Quick Guide to Biophilic Design: Nature Meets Architecture
Biophilic design is really just a fancy way to describe one of modern humanity’s most basic desires: to get back to nature. From collecting houseplants like they’re going out of style (they make the best DIY home decor, by the way) to swapping fluorescent lights for natural lighting, biophilic design is becoming ever more popular — perhaps because, like a pendulum, we can only spend so much time in artificial environments before we start to swing hard in the other direction.
You might be wondering, what is the concept of biophilic design? From the home to the office, it’s all about recreating harmony between human beings and the natural world. Although the term represents a style of architecture, biophilic design is so much more than that. Its benefits extend far beyond the aesthetic, promoting greater health and well-being for not only just us humans but the planet as well.
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What Is the Concept of Biophilic Design?
The concept of biophilic design can be traced back to the 1970s when a psychoanalyst named Erich Fromm defined the term “biophilia” as the innate attraction towards anything that is alive, from people to plants to animals to even thoughts and ideas. Since then, a number of scientists and philosophers have expounded on that hypothesis, stating that the connection with nature is a need programmed into our DNA.
Humans have relied on the natural world for survival throughout our evolutionary history, so it only makes sense that we don’t feel safe or at peace being cut off from it. We can see this play out in real-time, as people often take long walks or hikes to clear their heads in times of stress. Exploring natural wonders is also one of the main activities travelers look forward to on vacations. Essentially, biophilic design is about integrating elements of nature into modern infrastructure so we can continue to go about our daily lives in a way that satisfies our basic needs.
What Are the Main Elements of Biophilic Design?
Now that you’re familiar with the concept of biophilic design architecture, you might be wondering what it actually looks like. So, what are the main elements of biophilic design? There are six of them, all conceived by social ecologist Stephen Kellert. He created the elements because he said that while biophilic design is fairly simple to understand, actually putting it into practice can be difficult. According to Keller, having a blueprint of sorts to follow makes the principles easier to implement. These are the elements.
1. Environmental Features
The first element of biophilic design architecture is the most straightforward one. It simply refers to the integration of literal natural features, such as plants or water features like fountains, into built spaces. (Hello, better air quality!) Environmental features can also refer to views of natural landscapes and even structures that work in tandem with their surroundings — who knew ivy-covered walls served a purpose beyond just being pretty to look at?
2. Natural Patterns and Processes
Although this element of biophilic design sounds similar to the second one, the patterns referenced here are seasonal rather than physical. Humans have long related to the natural world by observing changes in animal behavior, weather patterns, geology and more, and biophilic design understands the importance of replicating these patterns in built spaces. This can be done simply by increasing visual access to the outdoors to watch the passage of time and how it changes the world around us.
3. Natural Shapes and Forms
You’ll be hard-pressed to find straight lines in nature, which explains why flowing angles and rounded edges tend to be more soothing to humans. Biophilic design also stresses the importance of simulating patterns found in the natural world, such as spirals seen in seashells and galaxies.
4. Light and Space
The health benefits of sunlight are widely known, so it should come as no surprise that light is a critical part of biophilic design. Incorporating both light and shadow mimics the sun’s movement across the sky throughout the day and promotes circadian rhythm balance. Letting in as much natural light as possible through large windows is the easiest way to achieve this, but it can also be done by dimming the lights indoors in the evening. Space, on the other hand, can be used in biophilic design structures such as breezeways to create a sense of openness and connection between the inside and outside.
5. Place-Based Relationships
Biophilic design understands that humans like to feel connected to the places where we spend most of our time because of our innate desire to control our environment. This partially explains homesickness since we typically associate home with plentiful resources and having all of our needs met. In a biophilic design house or other structure, a strong sense of connection is established through means such as using materials native to the local landscape. A log cabin is a great example of a place-based relationship. It’s constructed using resources (trees) from the surrounding environment, providing a sense of ownership over and gratitude towards the land.
6. Evolved Human-Nature Relationships
While the first five biophilic design principles are more surface-level, the last element digs a little deeper. It seeks to explain the “why” behind the concept, highlighting the most crucial aspects of humans’ relationship with nature and how to reflect them in architecture. This element is more emotive than those mentioned previously. It addresses how various attributes and situations in the natural world make us feel and how those basic emotions can be recreated through biophilic design.
