June 7, 2016
If you are an avid hiker, you know the excitement of catching a glimpse of a sunlit meadow through a dark forest, spotting a sliver of a grand vista just around the bend in the trail, or hearing the sound of a waterfall just out of sight. These tantalising hints of something pleasant ahead compel…
May 22, 2016
Last October, during the first weekend of the Chicago Architecture Biennial, artist and social activist Theaster Gates pulled back the curtain on his latest endeavor: the Stony Island Arts Bank. The highly trumpeted project entailed the conversion of a derelict bank building on the city’s South Side into a public cultural venue, brimming with galleries,…
March 18, 2016
Living within a consumer society means that retail environments play a central position in our everyday lives – in fact, retail covers 43% of the total value of commercial property1 and a recent House of Commons report stated that during 2014, consumers in the UK spent around a staggering £378 billion.2 Research has shown that…
March 9, 2016
Water – from crashing waves to trickling streams, wading pools, and water fountains – enhances the experience of a place. Pattern 5: Presence of Water The Presence of Water biophilic design pattern has evolved from research on the health and wellbeing benefits associated with access to water, including reduced stress, lower heart rate and blood…
February 17, 2016
An Interview with Michael Pawlyn, Architect & Author In The Biomimetic Office Building, lighting takes its inspiration from the translucent four-eyed spookfish and a spindly-legged cousin of the starfish, the brittle star, both deep ocean dwellers. The building’s glazed glass exterior nods to a mollusk’s iridescent shell, while our own double duty spinal column is…
February 5, 2016
The idea of ‘Green’ in Asia is dominated by certification tools. There are now some 14 national variants – not unlike LEED in the US – each offering tiered ratings at the building scale, some at the urban scale. The rating is determined by an aggregated score, the result of compliance with requirements that focus…
January 21, 2016
Spending a long period of time on a task that requires intense focus and concentration can be mentally exhausting for the human brain. Within modern day working environments, we are required to remain attentive during different tasks and activities throughout the day. However, working under pressure, or for a vast period of time can increase…
December 23, 2015
Why do we prefer certain colours to others? Why do some colours make us feel happy and energised while other colours make us feel agitated or sad? The Ecological Valence Theory Object and colour association – a concept that Palmer and Schloss have called the “ecological valence theory” – contribute to our natural colour preferences…
December 15, 2015
What is biophilia? To me, it’s a love and respect for nature. Biophilic design then, is showing that love and respect by preserving and harnessing nature – and working with it. Humans have always lived within nature, but in the developed world buildings and cities have gradually created a barrier between us and the great…
December 14, 2015
Complexity, as one of the more abstract biophilic concepts, has gained quite a bit of traction as a welcomed design challenge. We talk about the objective of the Complexity & Order pattern (#10) as a means for creating a visually nourishing environment, based on an understanding of the symmetries, fractal geometries and spatial hierarchies that…
Catie Ryan 
Interface 
Oliver Heath 
Nirmal Kishnani 
Richard Hassel