Biophilic Design Brings the Outdoors Into the Office

Thirty years ago, elements of biophilic design in offices or retail centers were impractical afterthoughts—such as an extravagant water feature in a lobby, or a a miniature "jungle" in a shopping center's courtyard. Building managers and landscape contractors alike struggled to maintain these features; In many cases they were disconnected from their surroundings, and they were bothersome and expensive to groom. Designers will tell you that is the opposite of the harmonious natural connection they're looking to achieve today.

From sustainable materials to energy-efficient construction, the green building realm encompasses a broad spectrum of practices and principles. In recent years, one tenet of green design has soared to top the list of practices that attract tenants and customers. No longer simply an aesthetic upgrade, biophilic design—or the practice of bringing elements of nature indoors—has been proven to impact mental health, productivity, and morale.

Wellness by Design

^"Humans have a physiological need to connect to nature," says Eric Corey Freed, whose San Francisco-based firm organicARCHITECT has specialized in green building, including biophilic design, for nearly three decades. "Applying biophilic design principles in an office improves cognitive function and increases profitability. People report being happier."

Freed cites a research report on workplace design conducted by integrated commercial real estate firm STOK to support this statement. The report, dubbed "The Financial Case for High Performance Buildings", evaluated employee health and wellness, occupant productivity, and talent retention, and ultimately found that a high-performance building enhanced productivity by nearly 10%.

Entry Level

"When we're talking about biophilia this time around, it's sense activation," says Colleen Arria, principal at the Boston outpost of international commercial design firm Stantec. "We're integrating materials that relate to nature—that are tactile and softer, and have texture and dimension. This also applies to warmer lighting. We are looking at circadian rhythms of lighting throughout the day."

These particular design considerations are, in Arria's experience, a priority even at the lobby level. Entry spaces are being repurposed as additional amenity areas for tenants. It's one more opportunity to appease tenants—and in order to do so, it has to be a space where people feel at ease.

"We've been through many decades of flat lobbies with an abundance of glass. Acoustically, that's not a great space, and it feels cold. People want to spend time in environments that seem warm, soft, and welcoming."

Bringing Warmth to Cool Climates

While this might seem easier to execute in regions that are naturally green year-round, part of the evolution of biophilic design is figuring out how to connect with nature's more pleasant elements in regions that don't benefit from temperate climates.

"In New England, there's a solid portion of the year when you don't want to go outside, but an amenity area adjacent to an outdoor space reaps the benefits of sunlight and views without subjecting tenants to the elements," Arria continues. "It's also wise to be thoughtful about curating plant species for year-round foliage or color."

Hotels and luxury multifamily residential buildings are also working to find the right balance when forging a connection between nature and the indoors. Hospitality and multifamily structures in extreme climates face the same challenges that offices do—and their amenity spaces are expected to be even more inviting and comfortable. New York City-based firm Krause Sawyer, whose ethos and aesthetic promotes "natural luxury" for commercial spaces in northeastern climates, has a few guidelines for bringing biophilic elements into large common spaces.

"A large, well-lit art installation created with natural materials or seasonal plants lends an air of organic sophistication to a room," suggests Krause Sawyer co-founder Kajsa Krause.

They also propagate environments that feel soft and healthful: "Generally, bringing natural materials indoors through tactile, organic surfaces partnered with a fresh, neutral color palette lends a feeling of ease to large spaces."

Adaptive Reuse

If it's not feasible to provide a heated outdoor shelter for year-round use, Krause Sawyer recommends creating green spaces around the outdoor arrival moment that are interesting and inspiring, and changing the greenery over the seasons to stay connected to them.

"Green living walls, roof decks and trellises that weave between indoors and outdoors blur the line and create a seamless integration of biophilia into public space," says Tracey Sawyer, Krause Sawyer's other co-founder.

Stantec also notes an increased interest in utilizing rooftop spaces, particularly in dense markets. "When the amount of green space and usable outdoor area is limited, we try to capture underutilized spaces, like rooftop areas relegated to mechanical equipment storage, as social spaces," says Colleen Arria.

Although such spaces may task owners with increased maintenance, tactics, such as using hardscaping instead of plants, or implementing floor-to-ceiling sliding glass NanaWalls to separate a terrace from areas exposed to the elements, can ease the process.

Mobile Greenery

A handful of few startups are working toward making nature not just indoor-friendly, but flexible and portable.

CRE innovation experts are quick to shout-out Sage Green Life, a "living wall" company that's known for designing vertical gardens that utilize patented cement to hold water without using dirt, and employ smart tech to gauge water usage and oxygen production. Sage's products range from large walls that punctuate lobbies to smaller mobile walls that can moved to different common areas or re-formed into cubicle walls.

Trend forecasters say that biophilic design will be among the most important factors for attracting Generation Z tenants and talent. Even if a large-scale implementation isn't possible, it's possible to get creative and let sunshine replace some of the fluorescents.