What is “Biophilia?”

When you hear the term “biophilia,” what do you think of? If you have experience with Greek and Latin word roots, you may recognize “bio” – “life,” as in “biology” – and “philia” – “an affinity for something,” as in Philadelphia, the “City of Brotherly Love” – but you might not have ever seen the two together in one word before. The term biophilia is said to have been first popularized by Edward O. Wilson in 1984 in his aptly titled book, “Biophilia,” as “the innate tendency to focus on life and likelife processes [1].” Biophilia is not to be confused with biomimicry, which is the practice of designing products – and buildings – to mimic elements from nature, whereas biophilia aims to satisfy the natural human need to be seek out and be surrounded by nature [2].

 

History

The idea of “green building” gained popularity starting in the 1990s, and it was during this same time period that scientists began to link increases in worker happiness and productivity with regular interactions with nature [3]. These linkages have been more researched in the past few decades, and more buildings are being built with biophilic principles in mind. Some of these buildings are even built to very challenging, exacting standards for “green” energy and materials as well as biophilic principles, such as The Living Building Challenge [4]. The Living Building Challenge encompasses 20 imperatives, including that the construction be net positive for water, energy, and waste, as well as having a biophilic environment and engaging in equitable investments [5]. While not all buildings that aim to incorporate biophilic principles are required to meet the standards of The Living Building Challenge, using the Challenge’s imperatives as a guide may inspire builders and designers to reach for higher “green” standards than they had previously thought possible.

 

Health Benefits

Beyond being just an interesting theoretical concept or a standard for construction, it has been found that applying biophilic principles to human-inhabited spaces has positive effects on many aspects of human life. Living or working in a space designed using biophilic principles increases cognitive function and performance, as well as both psychological and physiological health and wellbeing [6]. For example, when psychological researchers have studied how contact with nature reduces stress reactions in the brain, it was discovered that environments with natural elements help restore stress-fatigued minds, allowing for better coping as well as stimulating parts of the brain that are evolutionarily “old” and help balance concentration to relieve over-worked portions of the rest of the brain [7]. Having elements of biophilic design in the workplace also greatly increases productivity. Even small changes like additional natural daylight in the workplace caused workers to be happier and more efficient at their jobs, resulting in greater production and earnings for the company [8]. The concept of employing biophilic design into the workplace is still relatively new, so it is possible that even more benefits may be discovered in the future once the idea gains more traction.

 

Environmental Benefits

Biophilic design doesn’t just help with human wellbeing, but with environmental wellbeing as well. Elements like living roofs and walls can help reduce the urban heat sink and filter carbon from the air, and along with other plant features can filter wastewater [9]. Additionally, these features can provide much-needed habitat for animals and plants that otherwise would struggle to survive in urban conditions, which results in an increased amount of biodiversity in the city [10]. Some in the field even claim that biophilic principles are ideal for mitigating anthropogenic effects on the environment because they are cross-cultural and can benefit everyone regardless of where they live, how much money they make, or other social factors [11].

 

Case Studies

Although these ideas are still very new, some buildings in the Pacific Northwest have already been either built from the ground up or redesigned to employ biophilic design principles. The following are three examples of man-made structures with intentionally biophilic design elements.

 

Bullitt Center

The Bullitt Center, (c) Nic Lehoux for the Bullitt Center

The Bullitt Center, located in Seattle, Washington, was completed in 2013 by the Bullitt Foundation. The Bullitt Foundation is a philanthropic organization with the mission of making the Pacific Northwest a global leader and model in sustainability, as well as to protect the natural environment by promoting environmentally responsible living. This building was constructed with the seven “petals” of the Living Building Challenge (Site, Water, Energy, Health, Materials, Equity, and Beauty) in mind, which is a standard more rigorous than even LEED certification [12]. While the building is most known for its “green” features and renewable energy elements, biophilic design principles also played a role in the construction. A so-called “irresistible staircase” encourages people to take the stairs with inviting architecture offering views of downtown Seattle and the Puget Sound on the way up, as well as large landings to take breaks on and admire the view [13].

Workspace Example (C) Nic Lehoux for the Bullitt Center

The building also boasts an innovative window system with automated blinds designed to react in real time to lighting conditions. This allows people in the building to experience maximum exposure to natural light while at the same time minimizing any glare on work stations. The windows also open, allowing in fresh air during days with pleasant weather [14]. Fresh air, increased physical activity, views of nature, and the pride that comes from working in a net zero energy building likely increases employee happiness and wellbeing.

 

Bertschi School Science Wing

Bertschi School Science Wing (c) Inhabitat.com

The Bertschi School is a private school located in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1975, and their “Living Building Science Wing” was completed in 2011. Although much of the school incorporates “green” building principles, the Science Wing is the most biophilic in nature [15]. Just like the Bullitt Center, the Science Wing was designed with the Living Building Challenge’s seven petals in mind. In addition to being LEED Gold certified for their renewable energy usage, the Wing features many unique elements created with biophilic principles in mind. When the building was in the design and drafting phase, students of the school were asked what sort of things they would like their new Science Wing to include. The student requests that made it into the final building plans were “an indoor river, a bamboo fountain to relieve stress, and green house where something’s always growing” [16].

