Biophilic Design

The aesthetic that I chose to study is a combining of nature with architecture. This aesthetic is the cause for indoor house plants and larger windows with better lighting that allows the people inside to feel closer to nature. This style was initially created by a man named E.O Wilson in 1984 in a book called Biophilia, which emphasized that people are human due to their connection to nature. The aesthetic started to become a lot more popular as research began to surge and show that there was a beneficial impact for humans living or working in an environment that was more open and natural. It is not uncommon to also see this aesthetic thriving on the outside of architectural buildings as well. An extremely large and new project that is currently emerging from Saudi Arabia is called “The Line”. This project is currently underway and a wonderful example of creating buildings to allow human beings to live alongside trees and grass. This building when completed will be inspirational for the Biophilia aesthetic because it will prove that humans can incorporate nature into our lifestyles despite hostile exterior environments.

People inherently love nature and being able to live alongside it is a necessity as human industrial expanse has continued to grow at such an alarming pace. Because of this, biophilic architecture is seen as refreshing and inspiring. This type of design ranges from the size of a small room with lots of house plants to things as large as city sized projects that contain buildings that are draped with vines and trees. As countries become more affluent and people have less direct connection to nature, this aesthetic truly thrives. There are a lot of companies that specialize in accomplishing this: Ambius, Botanical Designs, Cushing Terrell, Government institutions… etc. These large players in the field pour a lot of resources into creating large buildings that cater towards humans need to be in touch with the outdoors all around the world. While these buildings inside of large cities provide residence a great escape from the concrete jungle and to come back in touch with their natural selves without having to travel too far, it is not a replacement for the true experience of being camping or traveling.

Hong Kong Biophilic Design – Curtis Lam    https://earth.org/biophilia-design-biophilic-cities-hong-kong/

The Line – Globetrender       https://globetrender.com/2022/07/27/the-line-saudi-arabia-earthscraper-city/

Biophilic Designs  –  Mahal        https://www.mahlaofficefurniture.com/single-post/2018/04/13/biophilic-design

Incorporate Biophilic Design in Any Space – Samantha Stevens            https://gbdmagazine.com/how-to-incorporate-biophilic-design/

*Intro image – https://metropolismag.com/viewpoints/what-is-and-is-not-biophilic-design/ *