The Argument for Biophilic Design is Stronger than Ever

In the deeper spaces of our imagination, where dreams and reality converge into insight, a transformative value exchange exists between the psyche and the natural world. In these liminal recesses, we see that we are nature, not simply its conductor. It is here that we find the metamorphic essence of biophilic design. This philosophy, with its potential to inject the principles of nature into many forms of applied design, from industrial design and architecture to digital products and design thinking, inspires balance and clears barriers for living systems to evolve.

The Zebra and the Shell: Embracing Nature's Forms

In patterns like the reciprocal monochrome slashes of a zebra or the tapering spiral of a nautilus, we find the primordial shapes that inform our sensemaking capacities. These forms, born of necessity and chiseled by evolutionary might, offer us a language of design that transcends the artificial constraints born through ego-driven capitalist constructs.

When these organic forces saturate the designer's awareness, she is suited to emulate nature's sanity and genius and ignite the slumbering harmonies between humans and their environments. These are harmonies in which value is intrinsically distributed—the human is merely a node in a broader orchestration of biological attributes willfully progressing and which has long been smothered by the commercial malice of incessant commodity, algorithmic bias, and persuasive design. We have been disconnected from these harmonies because we see ourselves as an unmoved mover of nature rather than simply another variable expression of its unstoppable force.

Design principles reflect our values and translate our intentions into action. As we know, the future is shaped by the values that precede it. By embracing biophilic design principles, we can reimagine commercial experiences and question the values that place humans above nature. This challenge presents an opportunity for progressive change, guiding us to exist integrally to broader cosmological forces.

Human-Nature Connection

Biophilic design emphasizes that humans are inherently connected to nature. Despite our significant technological advancements, this connection remains crucial for our physical and mental well-being today. This principle acknowledges that humans have evolved in response to natural forces for most of our history.

Windhover Contemplative Center at Stanford University

The center features expansive windows that act as living canvases, framing the surrounding landscape and blurring the boundaries between the interior and exterior. This design choice exemplifies the biophilic principle of visual connection with nature, creating a space where the built environment and the natural world coexist harmoniously. The unobstructed views serve a dual purpose: they provide an ever-changing visual spectacle and positively influence the physiology and psychology of occupants. Research has shown that immersive natural vistas can lead to measurable physiological changes, including reduced blood pressure and heart rate. Additionally, this visual connection to nature is associated with improved mood and overall well-being, transforming the center into more than just a building—it becomes a conduit for the restorative power of ecological harmony.

Sustained Engagement with Nature

One of the most important principles is ensuring repeated and sustained engagement with nature. Biophilic design should create a cohesive, interconnected environment throughout the entire space, mimicking the immersive experience of being in nature.

Amazon Spheres in Seattle

The Amazon Spheres redefines the concept of workspace through innovative biophilic design. Unconventional features like treehouse meeting rooms and meandering paths encourage employees to immerse themselves in a nature-rich environment. This approach goes beyond aesthetics, fostering creativity, reducing stress, and enhancing overall well-being. The Spheres' function as a daily work environment ensures consistent interaction with nature, a core tenet of biophilic design. This sustained engagement allows employees to reap the benefits of nature exposure regularly, not as an occasional retreat but as an integral part of their workday. This project demonstrates the potential of large-scale biophilic design in corporate settings. The Spheres create a visually striking workspace that promotes employee health, boosts productivity, and strengthens human-nature connections. By seamlessly integrating natural elements into a high-tech work environment, the Amazon Spheres offer a glimpse into the future of workplace design - one that harmonizes human needs with the restorative power of nature.

Multisensory Experience

Biophilic design aims to create a multi-sensorial experience. This involves engaging multiple senses by incorporating natural elements like light, air, water, plants, and natural materials. A multisensory approach more fully replicates the experience of being in nature, which engages all our senses simultaneously. Studies have found that visual representations of nature combined with natural sounds are more effective at reducing stress than visual elements alone.

 Khoo Teck Puat Hospital in Singapore

The Khoo Teck Puat Hospital in Singapore offers a remarkable multisensory biophilic experience that transforms the traditional healthcare environment. As patients and visitors move through the facility, they are enveloped by a symphony of the senses informed by nature. Lush greenery pervades the surroundings, providing a soothing continuity of nature between the exterior and interior of the structure. An acoustic landscape masks the typical cacophonies of a hospital by strategically placing the tranquil sounds of flowing water with the soft rustle of leaves. Natural materials are everywhere, like wood and stone, which invite touch, grounding patients in the physical world and offering a tactile connection to nature. Fragrances of various plants and flowers waft through the air, providing aromatic stimulation that can reduce stress and anxiety. This immersive natural environment, experienced daily by patients, staff, and visitors, has accelerated healing, reduced stress, improved mood, and enhanced overall well-being. By engaging multiple senses simultaneously, the hospital's biophilic design creates a holistic healing environment that goes beyond mere aesthetics, actively contributing to the recovery process and transforming the healthcare experience.

Adaptive Responses to Nature

Biophilic design focuses on human adaptations to the natural world that have, over evolutionary time, advanced people's health, fitness, and well-being. It recognizes that the human body, mind, and senses evolved in a bio-centric world. Humans have evolved over 99% of our history in adaptive response to the natural world. This long evolutionary history has biologically encoded us to associate with natural features and processes

As a result, our bodies, minds, and senses are fundamentally attuned to natural environments.

Atri Sustainable Greenhouse in Sweden

The Atri sustainable greenhouse villa in Sweden, created by Naturvillan, exemplifies a biophilic design that taps into our evolutionary adaptations to nature. This innovative residence immerses inhabitants in an environment rich with natural materials—wood and stone that evoke our ancestral shelters—while its greenhouse structure creates a dynamic microclimate that mirrors the seasonal variations our forebears experienced. The villa's integration of edible landscapes resonates with our hunter-gatherer instincts, while abundant natural light supports circadian rhythms honed over millennia. Organic forms and patterns throughout the design echo the natural landscapes our visual systems evolved to process, reducing cognitive strain. The multisensory experience, complete with the sound of running water and the presence of diverse plant life, engages our senses in ways that reflect the rich environmental tapestry that shaped human sensory development. By harmonizing modern living with these deep-seated biological affinities, the Atri villa demonstrates how contemporary architecture can honor our evolutionary heritage, creating spaces that not only shelter but also nurture our innate connection to the natural world, potentially enhancing both physical and psychological well-being.

Expanding Our Connection Through Digital

These are just three biophilic principles, but these examples are all physically designed spaces (with some disparate digital interventions). I struggle to find these principles exemplified in the digital world, and I say that as someone who works in software and digital product design, and wishes it were not true. Exceptions include positive friction— ironically, things like "Screen Time" or "Mindfulness Alerts," but I think we can do better. Those examples are a reaction to the fetishization of algorithmic doom-scrolling, a biophilic antithesis that divides us from the ecological whole while feebly dulling pain and neutering the imagination.

When digital technology is applied in biophilic spaces, it tends to be ambient and emulative. For example, using digital interventions to play recordings of wind sounds can enhance the natural environment, which is much more beneficial for patients in a hospital than having them listen to yacht rock. These types of interventions reflect the ongoing tensions in artificial intelligence between two perspectives: the rationalists, who advocate for automating everything, and the empiricists, who believe in augmenting existing elements.

I eagerly anticipate a future where technological advancements do not compete with or attempt to replace nature but rather enhance and preserve our connection to it. Instead of creating user interfaces filled with dropdowns and radio buttons, we should focus on using technology to integrate and augment the original user interface: the natural world, which is already impeccably designed, with or without us.