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Biophilic Design

Direct and Indirect Experience of Nature, Space and Place

By Prakash G S MPublished about a year ago 4 min read
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Direct and Indirect Experience of Nature

Light: Allows orientation of time of day and season, and is attributed to wayfinding and comfort; light can also cause natural patterns and form, movements, and shadows.

Air: Ventilation, temperature, and humidity are felt through the air. Water: Water is multisensory and can be used in buildings to provide movement, sounds, touch, and sight.

Plants: Bringing vegetation to the exterior and interior spaces of the building provides a direct relationship to nature.

Animals: While it is hard to achieve, it can be done through aquariums, gardens, animal feeders, and green roofs.

Weather: Weather can be observed directly through windows and transitional spaces, but it can also be simulated through the manipulation of air within the space.

Natural landscapes: This is done by creating self-sustaining ecosystems in the built environment. Given human evolution and history, people tend to enjoy savannah-like landscapes as they depict spaciousness and an abundance of natural life.

Fire: This natural element is hard to incorporate, however when implemented correctly into the building, it provides color, warmth, and movement, all of which are appealing and pleasing to occupants.

Images of Nature: This has been proven to be emotionally and intellectually satisfying to occupants; images of nature can be implemented through paintings, photos, sculptures, murals, videos, etcetera.

Natural Materials: People prefer natural materials as they can be mentally stimulating. Natural materials are susceptible to the patina of time; this change invokes responses from people. These materials can be incorporated into buildings through the use of wood and stone. Interior design can use natural fabrics, furnishings, and leather.

Natural Colors: Natural colors or “earth-tones”, are those that are commonly found in nature and are often subdued tones of brown, green, and blue. When using colors in buildings, they should represent these natural tones.

Simulations of Natural Light and Air: In areas where natural forms of ventilation and light cannot be achieved, creative use of interior lighting and mechanical ventilation can be used to mimic these natural features.

Naturalistic Shapes: Natural shapes and forms can be achieved in architectural design through columns and nature-based patterns on facades - including these different elements into spaces can change a static space into an intriguing and appealing complex area.

Evoking Nature: This uses characteristics found in nature to influence the structural design of the project. These may be things that may not occur in nature, but rather elements that represent natural landscapes such as mimicking different plant heights found in ecosystems, and or mimicking particular animal, water, or plant features.

Information Richness: This can be achieved by providing complex, yet not noisy environments that invoke occupant curiosity and thought. Many ecosystems are complex and filled with different abiotic and biotic elements the goal of this attribute is to include these elements in the environment of the building.

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.

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 think of nature.

Prospect and Refuge: Refuge refers to the building’s ability to provide comfort and nurturing interiors (alcoves, dimmer lighting), while prospect emphasizes horizons, movement, and sources of danger.

Organized Complexity: This principle is meant to simulate the need for controlled variability; this is done in design through repetition, change, and detail of the building's architecture.

Integration of Parts: When different parts comprise a whole, it provides satisfaction for occupants: design elements include interior spaces using clear boundaries and or the integration of a central focal point.

Transitional Spaces: This element aims to connect interior spaces with the outside or create comfort by providing access from one space to another environment through the use of porches, decks, atriums, doors, bridges, fenestrations, and foyers.

Mobility: The ability for people to comfortably move between spaces, even when complex; it provides the feeling of security for occupants and can be done by making clear points of entry and egress.

Cultural and Ecological Attachment to Place: Creating a cultural sense of place in the built environment creates human connection and identity. This is done by incorporating the area's geography and history into the design. Ecological identity is created by creating ecosystems that promote the use of native flora and fauna.

SustainabilityScienceNature
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