Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Biophilic Design: Does Visual Contact With Nature Has An Effect On Health and Productivity
Biophilic Design: Does Visual Contact With Nature Has An Effect On Health and Productivity
NITIN MHAPSEKAR,1745
Abstract
The term Biophilia which means an innate and genetically determined affliction of
human beings towards nature was coined by Edward O. Wilson in his hypothesis.
This idea is relevant in daily life – humans travel and spend money to sightsee in
national parks and nature preserves, relax on beaches, hike mountains, and
explore jungles . Due to urge to visit nature and natural habitats Biophilic design
came into existence which tries to incorporate nature in the built environment
through the use of direct nature, indirect nature, space and place conditions.
Used at both the building and city-scale, it is argued that this idea has health,
environmental, and economic benefits for building occupants and urban
environments, with little drawbacks. This research will focus on how biophilic
design or access to views of nature help increase productivity and the
psychological and physical affects that it has on humans as well as the negative
impacts of not having green spaces around us. At the end of this research a
survey will be conducted among employees of different offices to know effects of
biophilic and non-biophilic environments in workplaces. On the basis of it a
conclusion will be derived whether biophilic hypothesis is applicable in designing
workspaces.
PAGE 1
INTRODUCTION
Biophilic design is a concept used within the building industry to increase
occupant connectivity to the natural environment through the use of
direct nature, indirect nature, and space and place conditions. Used at both the
building and city-scale, it is argued that this idea has health, environmental, and
economic benefits for building occupants and urban environments, with little
drawbacks. Although its name was coined in recent history, indicators of biophilic
design have been seen in architecture from as far back as the Hanging Gardens
of Babylon .Adding elements of Nature to living spaces can presumably induce
positively valued changes in cognition and emotion, which again may impact on
stress level, health and well-being. In order to allocate resources for the purpose
of creating more natural environments, it is important to assess what sort of
return can be expected. Looking at the current scenario most of the urban areas
are losing on green cover, even if office have window there view is blocked by
other buildings in vicinity. Today it’s the need of time to increase green cover but
does it affect us in our workplace is the main question.
Aim
To find what sort of influence having nature in workplace have on human mind
OBJECTIVES
To understand the relationship between human and nature.
BACKGROUND RESEARCH
Biophilic design in workplace
Biophilic office design refers to an increasing trend of bringing the outdoors
indoors, or more accurately into the workplace. A common misconception is that
biophilic design translates to adding lots of plant life and shrubbery, it is far more
complex than that.
PAGE 2
Many suggest that it is just a label that ties together some of the progressive
office design trends and is in fact, about getting the standard things right and
creating a workplace that truly works – somewhere that staff enjoy working.
These extreme examples include an abundance of green areas where staff can
work, collaborate or relax, and while the majority of us won’t be able to avail of
our own private workplace park, there are some simple principles that we can be
aware of, and that can be relatively easy to incorporate into any workplace, such
as:
PAGE 3
Indirect experience of nature
Indirect experience refers to contact with images and or representations of
nature:
PAGE 4
Natural Geometries: The design of facades or structural components can
include the use of repetitive, varied patterns that are seen in nature (fractals).
These geometries can also have hierarchically organized scales and winding
flow rather than be straight with harsh angles.[7] For instance, commonly used
natural geometries are the honeycomb pattern and ripples found in water.
Biomimicry: This is a design strategy that imitates uses found in nature as
solutions for human and technical problems. Using these natural functions in
construction can entice human creativity and thought of nature.
The experience of space and place uses spatial relationships to enhance well-
being:
PAGE 5
Each of these experiences are meant to be considered individually when using
biophilia in projects, as there is no one right answer for one building type. Each
building's architects and project owners must collaborate to include the biophilic
principles they believe fit within their scope and most effectively reach their
occupants
METHODOLOGY
For the purpose of this research a survey was conducted among office workers
of different companies to know and understand how visual contact with biophillic
environment affect them on daily basis. A online questionnaire and some long
answers questions were created to know their response. The research was
conducted among 45 workers of different companies having biophillic and non
biophilic design
Questionnaire:
2.Do you think introducing indoor plants will compensate the lack of window view?
3. Does dynamic and diffused lighting, presence of water in recreational spaces in office affects
your mood? IF yes, then why?
4.If you had indoor plants/views to outside nature you would be less stressed
5. Office should have at least one green space where workers can connect with (it can be small
landscape are, indoor planting, waterbody). If yes, then why do you think it's necessary?
PAGE 6
6.Choose between
b. Workplace integrated with nature(having landscape, indoor plants abundant natural light
etc)
7. Can you please state your current office workspace design, are you happy with it? If no then
why?
OBSERVATIONS
The survey had responses. From 12 different companies with L&T technologies,
Vadodara( Biophilic design) having 9 and Ixia Solutions LLP ,Navi Mumbai(Non-
Biophilic design) having 15 of the 45 participants. Of the 45 participants in the
survey 90% of them gave positive answers to all questions. Rest of them were
either not sure if nature affects them or gave negative output.
The Data presented below shows the response to all questions in terms of pie
chart analysis:
PAGE 7
If yes, then why ?
-It makes me feel connected with nature. Also when you see a water fountain or
small pools of water near near office it makes you feel calm and takes the work
stress out of you.
-It makes the working environment less stressful. It brings in lots of positive
energy and encourage me to think creatively.
PAGE 8
If yes,then why ?
-It is extremely necessary because it gives a sudden lift of mood when you see
anything related to nature. It makes you feel refreshed. When at work one is
loaded with stress and constantly working. So having a good green patch might
give a sudden relief.- Nikhil Kavthankar, Reliance JIO Infocom ltd
-Nature and greenery is healing to eye. As in nature you see different picture
everyday depending on light and wind, it gives a sense of fitting and finding
yourself in the surroundings just the way plants adopt to its surroundings-Tanvi
Mungekar, CSIR-NIO, Goa
PAGE 9
7. Can you please state your current office workspace design, are you happy with
it? If no then why?
I am happy with my current office. It is pretty small, and there are many floor to
ceiling windows, hence ample sunlight and a wonderful view of the sky, the city,
as well as hills. – Prachi Pavaskar
I'm happy with my studio space though it does not have plants or natural view.
But we do have spaces kept reserved for small plants - Bhagyashree
It is very monotonous in design. No green space or windows with view. There are
no recreational spaces, and it can get very monotonous. -Surabhi
No, current design looks like we are hired to work like a machine. It feels like we
are living in an age were concrete jungles are more important than natural forest.
- Ankita Devalekar
The dull wall can make you dull as well. When we are in a surrounding wih
nature ,we get vibes that make us more efficient.-Tina
PAGE 10
CONCLUSION
From the survey it was understood that office workers prefer to have biophilic
environment around them as was proved by the researchers around the world .
survey highlights the fact that workplaces who have introduced elements of
nature have witnessed a decrease in the levels of mental fatigue among staff
members and an increase in levels of workplace wellbeing. Indeed, the restorative
qualities of nature can be replicated in the workplace in numerous ways –
introducing plant life, providing access to natural light where possible, including
natural wood and stone finishes, embracing color and crucially, providing staff
with a choice of work settings and a comfortable work environment.
Bibliography
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biophilic_design
https://k2space.co.uk/knowledge/biophilic-office-design/
http://www.biophilicdesign.net/
PAGE 11