Designing Space for Well-being / by Admin

What is Biophilic Design?

Biophilia is a concept first coined by Erich Fromm, a German-American social psychologist. It is later promoted by E. O. Wilson, an American biologist and naturalist. Biophilic design is an architectural design practice that connects building users to the natural environment for improving occupants' health, well-being, and even productivity.

It's not just about bringing a lot of greenery into a building, but rather focuses on the deep connection among people, climate, and culture.

What is Neuroaesthetics?

The term was coined by Semir Zeki in 1999 in his publication named "Inner Vision: an exploration of art and the brain." It is a recent inter-discipline and study field that explores neuroscience to understand aesthetic experiences on the neurological level. It combines principles from neuroscience, psychology, and aesthetics to discover why we find certain objects, patterns, or experiences aesthetically pleasing. 

How can Design Knowledge from Biophilia and Neuroaesthetics help projects gain LEED certifications?

The concept of biophilic design is embedded in several LEED standards. Such as

 
 

Who has the leading voice of biophilic design?

Living Future Institute, a nonprofit organization in Portland, and Terrapin Bright Green, a sustainability consulting firm in New York, are currently the leading voices of biophilic designs. They have established consistent cases and projects for the publics who are interested in learning biophilic designs.

What are the biophilic design principles?

Since human sense and experience is a fairly objective topic, so far there is no quantifiable standard in the industry. However, among the experts, they all agree that bringing nature into space and designing the space to induce human innate nostalgia for nature are the fundamental principles of Biophilic design.

The design criteria the Living Future Institute promotes are:

  • Natural Pattern and Processes

  • Environmental Features

  • Light and Space

  • Place-Based Relationship

  • Evolved Human-Nature Relationships

The design criteria that Terrapin Bright Green implements are the 15 Biophilic design patterns:

 
 

What are the challenges of implementing Biophilic Design?

Before construction, placing the unit according to the sun's orientation and arranging air, water, and other features based on the space's program would be a good start to implementing biophilic design into a project. However, challenges might arise due to the phase of the project or based on the occupants' lifestyle. If clients bring the consultant on board after the project has been built, it could be limited to introducing some biophilic design elements. The design also has wide variability due to the occupants' lifestyles. For example, if a client travels extensively and rarely stays at home, it would be pointless to plant vegetation in the space. If a client's work requires extended shifts in the late evening, it would be more useful to help the client select a better lighting fixture instead of creating a quality view.

 What's Next?

"The future of medicine is in the homes."  -Dr. Douglas Wood from Mayo Clinic

Le Corbusier once said, "A house is a machine for living in", which emphasizes that a house needs to function efficiently to meet the inhabitant's needs, program, and comfort. A hundred years later, his influential manifesto seems to be amended by Dr. Wood, for the reason that "being healthy and well" has become part of a house's essential function.  

Whether you've implemented biophilic design principles in the past or you're just about to invest in biophilic design for your health and well-being. WELL building standard v2 could be the next step to scale up your house's wellness function as a whole. It is a more comprehensive approach, starting from choosing the site and community to access the essential on-demand and health services. You could learn more about WELL v2 here, and check how many WELL knowledge you have already learned here.  

Notes and references: