Out In The Open

Getting back to nature need not mean trading luxury for a bare-bones log cabin. Thoughtfully designed tents, yurts, huts and treehouses offer an authentic and sustainable way to connect with the great outdoors—and yourself

- Catherine Shaw

It’s never been easier to get away from it all and be closer to nature in style, as the traditional outdoors-travel experience is redefined with a new generation of discerning, eco-conscious travellers in mind.

There is plenty of evidence that spending time in nature improves physical and mental health—benefits that are especially valued by millennials—and the travel industry is responding accordingly. Experts at the Global Wellness Summit 2019 recommended that the hotel industry considers reflecting the recent trend, which views spending time in nature as a “gold standard for wellness”.

Indeed, architects and interior designers have already started to look more closely at the value that biophilic design— “biophilia” orginates from the Greek for “love of life and the living world”—adds as nature is incorporated into the manmade environment through sustainable materials, considered construction methods and energy-efficient appliances, or by adding an eco-conscious element to their design narratives. This goes beyond just including a lot of plants: the most successful designers evoke deeply emotional elements of nature through patterns, textures, colours, furnishings and art that create the sensation of being outdoors.