Issue 1: Bringing the outdoors in
Over the last year and a half we have all spent a lot of time in our homes. The pandemic kept us inside and made us realise how much being in or around nature was so important to us.
But even before the pandemic, humans spent up to 90% of our lives indoors, we are in essence indoor house cats. Listening to the podcast 99% invisible, episode 424 - The Great Indoors, author and science journalist Emily Anthes talks about the incredible flora and fauna that thrive in our homes and how our living situations have shaped the way that we are as a species.
Whilst talking about all the wonderful and slightly scary world of bacteria and bugs that live in our homes, Athens, brought up the topic of Biophilic design, something that you have probably heard a lot about recently.
Biophilic Design is:
“ a concept used within the architectural and interior design industry to increase occupant connectivity to the natural environment through the use of direct nature, indirect nature, and space and place conditions.”
Biophilic design stems from the principle of Biophilia as theorised by biologist Edward O. Wilson, that it is “an innate and genetically determined affinity of human beings with the natural world.”
In essence Biophilic design is looking at nature and seeing how we can mimic it or incorporate it into our living spaces.
“Biophilic design seeks to satisfy our innate need to affiliate with nature in modern buildings and cities”
Studies have shown that exposure to nature can increase our quality of life immensely, from recovering from illness faster, to lowering blood pressure, boosting mood, relieving stress and increasing productivity. So how do you add nature into your home?
There are many ways to incorporate biophilic design into our living spaces, here are my top 5:
1.
Add houseplants to your home, they not only add a sense of nature to your space, certain ones can even purify the air.
2.
Use natural materials in your space such as wood, rattan or stone.
3.
Take advantage of the natural light in your room, think if you can rearrange your furniture to get the most of the natural light in your space.
4.
Add scent to your home. Find candles that mimic the scents of nature.
5.
Take inspiration from outside and use a nature inspired colour palette.