How Biophilic Design Helps Improve Your Mood

Since its inception, Homo sapiens has been closely associated with nature, creating a emotional link so deep, that it has been maintained until today. Over the years, we have gone from living in rural areas to urban agglomerations. Large cities, huge consumers of fossil fuels, have become major sources of pollution. Pollution that, little by little, is diminishing the health of its inhabitants. A hectic pace of life, full of stimuli, which fuel constant stress. The culture of immediacy, in which everything must be here and now.

The biophilic design is committed to lowering the revolutions of day-to-day, restoring the ties between nature and people. The rhythm of the countryside, a walk among the trees, the blue of the sea, the mountains, are means that relax us and make us find peace.

BIOPHILIC ARCHITECTURE, KEY IN HEALTHY HOUSES

Biophilic architecture is a new trend in which lNature and architecture are connected to improve people's quality of life.

Undoubtedly, the incorporation of nature into the designs of urban and interior spaces is beneficial to society. With the adherence of these principles to the projects, one obtains in return a improvement in physical and mental health of its users. An emotional and psychological quality that helps the well-being of people, providing positivity, serenity and energy.

The program of this type of architecture promotes directly integrating features of the natural world into the interior of buildings. Therefore, 4 terms are very important: light, water, air and vegetation.

In a work environment, this type of architecture positively influences the productivity, stress and creativity of workers. Common spaces for socialization and human interaction are frequent places in work environments based on these new concepts.

Good ventilation will also favor maintaining a healthy environment inside the house.

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF BIOPHILIC DESIGN

We will cite 3 key principles of biophilic design, which have a significant impact on people's emotions and moods

1 – NATURE IN THE SPACES

The senses allow us to capture the stimuli that occur around us. Feeling the proximity of nature is the fundamental objective of biophilic design.

Two types of connections are distinguished, the visual connection and the sensory connection:

The eye connection. the view

The visual connection consists of the direct contact with natural elements like light or vegetation. The designs must solve optimal light contributions and favor views of natural environments such as mountains, rivers, parks, or the sky itself. The incorporation of these natural states generates strong responses of pleasure in people, reducing boredom, irritability, and fatigue. In addition, it improves attention, concentration and the perception of security.

The sensory connection. 

In addition to sight, nature can be present in our minds thanks to the rest of the senses

The audition.

Thinking about the sound of an environment can add various sensations to it. For example, the presence of water, and the noise that your movement produces, will help to reduce stress and increase the feeling of tranquility. Also, create a friendly background noise that masks the unpleasant sounds that surround us.

The touch.

Architectural elements such as surfaces, textures, the furniture... and environmental parameters such as temperature, humidity and ventilation, are factors that we feel through the sense of touch.

The use of natural materials in the interiors, such as wood wave claywill help create a closest link between man and his environment.

To cite a few examples, the sensation we experience when sitting on a metal chair can be cold and even uncomfortable in certain climates. On the other hand, in hot and humid climates, the stimuli that we perceive by feeling the air currents on our face will activate a feeling of well-being and satisfaction.

The sense of smell.

The smell of certain spaces, intimate for us, implies a memory emotional deep. We all have some characteristic smell that makes us travel to our past. An environment surrounded by aromatic plants, flowers, or the earth itself, will contribute to creating a space in which calm and serenity can be breathed.

In summary, sensory architecture seeks to transmit a series of stimuli that will make us feel life around us.

2 – THE ANALOGY OF NATURE

Is about introduce shapes, patterns and materials that evoke the presence of nature in buildings. Designs inspired by the mimicry of the physiognomies that we find in a natural and living environment.

3 – NATURE OF THE SPACE

The perspective and open spaces favor the feeling of well-being and rest.

A clear view gives a feeling of spaciousness and freedom. The incorporation of open relaxation and reading areas, in which silhouettes and botanical forms predominate, favor human interaction and increase productivity.

BIOPHILIC DESIGN – BIOMIMETICS AND BIOMORPHISM

Nature has always found the solution before us.

The biomorphism is an artistic movement that was born in the 20th century, based on the observation and reproduction of the organic forms of nature. Biomorphic designs make symbolic reference to patterns of shape and modeling inspired by nature.

The biomimicry is a branch of design, which analyzes the conception of certain natural elements, like the streamlined beak of a bird, or the wings of a fly, in order to apply its compositional structure to a modern design.

To cite an example related to sustainable architecture, a group of American researchers created a series of solar panels that, like sunflowers, follow the path of the sun, thus optimizing the absorption of energy that the king sun provides us.

CONCLUSION

In architecture, the different combinations of materials generate disparate spaces that convey different sensations. A space is much more than its image. Its textures, the smell, the sound directly influence the sensory experience of the user.

All this series of sensory stimuli, changes in thermal sensations, air flows, contact with fresh air, imitate the changes found in nature, and give life to spaces.

Biophilic design is a return to the essential, to the pure, to the calm of nature, everything that brings us peace, and consequently, health.

(Read article Ecological houses)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

– Biophilia. Edward Osborne Wilson.

– Healthy house. How to make your home a healthier environment. Elisabeth Silvestre and Mariano Bueno

PHOTOGRAPHS

– Guilhem Guinot – Instagram