Biophilic Architecture

Activity 1
Activity 2
Activity 3
Activity 4
Activity 5
Activity 6
Activity 7
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… the enjoyment of scenery employs the mind without fatigue and yet exercises it, tranquilizes it and yet enlivens it; And thus, through the influence of the mind over the body, gives the effect of refreshing rest and reinvigoration to the whole system". Frederick Law Olmsted, 1865

Biophilia is our connection with nature, the world that evolved before we arrived, and the world we experience now living on this Earth. It connects architecture with the web of life. Some of us played outside while growing up; others raised chickens, goats, and cows. Some families enjoy having pet cats, dogs, birds, fish, and turtles. Our connection with the gifts of life- its trees, insects, and animals live within and because of interdependent ecosystems.

Activity 1 – Visual Access to Nature

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Building with Nature is an excellent way to connect people with their surroundings. It starts with dissolving the barrier between the inside and the outside. We know that most of us spend 90% of our lives indoors, so we must have opportunities to see, hear, experience, explore, and connect with the natural environment wherever we are.

The size and position of doors and windows are critical to the connection between the inside and the outside. Take a moment to walk around your house. Notice the location of the doors. Do they open to the garden? Are they open to the street? Do they open to a balcony? Which door gives the most immediate access to the outside? Which ones lead to planted areas? Which ones lead to calm areas? Which ones lead to concrete or asphalt areas? Architect Safdie’s Video about Habitat in Montreal and China that gives everyone access to a garden!

Draw or photograph a view out a window that shares the beauty of nature. Upload it to the gallery!

Activity 2 – Building Relationships with Nature

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Neuroscience reports that looking at a tree can reduce stress and anxiety. Choose a view that you like. Extend activities outside with patios, decks, and more. Draw it at four different times of the day. Draw the view looking out the window or window(s) in your house or apartment. Dawn, noon, dinnertime, and night all offer the same scene but with different lighting. Windows are the eyes of our buildings! Bring inside activities outside and commune with nature!

Activity 3 – BRINGING THE OUTSIDE INSIDE

Bringing the life of the outside inside reminds us of the importance of the ecosystems of our biomes, providing us with air, water, and food. Plants grown inside help clean the air naturally. Designing interiors with living walls, bamboo gardens, and indoor plants and trees helps to connect interior life with exterior ecosystems. Plants inside of a house help to clean the interior air by taking in carbon dioxide and giving off oxygen! Nurseries and other stores offer many species of indoor plants such as ferns, Ficus, palms, pines, snake plants, and so many more! Bringing the outside inside starts a stewardship of care with your first plant! Do you have plants in your house? If not, you should! Adopt a plant and place it in a window or room with sunlight.

Take a picture of your space with sunlight and with plants! Post it to the gallery.

Activity 4 – Design from the inside out!

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The architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed from the inside out so that the experiences of being inside our homes would always be connected with the outside landscape. He proposed that our homes should be places of refuge and prospect. Refuge is to come inside your abode for safety and comfort, and relish its security and sanctity. Prospect is to look out of the house to the distant horizon to expand your prospects!

Activity 5 – Nature Inside and Outside

To truly situate, orient, and contemplate living with and in nature, one needs views of nature outside and care for plants on the inside. When people achieve this, the house is in balance. This photo of the House of Rae and Charles Eames in California celebrates nature’s services inside and outside. What can you do to commune with Nature where you live?

Activity 6 – Living With Nature

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Humans, as part of nature, realize that living in denatured cities or buildings that separate us from other life forms is not as healthy as those built environments that respond to the biome, the climate, and the nature life supports. In our optic world, returning to sensory, full-bodied experiences with our location, community, and nature is essential for our health and well-being. Biophilic architecture connects with the natural world- visually, acoustically, experientially, and sustainably.

Activity 7 – Relaxing with Nature

Neuroscience reveals that looking at a tree relaxes people and reduces anxiety. Have you ever tried it? Take a look at a tree. Watch its branches move with the breezes. Look at the bright green bursts of leaves in the spring. Your attention, even momentarily, draws outward and draws calmness inside. Even better is spending time every day outside in a natural area. It could be a local park, a riverside, a forest, or the lake’s edge. Walking outside helps so many of us relax and connect to the gifts of life. Take a photo of a tree that you have befriended. Talk to it every day!