Last month I sat on a panel discussing the business case for workplace wellbeing, of which one is slowly emerging. That along with Christmas
and my Viking* heritage got me pondering on the true origins of biophilic design.
Biophilia, a term coined by Edward O Wilson, is basically our innate affinity to nature. Biophilic design tends to focus on introducing
plants into the workplace but, as explained in a previous blog, it is so much more and taps into our
base (evolutionary psychology) needs. Biophilia includes daylight, views, fluctuating
temperature, sound-scaping, natural ventilation, natural materials, social spaces, refuge etc –
see Bill Browning’s excellent work for a full explanation of biophilic design principles. But bringing nature indoors has been going on for some time, especially around this time of year …
