Bringing nature into the design of houses, offices and cities
Vanessa Champion, the Journal of Biophilic Design editor, on the importance of nature-inspired living.
Before you start reading this newsletter, take a moment to look around you. Do you only see a built environment? Or are you in nature?
Nature is often far away from our daily lives, which is literally "unnatural." Because as a species, we need our connection to nature. You will probably feel that when you go for a walk in a forest, or when you see flowers, or just lay on a beach to watch the seagulls flying high above you while listening to the waves rolling in.
Biophilia
Biophilia is the word that describes the "love of life, of living things like plants or animals." We feel better when our living or working environment follows the principles of Biophilic Design. So look around you again: is there a plant in your office? Or a photo on your wall of a nature walk that you enjoyed? That's a good start.
Today, Vanessa Champion joined me in The Planet podcast; she is the Journal of Biophilic Design's editor. We spoke about the concept of nature-inspired living in interior design and cities. Vanessa explained that it is more than just bringing in lots of plants; it is also about bringing in representations of nature. These can be real, patterns of nature, or simulated elements of nature. And the focus is not just on interiors; it is also used in architecture and city planning.
Not surprisingly, she is passionate about getting more trees in our environment:
"Living close to trees helps our mental well-being; it also helps to reduce aggression, particularly in inner cities."
In our talk, Vanessa gives many more examples of the advantages of biophilic design. For instance, it improves creativity and productivity in the workspace while also reducing blood pressure. She also stresses the importance of representations of nature in hospitals.
Vanessa explains the positive impact of having nature around us by referring to our human ancestors:
"We have not changed much since our lives on the plains; we were born to live in nature."
We also spoke about photography, social media, and why she started the Journal of Biophilic Design. I hope you will take some time to listen to this podcast:
You can read the Journal of Biophilic Design here.
Vanessa founded PhotoAid. It celebrates photojournalism which inspires understanding and action through visual documentary. It covers human and animal rights and environmental awareness.
This is the link to Vanessa Champion Media.
This is the link to the Space Doctors, aimed to help people live better lives, transform their homes and offices into spaces where they can create better physical and mental health environments, and be more productive and creative.
Last Thursday, Alister Doyle and I looked back at last week's news about the environment, climate change, nature, and science. You can listen to that podcast here:
For your calendar
Thursday, February 10th, at 3 pm ET, Alister Doyle (author of The Great Melt) and I will do our weekly wrap-up of the news on the environment, nature, science, climate, and anything else that we believe you may find interesting.
On February 10th, you can listen/join here.
Friday, February 11th, at 2 pm ET, Steven Ramage will join The Planet podcast. He leads external relations at the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) in Geneva, Switzerland, and works with earth scientists, geospatial practitioners, policy developers & decision makers to address environmental & societal challenges we face today & tomorrow.
You can listen/join here.
I write this newsletter and make podcasts like this interview with Vanessa Champion on biophilic design because I believe that together we can do better on this beautiful but fragile planet.
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Notes:
Photo: the green roof in lower Manhattan on 419 Lafayette St. by Alyson Hurt from Alexandria, Va., USA (Creative Commons: thank you, Alyson!)
Independent journalism👍
A wonderful inspiring conversation with Vanessa and you. Our greatest creative endeavor is how we create and live our lives, including the people we allow in our tribes. Although I live in a very large city, I’m grateful each day to live in the hills, surrounded by trees, the morning marine layer and even wild animals.