on human experience and
improves well-being by
creating spaces that
reconnect people with nature.
Embracing natural elements and
bringing nature into your home is
a philosophy rather than a 'style'.
Biophilic design is a philosophy that
works across all design styles,
from urban minimalism to
country cottages.
BIOPHILIC DESIGN PATTERNS
Using natural shapes, patterns and materials to stimulate a sense of warmth and harmony.
Creating the experience of being in nature, supporting intuitive feelings of mystery, safety and excitement.
Pause and close your eyes.... and imagine yourself in a space where you feel happy, relaxed, and calm...
Where are you? You are probably not in the office, shop, or even in your living room...
You're probably in the woods, meadow, mountains, beach. IN NATURE... this is where we naturally feel best.
AN EVIDENCE BASED APPROACH
This all sounds great but... is it proven?
Numerous studies have been performed to establish how elements of nature in our environment benefit our health and wellbeing.
- A 2016 study in the Journal of Indoor Environment and Health on carbon dioxide and cognitive performance found that even a moderate amounts of stale air was linked with participants being drowsy and giving fewer correct answers in cognitive tests.
- A study in the US on workers in offices which had either the average level of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and ventilation or the low level of VOCs and high level of ventilation (which is required by certified green buildings) found huge differences in cognitive performance. The participants in the green offices performed an astounding 101% better than the control group!
- A study in the Journal of Environment and Behaviour found a group of children exposed to chronic low-level noise had significantly worse memory recognition scores than a control group.
- The report Learning Spaces cites a year-long study of 2,000 classrooms by the Heschong Mahone Group, which found that: “Students in classrooms with daylight improved 20 percent faster in math scores and 26 percent in reading scores.”
- A study by the American Society for Horticultural Science compared the students’ subjective evaluation in two otherwise identical classrooms, one of which included tropical plants. The students in the class with plants rated both their course and their lecturer more favourably and said they felt more engaged*.
- A report by Human Spaces states: “Research shows that optimising exposure to daylight alone can improve school attendance by an average of 3.5 days/year and test scores by 5-14% while increasing the speed of learning by 20-26%. Trials have found that plants in classrooms can lead to improved performance in spelling, mathematics and science of 10-14%.”
- A 2016 study carried out by the Harvard School of Public Health and the State University of New York (SUNY) Upstate Medical University found that those working in green-certified buildings had 26% higher cognitive function test scores than those in similarly high-performing buildings that were not green-certified. Moreover, green-certified building workers had 73% higher crisis-response scores; 44% higher applied activity levels and 38% higher focused activity level scores.
- A review of patient records in the US showed those in a room with a view of a natural setting had shorter post-operative hospital stays, received fewer negative evaluative comments in nurses’ notes and took fewer analgesics than those whose view faced an urban setting.
- A 2014 study researching Japanese ‘forest bathing’ revealed indoor stimulations of a natural environment decreased subjects’ blood pressure and pulse rate and induced a physiological relaxation effect. Researchers used olfactory, auditory and tactile stimulation to replicate a natural setting.
- A University of Illinois study found children with ADHD concentrated better after a 20-minute walk in a park compared with a 20-minute walk in a ‘well-kept urban setting.’
- A 1992 study from Sweden compared students in classrooms with windows and students studying under only florescent lights. They found that students without daylight produced less of a hormone that helps the body deal with stress and infection.