For example, people have always built shelters as a refuge from the elements, so being protected from behind and overhead — whether in a treehouse or underneath an awning — satisfies our primal urge for safety and protection. A sense of mystery is also important to consider because it drives our intrigue and encourages us to keep moving and explore what else is out there. In biophilic design, this can be conveyed through partially obscured views such as those offered by winding paths.
Risk is one of the most fundamental ways humans relate to nature. It makes a lot of sense — when we lived outdoors, predators and other perils were lurking at every turn. In contrast, the structures we live, work and otherwise exist in today are designed with maximum comfort in mind. Biophilic design understands that built spaces shouldn’t feel too safe, but rather include a healthy amount of danger to foster problem-solving skills. This could look like anything from a glass-bottomed bridge over a deep canyon (let’s hope you don’t have a fear of heights!) to even simple things like stepping stones leading through a water feature that risks your feet getting wet.
What Are the Three Pillars of Biophilic Design?
You know the six elements, but what are the three pillars of biophilic design? They offer a more holistic view of the concept, with each element fitting under one of the three pillars. Whether you’re planning gifts for new homeowners or designing your own space, the pillars help you organize your thoughts and ideas.
1. Direct Experience of Nature
This pillar describes any tangible elements of nature that can be incorporated into a building, including light, air, water, fire, plants, animals, weather and natural landscapes.
2. Indirect Experience of Nature
Direct experience of nature isn’t always possible, so in its absence, simulating the natural world is a close second. This is also referred to as biomimicry. Indirect experience of nature includes things like paintings, photos and sculptures of natural landscapes, the use of natural materials like wood and stone, as well as earthy tones. Organic materials are subject to weathering and deterioration, which mimics the passage of time in natural environments and allows humans to feel less separated from the outdoors.
3. Experience of Space and Plane
Lastly, the experience of space and place improves overall well-being through the use of spatial relationships. This can look like the ease of mobility between indoors and outside, a building’s ability to offer refuge, and creating cultural attachment to a place by incorporating regional geography and history, as well as native flora and fauna, into the design.
Biophilic Design Architecture & Biophilic Design Examples
Whether you’re looking to incorporate biophilic design into your home or workplace or need home decor gifts for a nature lover in your life, there are so many different avenues you can take with it. Keep things simple by adding some greenery to your office or living room, or installing a fountain in your backyard. If you need some inspiration — or just want to admire the handiwork of talented architects — these biophilic design examples showcase how it’s implemented all over the world.
1. One Central Park — Sydney, Australia
You can’t talk about biophilic design without mentioning One Central Park in Sydney. Perhaps the most famous example of the concept, this mixed-use high-rise is covered in hanging gardens and boasts a special device that reflects sunlight. The building also utilizes a technology that recycles water for 4,000 residents and 15,000 visitors each day.
2. Singapore, Singapore
Some examples of biophilic design aren’t singular buildings, but entire cities. Referred to as a “city in a garden,” Singapore is one such place. The city is known for its tree-lined streets, numerous parks and preserves and urban nature installations like the Supertree Grove, which features over 160,000 plants. Singapore’s government also offers subsidies to businesses that include things like vegetative walls, green roofs and sky parks in their building blueprints.
3. 1 Hotels — Kauai, USA
With luxury hotels all over the world, 1 Hotels implements biophilic design as part of its dedication to sustainability. The brand’s Kauai Hotel overlooks the beautiful Hanalei Bay, affording guests serene views of the gentle waves to promote a sense of relaxation. The hotel’s interior design also incorporates natural patterns and materials, another key component of biophilic design.
4. Oslo, Norway
Over two-thirds of Oslo is protected forestland, and a further 20% of the city is reserved for green spaces. Additionally, the river Akerselva runs through the center of town where most homes are located, providing a natural water feature that promotes feelings of tranquility and contentment.
5. Bosco Verticale — Milan, Italy
A complex of two residential skyscrapers in Milan, Bosco Verticale is the poster child, as it were, for biophilic design ideas. It’s blanketed in lush greenery (about 20,000 plants, to be exact) and serves to reduce urban sprawl and create a microclimate that improves air quality, absorbs dust and carbon dioxide and converts carbon.
