@Oliver _Heath @human_spaces Biophilic Design – How improving the human connection with nature in the workplace benefits the triple bottom line
Biophilic Design – How improving the human connection with nature in the workplace benefits the triple bottom line
Apr 15, 2017
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@Oliver _Heath @human_spaces
Biophilic Design – How improving the human connection with nature in the workplace benefits the triple bottom line
Introduction and Concepts Biophilic Design: Why now?
• Stress related illness primary cause of sickness by 2020• In 2015/16 stress accounted for 37% of all work related ill
health cases and 45% of all working days lost due to ill health.• Total working days lost due to stress in ‘15/’16 - 11.7 m days• 90% of UK now urbanised – up from 79% in 1950’s• We spend 90% of our time indoors• 93% of U.K. adults have smart technology 1/3 admit to
checking smart phones in the middle of the night.• Yet when we choose to go on holiday we choose to surround
ourselves in nature: forests, mountains and beaches.
BiophiliaBiophilia – The innate human attraction to nature and natural processes
Image: Michelle Karpman
Our Genetic Heritage: survival; savannah landscapes; animals; food; water; clear views; vantage points; shelter; defence; warmth
Image: Hoo-Yong
Savannah Theory – Ultimate Landscapes
Key constructs of Biophilic design
Contact with natureWater, trees, plants, light
Human spatial responseEnergising, relaxing, restorative
Natural analoguesEvoking a sense of nature
Image: Human Spaces
Principles – 1. Direct connection with nature
Direct contact with real forms of nature
Visual connection - plants Non visual connection - The senses -sounds, smells, touch
Non rhythmic – Heraclitean movementRipples across water, fish, leaves swaying in a tree
Connection with natural systems - seasons Incorporating water features Thermal and airflow variability
Contact with direct nature
Principles – 2. Improve access to natural light
Circadian Rhythms - The effect of natural light on the body’s 24 hour clock
Image: PhotonStar LED Group PLC
What happens when we don’t sleep properly?
The Importance of SleepThe UK and Germany both lose just over 200,000 working days a year due to sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation is linked to a higher mortality risk, diabetes, depression.
Why Sleep Matters: Quantifying the Economic Costs of Insufficient SleepMarco Hafner and Wendy M. Troxel
Limit the use of electronic items before bed
Make use of circadian lighting systems
Walk or cycle to work and reap the benefits of a photon shower
Principles3. Quality of air– toxins, air movement, CO2, temp/ humidity
Principles: 4. Natural Analogues- indirect connection Natural forms, patterns, materials, textures and colours
Natural analogues - evoking a sense of nature
Biomorphic shapes and forms
Natural analogues - evoking a sense of nature Natural materials and textures – sensory benefits through touch, vision or sound
Colour: The Ecological Valence Theory
Blues and cyan: calm and relaxation
The theory suggests (Palmer & Schloss 2010) that people are naturally more attracted to significant everyday objects that tend to provoke positive emotions
Green: calm and creativity
Red: excitement and concentration
Yellow and orange: energy and happiness
Colour: case studies
Biophilic design aims to incorporate colourful and patterned surfaces which are representative of the variety of elements within nature
Natural patterns - complexity and order – visually stimulating Natural analogues - evoking a sense of nature
Principles5. Prospect – elevated and enticing views through spaces
Principles: 6. Refuge – recuperative spaces to retreat into
Offices – Alleviates stress, reduces absenteeism, increases productivity and staff retention
Image: HOK London
Natural Light and access to windowsOffice workers were found to perform 10% to 25% better on tests of mental function and memory recall when they had the best possible view versus those with no view.
Image: The Sky Factory
Heschong, Lisa. Heshong Mahone Group (2003) “Windows and Offices: A Study of Office Worker Performance and the Indoor Environment” – California Energy Commission
Views onto natureviews from plants have been shown increase productivity by 15%
The Relative Benefits of Green Versus Lean Office Space: Three Field ExperimentsMarlon Nieuwenhuis, Craig Knight, Tom Postmes, and S. Alexander Haslam2014
Natural textures, colours and patternsWhen natural features have been applied a 15% reduction in absenteeism has been reported
Romm, Joseph J. and William D. Browning (1994) “Greening the building and the bottom line.” Rocky Mountain Institute, Colorado
Attention Restoration TheoryRachel and Stephen Kaplan¹, suggests that nature can help to replenish our mental and attentional capacity. Interaction with nature can be called ‘effortless attention’ and helps to replenish our directed attention².
¹Kaplan, R. Kaplan, S. (1989). The Experience of Nature: A Psychological Perspective. Cambridge University Press. ²Grinde, B., & Patil, G. G. (2009). Biophilia: Does visual contact with nature impact on health and wellbeing?. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 6(9), Page 2334-2335
Directed attention Micro recuperative workplaceEffortless attention
Image Courtesy of World Green Building CouncilHealth, Wellbeing & Productivity in Offices report
Google Mountain View campusThomas Heatherwick, Studio BIG
www.humanspaces.com
BRE project: Biophilic design in the workplace
@Oliver _Heath @human_spaces
Biophilic Design How improving the human connection with nature in the workplace benefits
the triple bottom line
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