May 22, 2015
Educational buildings can vary vastly in scale and capacity; from small village nurseries, through to schools that cater for hundreds of students and universities where the campuses can be like self-contained cities. What they have in common, however, is that each of them contains a combination of students who are there to learn, staff that…
May 21, 2015
This is the third post in an on-going series outlining each of the 14 patterns of biophilic design, a collection of biophilic strategies codified in Terrapin Bright Green’s “14 Patterns of Biophilic Design” paper. Pattern 3: Non-Rhythmic Sensory Stimuli Nature is never static; it’s always moving, growing, adapting. We notice when a room is visually…
May 19, 2015
According to the Institute for Building Efficiency, over 50% of the buildings that will still be in use by 2050 have already been built; and close to ¾ of these buildings are over 20 years old, before the principles of biophilic design were well understood, let alone widely applied. On a similar note, the European…
May 11, 2015
Wander through a major hospital in any modern city and a single visual element is likely to dominate the space: nature art is everywhere! Nature art: Images as representative symbols It’s been over 30 years since Roger Ulrich’s trailblazing study on the effect of window views to nature on patient recovery. His seminal finding that…
April 22, 2015
What’s hot in green building right now? No, global warming isn’t hot, despite growing alarm about extreme weather events. What’s hot is health. Specifically anything related to the potential health impacts of building products. The rise of the WELL Building Standard and the addition of a day-long Materials and Human Health Summit to Greenbuild provide…
April 17, 2015
It is almost impossible to discuss biophilic design in healthcare without mentioning this 1981 seminal study on recovery times during post operative care after gall bladder surgery by professor Roger Ulrich of Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. This fascinating study investigates whether a view out to nature from their room had any effect on…
April 7, 2015
Did you know, that compared to 1980, we cram in an extra 4.4 hours per day of information consumption outside of work? Think about it. How much time do you spend on your computer or smartphone “Googling” or checking up on one of your favorite friends or actors on Facebook? Our brain is actually wired…
March 27, 2015
Places we naturally love turn out to be good for us! We can now scientifically verify the physiological viability of our designs, by measuring pulse rate, blood pressure, heart rate variability (HRV), electro-dermal response, hormonal & adrenal response, brain wave activity, eye movements & muscle tension. Biochemistry, cell biology, molecular biology & neuroscience have begun…
March 17, 2015
Known for his high risk efforts in advancing an eco-friendly mission for decades, Denis Hayes, president of the Bullitt Foundation, has fueled the ever-growing environmental movement in America since he organized the first Earth Day in conjunction with then-Wisconsin senator Gaylord Nelson in 1970. Thanks to his efforts as a leader on environmental issues, sustainable…
February 5, 2015
The transformational times in our midst demand that organisations redesign for resilience in order to flourish in the volatile times ahead. The most important challenge facing leaders, strategists and operational managers is a shift in logic from the out-dated mind-set of command-and-control thinking to a logic inspired by and in harmony with nature that allows…
Oliver Heath 
Catie Ryan 
Skye Witherspoon 
Bill Witherspoon 
Mikhail Davis 
Dr. Eva Selhub 
Helena van Vliet 
Jean Nayar 
Giles Hutchins