6. Barbican Centre — London, UK
With artificial lakes and a conservatory housing over 1,500 species of plants, the Barbican Centre, a performing arts theatre in London, is one of the most well-known examples of biophilic design. The building first opened in the 1980s as an estate.
7. Atri – Lake Vänern, Sweden
A sustainable greenhouse villa, Atri brings two key principles of biophilic design to life: natural lighting and the use of organic materials. The villa is the brainchild of Naturvillan, a company that makes self-sustaining houses.
8. Apple Park — California, USA
The headquarters of tech empire Apple, this circular building is surrounded by a vast wooded landscape and features a hollowed-out center with a park full of greenery and wildlife. Since access to nature boosts productivity according to Earth Trust, Apple Park is often seen as an example of how the future of the workplace may look.
9. Second Home Lisboa — Lisboa, Portugal
Second Home is a company that builds workspaces designed to enhance the creativity and well-being of employees, which can be achieved through biophilic design. Second Home Lisboa features over 1,000 indoor plants, allowing workers to breathe better and feel more connected to nature.
10. The Jewel — Singapore Changi Airport
A nature-themed mall and entertainment center in Singapore’s Changi Airport, The Jewel is essentially a massive indoor rainforest. It’s best known for being home to the Rain Vortex, the world’s largest indoor waterfall. This man-made wonder serves two joint purposes: it cools down the building and waters all of the lush greenery in the complex. The Jewel is truly biophilic design at its finest.
11. Fallingwater — Pennsylvania, USA
One of the most influential architects of all time and part of the Midcentury Modern movement, Frank Lloyd Wright designed over 1,000 structures during his lifetime, and Fallingwater is among the most famous. Taliesin West in Arizona is another impressive structure that uses similar elements and can be a fantastic date idea in Scottsdale if you're ever in the area.
Fallingwater is a home and museum in Pennsylvania and was built before the idea of biophilic design emerged, but it still incorporates many of the concept's principles. Since the house is perched atop a waterfall and stream, the sound of rushing water can be heard from every room, allowing visitors to feel like they’re part of the natural environment. Other aspects of biophilic design at Fallingwater include glass walls, surrounding foliage, open and transitional spaces, and the use of organic shapes, colors and materials. This structure goes to show that humans have a natural inclination to connect with nature since the term “biophilic design” hadn’t even been coined yet when it was constructed.
Biophilic Design Ideas
1. Water Features
Many biophilic design ideas include water features like fountains and waterfalls because they reduce stress while also being pretty to look at. Especially in large cities with lots of noise, water features can help people feel calmer and more connected to nature.
2. Indoor Plants
Every biophilic design house needs indoor plants. It’s one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to incorporate the concept, and you can customize your indoor garden by choosing the types of plants you want to have. Not only will your space be aesthetically pleasing, you’ll also be healthier since indoor plants have multiple health benefits.
3. Natural Lighting
Since humans spend most of their time indoors, exposure to sunlight is crucial for overall health and well-being, which is why it’s an important part of biophilic design. You can let in natural light through skylights, large windows, glass walls and more.
4. Better Ventilation
Indoor plants might improve air quality, but it’s also important to consider ventilation through operable windows and vents. They’re quieter and cheaper than mechanical ventilation, so it’s a win-win situation.
5. Increase Access to Nature
The best biophilic design examples truly integrate nature into modern civilization rather than just mimicking it. Green spaces in major cities exemplify this perfectly, and they come with a whole host of perks like better air quality and less noise pollution. According to ScienceDirect, urban parks help offset carbon emissions as well.
6. Mimic Natural Environments
It isn’t always possible to increase access to nature, so mimicking natural environments is the next best thing. This aspect of biophilic design is achieved by replicating images of nature, such as arches and botanical motifs, in architecture.
7. Use Organic Materials
Using natural materials like wood and bamboo is a great way to infuse nature into the everyday. It’s also a prime example of sustainable architecture.
At its core, biophilic design is an effort to restore balance in the world. It proves that we can leave room for nature without sacrificing productivity or giving up the creature comforts of modern life.
Biophilic design also shows that humans are happier and healthier when they aren’t cut off from the elements. We’re part of nature, after all, despite our fervent attempts to remove ourselves from it.
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