In his 1984 book, Biophilia, American biologist Edward O Wilson described the term as humanity's "urge to affiliate with other forms of life".
This “urge” has been intuitively practised in one way or another by all of us. The promotion of biophilic design at home creates a positive and attractive atmosphere.
This is why we want to have plants in our homes, have pets for companionship and why so many retired men get protective of their Peruvian lilies.
An emphasis on nature is also a feature of an innovative design movement, which takes a lot of its influences from past architectural approaches.
Biophilic design in architecture is both ancient and thoroughly modern. Examples can be found in European cathedrals built centuries ago. At the same time there are only a small number of architects in the world consciously designing with biophilic principles in mind.
There have always been designers who were instinctively biophilic – Frank Lloyd Wright is probably the most famous example – but somehow the emphasis on designing in tandem with nature fell down the list of priorities as more functional styles grew in popularity and cost increasingly became a major factor.
"We are essentially uncovering what really good designers have been doing since the beginning of time," says Bill Browning, partner at Terrapin Bright Green, an architectural design consultancy that creates environmental strategies for corporations, governments and large-scale real estate developments.
"Think about a really good cathedral in Europe and how the impact isn't just visual. It gets you at a deep emotional level. There's a condition of mystery: you can't see all of the room so feel compelled to explore. The space is high and dramatic, but if you look at the columns, they blanch and meet across the top of the knave in biomorphic forms.
“Decorations will frequently be in fractal patterns, and dynamic lighting adds to the impact.
"These responses aren't just emotional. You can see responses gauged in the brain through FMI, and other techniques."
While a lot of contemporary architectural design centres on energy efficiency and reducing the overall footprint, the biophilic approach could be the logical next step in building design evolution.
“Green design has been good at reducing energy, water, improving air quality, which are all really important things to do,” says Browning.
“But we also need to make sure we are really maximising people’s health. In some ways this is the next evolution of green design.”
Biophilia then and now
The central difference between those who practised biophilic design in the past and those influenced by it today is motivation. In days gone by, natural forms would have been more instinctively central to architecture, as well as being fashionable.
However, hard scientific and economic arguments for biophilic design form the basis of the current trend.
"Trying to reduce the carbon footprint is the major focus of designers these days, rather than the actual experience of the design itself," says Limerick-born Joe Clancy, co-author of 14 Patterns of Biophilic Design.
“It’s ironic that you have many designers trying to reduce their impact by using eco-materials etc, when there are numerous studies showing that in environments with biophilic designs, people adopt more pro-environmental attitudes anyway.”
In a report entitled The Economics of Biophilia, commissioned by Terrapin Bright Green, examples are given of small, low-cost changes that can be made in the workplace to improve worker productivity and general well being.
According to the paper, providing employees access to plants, natural views, daylight, and other biophilic design elements in an office space “can save over $2,000 per employee per year in office costs, whereas over $93 million could be saved annually in healthcare costs as a result of providing patients with views to nature.”
Not simply aesthetics
It should be noted, however, that biophilic design is not just a case of throwing a few ferns around. “This is not simply an aesthetic thing,” says
Brian Court
from the Miller Hull Partnership architectural firm in Seattle, lead architect on the
Bullitt Center
, considered one of the most energy-efficient commercial buildings in the world. Our design approach is about really getting into the fundamentals of a building, how it operates and how that operation should mimic nature.”
In the same way a flower tracks the sun across the sky, so too could a building use exterior Venetian blinds to periodically adjust in response to sunlight. A building could respond to the quality of life.
“Why do natural organisms look the way they do?” asks Court. “Very often there are rigorous principles which underpin nature’s design. We are trying to apply the same principles.”
A biophilic building is designed from the inside out, where you organise and blend systems together so they can operate at the most efficient level. “Traditionally architects come up with a design idea for a building,” says Court. “Then engineers come along and cram their ideas into it, leading to compromise every step of the way. We’ve been doing it the wrong way for too long. Architects need to sit down with engineers and conduct an integrated design process. It’s not a game of aesthetics any more. This is about trying to design buildings responsibly.
