's, the body of medical knowledge doubled every 50 years. In 2017, it sped up to doubling every 2 years. Today, it doubles every 73 days. This, combined with the fact that this knowledge is now freely available to all, has given the birth to citizen scientists or DIY biologists. Armed with basic know-how and driven by curiosity, they are shaking up the traditional medical landscape. Fundamental disruption, almost always, comes from the outside. This shift has seen the rise of biohacking hubs all over the world, where doctors and scientists team up with the everyday folks to blaze new trails in healthcare.

Meanwhile, in the world of architecture and design, with an aid of AI, ML and popular design apps, this popular hacking culture - we refer to as EnviroHacking - has also spilled into design. Design has been democratised. We're all designers now, and this creative explosion should be celebrated, not stifled. Additionally, the traditional rules are further being rewritten, thanks to insights from the Neuroscience. With wearable devices and cutting-edge science, we're now finally getting a grip on how our environments affect us, positively and negatively, help us or harm us. This newfound knowledge is core to the principles of “NeuroArchitecture," where neuroscientists are of late in fact calling for the built environment to become a matter of Public Health.

By weaving neuroscience, or at least the findings of it, into our search for answers, we will collectively trail-blaze new and exciting evidence based design rules or hacks if you will, towards environmental typologies that will nurture healing, amplify our abilities, and hopefully lead to a longer and more meaningful existence. From the grassroots efforts of Citizen Designers to the top-down guidance of scientists and architects.

To this end EnviroHacking can simply be summarised as the conscious manipulation of our built environment in order to improve our abilities and the quality of our lives.