Defining Biophilia, Biophilic Design & Urban Biophilic Design

Happy April everyone! Hope your spring season is off to a great start for you all. I know for myself I’ve been enjoying the beauty of the birds chirping, plants blooming and those nice sweater-weather days we’ve had sprinkled in March. Hopefully the cold days leave us and nicer weather becomes the norm, with some rainy days of course.

As we enter April and spring truly begins to bloom, it’s hard not to connect this phase of the year to nature. To some nature is plainly all living things outside of humans and the living environment. To others, like me, nature is all-inclusive to every living being, living environment, planets and stars combined. In other words, the universe itself is nature. With that in mind, I’ve been inspired to share Urban Biophilic Design with you. This is a reinterpretation of Biophilic Design that I did through my research fellowship back in 2016, and which produced my booklet “Reinterpreting Urban Biophilic Design” found on our website for purchase. Through this blog, I’ll explore the meaning of Biophilia, Biophilic Design, Urban Biophilic Design, and why it matters. 

What is Biophilia?

The concept of Biophilia was created in 1964 by psychologist Erich Fromm through his book The Heart of Man. The word did not become popular until 1986 when Edward Wilson, a biologist, wrote the book Biophilia. To Wilson, Biophilia was our human intuitive response to connect to nature. 

It was during this time that the meaning of restrictive or all-inclusive definition of nature was being discussed. At the end of the day the all-inclusive definition of nature came out on top because it included the sun (daylight), the moon, climate, weather, rocks/stones and other organic parts like wood and bamboo. 

What is Biophilic Design?

In general, terms Biophilic Design is about the relationship between biophilia and our built environment. It has many interpretations, which I showcase in my research booklet. The commonalities of all are that it about connection and health.

Biophilic Design improves the comfort and wellness of humankind, the well-being of other living organisms and the environmental health of a place, through the integration of direct and indirect nature in ecological systems. 

The Biophilic threshold for this is the moment a living organism has had a positive, measurable change in their life. For example, it is when there is plant growth, improvement of someone’s mood, and growth of local animal population.

What is Urban Biophilic Design?

Urban Biophilic Design is a sub-category of Biophilic Design. As I define it, it is a multi-scalar spectrum that develops networks and improves relationships between living organisms and the urban built environment to enhance the positive effects and minimize the negative effects of urban living, especially concerning mental health. When I say urban environment in this case, I define it as a highly populated/dense space within the built environment. In other words, this could be implemented even in suburban areas with high populations like downtowns and apartment buildings, etc. The multi-scalar spectrum of Urban Biophilic Design is from the individual experience of materials all the way to the communal experience in a city, and everything in between.

The Urban Biophilic Threshold is the moment at which a relationship or connection begins to develop based on place and biophilic design, as well as when the mental condition of someone begins to measurably improve. For example, reduction of stress when occupying a place with serene space, and development of friendships in a community garden.

Why it matters?

Biophilic Design matters, because it sets light on the need to care about and implement wellness-focused and eco-consciousness practices to better our living and built environment.

In relation to Urban Biophilic Design, it matters, because it brings more light to the human aspect of it all. Providing focus that we as humans are nature and though we have created a built environment of our own, we are still part of nature just as plants and animals are. Therefore, we can’t detach fully from it, as it affects our well-being. The best part is that it can be directly or indirectly implemented, and it can be a non-living or living component that creates the connection between humans and the rest of nature. Furthermore, implementing Urban Biophilic Design brings light to major components of our lives: comfort, mental wellness, relationships, and networks. 

In Conclusion, Biophilic Design begins the connection towards wellness and comfort for humans and living organisms, while Urban Biophilic Design in many ways connects us back to self and highly benefits in multi-scalar way. This blog just touches the surface of it all, so if you’re interested in learning and seeing samples and studies on this, I encourage you to purchase my booklet “Reinterpreting Urban Biophilic Design” found on our website. We also have begun to implement a new service for those who want to implement health, wellness, sustainability and/or biophilic design into your home or office. This is a stand-alone one-hour intensive paid consultation to discuss insights on how to implement these elements based on your needs. It could be scheduled by emailing me at katherine@rootedarchitecturestudio.com. The consultation will include a summary email of insights discussed, and it can be combined with one of our Architectural packages. You can also reach out to us by going to our contact page and click on Exploratory call if you wish to first schedule a free 30 min. video call to see if we are fit to work together or if you want to discuss a specific project, where then we can later incorporate urban biophilic design into the process.

Further Connect with Rooted:

As always, feel free to check out our other blog posts, Instagram / Facebook posts, and sign up for our newsletter at the bottom of our website. Here at Rooted Architecture Studio, we are dedicated to crafting meaningful, inclusive spatial design solutions for homeowners, investors, healthcare providers, and business owners.  We blend design with wellness to create meaningful, client-centric spaces that promote health and harmony with nature. While being committed to nurture a deeper understanding of the design and construction process.

Keep growing,

Katherine A. Serrano Sosa, AIA | NCARB

Please note that this blog should be read for informational purposes only. If you have any questions or require additional information, please contact our office.