Enquiry - Exploring Biophilia as a Relationship and the Impact of Biophilic Design

Questions...

- What is biophilia? - What is biophilic design? - Why do we have / use it? - How is it incorporated into our daily lives? Do we even realise when and how? - What are the benefits...large and small? - How important is biophilia as a relationship?

- How can I convey the message I intend to?

- Is this interesting? How will i make others interested in the topic?

Initial brief draft/details:

- Biophilia is the natural, but subconscious relationship that humans have with nature – it is a scientific design that can aid and benefit us on a daily basis where we might not even realise. Studies have shown that biophilic design within our healthcare systems has decreased post-operative recovery times by 8% and can reduce the need for pain medication by 22%. Surrounding ourselves with flowers and plants needs to be more than just visual pleasure, especially when the urbanisation of our cities is ever increasing. Biophilic design is gradually growing in popularity, but would raising further awareness of the endless benefits see this develop further? I want to explore biophilia as a relationship and the impact of biophilic design through the production of an artefact that will incorporate various relevant materials in response to and reflection of biophilia and the use of biophilic design today. -

Examples of biophilic design...

- Oliver Heath

- Alexander Bond

Brief information / research to consider where moving forward with enquiry...

'The Economics of Biophilia - Why designing with nature in mind makes financial sense' (https://www.lbhf.gov.uk/sites/default/files/section_attachments/the_economics_of_biophilia_-_why_designing_with_nature_in_mind_makes_financial_sense.pdf )

- "Access to nature and natural elements in our environment are more than nice-to-haves; they are vital to our physical, mental and emotional well- being. Terrapin has given us solid evidence that economic investments in biophilic design reap huge returns in health and productivity".

- Educational institutions are increasingly incorporating biophilic design theory and application into their curricula and programming.

- We believe that incorporating nature into the built environment is not just a luxury, but a sound economic investment in health and productivity, based on well-researched neurological and physiological evidence.

- Integrating views to nature into an office space can save over $2,000 per employee per year in office costs, whereas over $93 million could be saved annually in healthcare costs as a result of providing patients with views to nature. - Would I be able to reflect or showcase these incredibly interesting findings regarding biophilia, within the outcome I eventually produce? - How would I do this? - How can I raise awareness of the dramatic benefits? - Where biophilic design heavily revolves around installations, is this something I would consider constructing? Or do I want to create a completely different artefact to represent biopilia and biophilic design in my own way?