{"id":171,"date":"2018-03-04T21:05:48","date_gmt":"2018-03-05T05:05:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/urbanecologyw18\/?p=171"},"modified":"2018-03-16T13:23:19","modified_gmt":"2018-03-16T20:23:19","slug":"biophilia-in-the-pacific-northwest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/urbanecologyw18\/biophilia-in-the-pacific-northwest\/","title":{"rendered":"Biophilia in the Pacific Northwest"},"content":{"rendered":"

What is “Biophilia?”<\/h3>\n

When you hear the term \u201cbiophilia,\u201d what do you think of? If you have experience with Greek and Latin word roots, you may recognize \u201cbio\u201d \u2013 \u201clife,\u201d as in \u201cbiology\u201d \u2013 and \u201cphilia\u201d \u2013 \u201can affinity for something,\u201d as in Philadelphia, the \u201cCity of Brotherly Love\u201d \u2013 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, \u201cBiophilia,\u201d as \u201cthe innate tendency to focus on life and likelife processes [1].\u201d Biophilia is not to be confused with biomimicry, which is the practice of designing products \u2013 and buildings \u2013 to mimic elements from nature, whereas biophilia aims to satisfy the natural human need to be seek out and be surrounded by nature [2].<\/p>\n

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History<\/h3>\n

The idea of \u201cgreen building\u201d 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 \u201cgreen\u201d 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\u2019s imperatives as a guide may inspire builders and designers to reach for higher \u201cgreen\u201d standards than they had previously thought possible.<\/p>\n

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Health Benefits<\/h3>\n

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 \u201cold\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

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Environmental Benefits<\/h3>\n

Biophilic design doesn\u2019t 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].<\/p>\n

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Case Studies<\/h3>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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Bullitt Center<\/h4>\n
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The Bullitt Center, (c) Nic Lehoux for the Bullitt Center<\/p><\/div>\n

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 \u201cpetals\u201d 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 \u201cgreen\u201d features and renewable energy elements, biophilic design principles also played a role in the construction. A so-called \u201cirresistible staircase\u201d 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].<\/p>\n

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Workspace Example (C) Nic Lehoux for the Bullitt Center<\/p><\/div>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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Bertschi School Science Wing<\/h4>\n
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Bertschi School Science Wing (c) Inhabitat.com<\/p><\/div>\n

The Bertschi School is a private school located in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1975, and their \u201cLiving Building Science Wing\u201d was completed in 2011. Although much of the school incorporates \u201cgreen\u201d 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\u2019s 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\u2019s always growing” [16].<\/p>\n

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Indoor Stream at Bertschi School (c) Joe Wolf<\/p><\/div>\n

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 \u201cgreen\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

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The Spheres<\/h4>\n
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The Amazon Spheres (c) SounderBruce on Flickr<\/p><\/div>\n

Proposed in 2013 and completed in January of 2018, the Amazon Spheres (or just \u201cThe Spheres\u201d) 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 \u2013 as the name implies \u2013 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\u2019s official website, is \u201cThe Spheres are a place where employees can think and work differently surrounded by plants\u201d [18].<\/p>\n

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Inside The Spheres (c) Seattle City Council<\/p><\/div>\n

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 \u2013 workers in particular \u2013 can be studied in depth.<\/p>\n

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Further Reading<\/h3>\n

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:<\/p>\n