Biophilic design

Beyond the buzzword, biophilic design may just be the key to a healthier, happier home. Here’s what it means and how to use it when designing your house

- NICK ROBBINS AND HUGH METCALF

Biophilic design has become a bit of a buzzword for architects and designers in recent times, but while the principles of biophilic design can offer benefits to your home environment, these concepts can easily feel out of reach for the everyday self-builder or renovator.

Yet, to a certain degree, biophilic design is evident in a great many homes already — perhaps without the owners or designers even realising.

WHAT IS BIOPHILIC DESIGN?

The origins of biophilic design can be traced back to American biologist and theorist Edward O Wilson, who popularised the term ‘biophilia’ (meaning a love of nature) in his 1984 book of the same name.

In the book, Wilson argued that humans benefit from being in close contact with nature, and suffer when excluded from it. He realised that as humans rushed to live in urban spaces towards the end of the 20th century, they were becoming increasingly divorced from the natural world, which was having a detrimental impact on their health.

In architectural terms, it’s generally considered to be the idea of fusing design with natural elements to bestow wellbeing benefits.

Roger S Ulrich’s 1984 study is considered a major milestone in biophilic design, as it provided objective proof that the environment can affect health. Ulrich found that patients recuperating from gall bladder surgery in a room with outside views had shorter post-operative stays and took less pain relief medication than patients recovering from the same surgery in rooms with views of a brick wall.