What is Biophilic Design and What Are the Benefits of Biophilic Designs?

How does your home make you feel? If it’s not making you feel great, you should consider some Biophilic design has become increasingly popular in recent years, and it’s easy to see why: it improves your health and productivity at work, gives you more control over your environment, and makes your space feel more comfortable than ever before. Biophilic Design techniques to breathe new life into your living space.

Check out this overview of what biophilic design is and why you should care about it!

What is Biophilic Design?

A biophilic design, also known as biophilia, is a contemporary approach to designing spaces that are meant to bring a connection between humans and nature.

Examples of biophilic designs include designing buildings that have windows overlooking green landscapes, or landscaping parks in urban areas. Many of these designs can be seen as an answer to health problems that are caused by spending long periods indoors away from nature.

Indoor natural light has been proven to decrease stress levels by providing a pleasant environment for activities such as reading or working on a computer. Natural elements in indoor environments help with concentration and productivity, while simultaneously decreasing feelings of stress and anxiety.

The practice of biophilic design encourages people to spend more time outdoors by bringing nature into their daily lives through interior decoration. This type of interior decorating can range from choosing furniture made out of sustainable wood instead of plastic or metal to installing plants inside your home or office building.

There are many benefits associated with incorporating biophilic designs into your home or workspace including increased productivity, decreased stress levels, increased attention span, and memory retention among others.

The term biophilia was coined by biologist E.O. Wilson to refer to a person’s innate attraction to nature and living systems, but the biophilic design (the science of applying these principles) suggests that there are practical benefits of tapping into our natural affinity for plants and ecosystems.

In fact, bringing nature indoors can help reduce stress levels, improve concentration, boost productivity, increase worker health and happiness—even lower your company’s carbon footprint!

In biophilic design, four environmental elements can be used to help elicit a calming response from humans.

First, colors with an orange or red hue promote feelings of warmth, making people feel at ease in these environments.

Second, high ceilings invoke feelings of grandeur which may cause users to feel as though they are part of something greater than themselves.

Third, sounds like running water increase relaxation because humans have relied on natural sources for freshwater since prehistoric times. In a biophilic environment like a workplace break room with running water, users can calm down while filling up their drinking containers and using washrooms.

Health Benefits of a Biophilic Design

Living in a space that feels alive with life has some major benefits, not only for us as people but also for our environment. A biophilic design can help reduce stress levels, increase focus, and improve attention spans and it even makes your physical health better too. Being surrounded by nature isn’t just good for your brain; it’s good for your body too!

There are even studies out there showing how being close to green spaces can drastically improve immune systems! That’s right, be around nature to stay healthy and happy! Not only will you feel better when you live in a biophiliacal place; but it will actually contribute to longer life expectancy.

Another great thing about living in a biophilic designed home or office is that it reduces air pollution.

Reducing air pollution can save lives and make everyone healthier! Studies have shown that plants can remove up to 87% of volatile organic compounds from indoor air, making them an essential part of any biophilic design.

In fact, NASA conducted an experiment on their employees who were divided into two groups: one group had access to plants while another didn’t. The group with access to plants showed less stress and more energy, and they were happier overall! So get those plants because they are seriously important!

In Summary

While a biophilic design may seem like a passing fad, there are good reasons to make sure your workspace pays attention to health. Today’s businesses want to attract top talent and encourage productivity—and they’re also under pressure to reduce their environmental footprint.

At its core, biophilic design is an application of common sense—if something looks natural or familiar, it will make us feel better, more focused, and more energized. And that translates into fewer sick days for employees, higher productivity for all, and fewer dollars spent on health problems. That seems like a pretty good return on investment. So consider how biomimicry might help your business keep its balance in uncertain times.