Indoor Stream at Bertschi School (c) Joe Wolf

In addition to these special features, the Wing also features many large windows for natural light and views of nature, nature-related artworks, and combination indoor/outdoor spaces [17]. These beautiful features that the students themselves feel a connection to combined with the “green” construction of the building make this an extremely biophilic space, and a space that others interested in building a biophilic space could look to as an example.

 

The Spheres

The Amazon Spheres (c) SounderBruce on Flickr

Proposed in 2013 and completed in January of 2018, the Amazon Spheres (or just “The Spheres”) is one of the newest biophilic projects in the Pacific Northwest. The Spheres, located in downtown Seattle, Washington, are three large, glass buildings shaped like – as the name implies – spheres. The Spheres contain thousands of plants situated into many planter styles, including living walls, with more than 400 different species in all. The mission of the buildings, stated simply and clearly on the project’s official website, is “The Spheres are a place where employees can think and work differently surrounded by plants” [18].

Inside The Spheres (c) Seattle City Council

The buildings themselves have accommodations for up to 800 people in various seating arrangements, suited both for meetings and for individual working [19]. The Spheres are extremely innovative; although other construction projects have incorporated biophilic building principles into their designs, The Spheres is arguably the first project in the Pacific Northwest to embrace the principles fully. With their bright natural lighting and greenery as far as the eye can see, The Spheres are an environment in which the effect of biophilic design on the health and wellbeing of people – workers in particular – can be studied in depth.

 

Further Reading

If this short article has piqued your interest in the concept of biophilia, there are many websites that can delve into the concept in a much more in-depth way. Some of these websites are listed below:

 

 

REFERENCES
[1] Wilson, Edward O. Biophilia. Harvard University Press, 1984, 1.
[2] Galadza, S. (2007). natural needs. Contract, 49(3), 40.
[3] Browning, William, Catherine Ryan, and Josephy Clancy. 14 Patterns of Biophilic Design: Improving Health & Well-Being in the Built Environment. Report. 2014. Accessed March 1, 2018. https://www.terrapinbrightgreen.com/reports/14-patterns/.
[4] “Living Building Challenge.” The Living Future Institute. Accessed March 01, 2018. https://living-future.org/lbc/.
[5] “Living Building Challenge.” The Living Future Institute. Accessed March 01, 2018. https://living-future.org/lbc/.
[6] Browning, William, Catherine Ryan, and Josephy Clancy. 14 Patterns of Biophilic Design: Improving Health & Well-Being in the Built Environment. Report. 2014. Accessed March 1, 2018. https://www.terrapinbrightgreen.com/reports/14-patterns/.
[7] Largo-Wight, Erin, W. William Chen, Virginia Dodd, and Robert Weiler. “Healthy Workplaces: The Effects of Nature Contact at Work on Employee Stress and Health.” Public Health Reports (1974-) 126 (2011): 124-30. 
[8] Kellert, Stephen R., Judith Heerwagen, and Martin Mador. Biophilic Design: the Theory, Science, and Practice of Bringing Buildings to Life. John Wiley & Sons, 2011.
[9] Newman, Peter, and Jana Soderlund. “Biophilic architecture: a review of the rationale and outcomes.” AIMS Environmental Science 2, no. 4 (2015): 950-69. doi:10.3934/environsci.2015.4.950.
[10] Newman, Peter, and Jana Soderlund. “Biophilic architecture: a review of the rationale and outcomes.” AIMS Environmental Science 2, no. 4 (2015): 950-69. doi:10.3934/environsci.2015.4.950.
[11] Simaika, John P., and Michael J. Samways. “Biophilia as a Universal Ethic for Conserving Biodiversity.” Conservation Biology 24, no. 3 (2010): 903-06. doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2010.01485.x.
[12] Pena, Robert B. Living Proof: The Bullitt Center High Performance Building Case Study. Center for Integrated Design, University of Washington. 2014.
 [13] Seattle, WA DEI Creative in. “Active Design.” Bullitt Center Home. Accessed March 01, 2018. http://www.bullittcenter.org/building/building-features/active-design/.
[14] Seattle, WA DEI Creative in. “A Future So Bright.” Bullitt Center Home. Accessed March 01, 2018. http://www.bullittcenter.org/a-future-so-bright/.
[15] “Living Building Science Wing.” Bertschi School. Accessed March 01, 2018. https://www.bertschi.org/who-we-are/our-campus/science-wing.
[16] “Living Building Science Wing.” Bertschi School. Accessed March 01, 2018. https://www.bertschi.org/who-we-are/our-campus/science-wing.
[17] “Fact Sheet.” Bertschi School. Accessed March 01, 2018. https://www.bertschi.org/who-we-are/our-campus/science-wing.
[18] “Seattle Spheres.” The Spheres. Accessed March 01, 2018. https://www.seattlespheres.com/.
[19] Day, Matt. “Take a look inside Amazons Spheres as they get set to open.” The Seattle Times. January 26, 2018. Accessed March 01, 2018. https://www.seattletimes.com/business/amazon/take-a-look-inside-amazons-spheres-as-they-get-set-for-next-weeks-opening/.