Biophilic Design Examples in the Workplace
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Garden Streets
Introduction
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Biophilic design is pledges to blend building design, architecture, and interior design with nature. This means bringing in natural materials, natural light, and literal nature to buildings. You can do this with plants, flowers, and more into office buildings, apartments, homes, and more. While many people have a few plants in their home, biophilia is more than that. Biophilia is a true philosophy that tries to bring humans back to their natural environment (aka the outdoors) while they’re still in their “unnatural environment” (aka the indoors). Let’s look at a few outstanding biophilic design examples to give you a better idea of what we mean.
Siemens Office Design in Boston Siemens is a company that focuses on using automation, robotics, and technology to improve all sorts of industries. From medical equipment to energy use to diagnostics, they have their hands deep in the pot of innovation and cutting edge.They wanted to reflect this emphasis on innovation in their office design in Boston. So, they hired on a professional biophilic design and interior plantscaper to install plants throughout the office. These plants were strategically placed to ensure that natural beauty and greenery could be seen from any place in the office. This immerses employees into the biophilia of the design, which follows right along with the philosophy as a whole. It brings everyone in the office closer to nature simply by coming to work.
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Amazon’s Spheres in Seattle Amazon’s Spheres (often simply referred to as “The Spheres”) are a true biophilic and architectural marvel. Right on The Spheres’ website it says that they’re: “a result of innovative thinking about the character of a workplace and an extended conversation about what is typically missing from urban offices– a direct link to nature.” These huge spheres that look like a combination between soap bubbles and a bird’s nest. Inside, you’ll find over 40,000 plants from 30 different countries. Amazon knows that biophilic spaces can boost creativity and innovation (two pillars of their brand). They wanted to give workers a place where they could go to come up with the next best thing and feel great about themselves as they work. Made of glass and a steel frame, The Spheres let in lots of natural light (which can be a rarity in the Pacific Northwest). This helps employees “get outside” even during working hours. Living walls, trees, and greenhouses fill the space. These are alongside offices, workspace, desks, and collaboration areas.
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One Central Park in Sydney This building in Australia is very similar to Amazon’s Spheres with a slogan that says: “Where City Meets Nature.” Hanging gardens and rooftop greenhouses & gardens make this building into a true “green” building. Also like the Spheres, One Central Park is a glass building. This allows it to let in natural light at all levels, and allows it to blend in with the city landscape.Not only does it appear as a biophilic marvel, but it’s also committed to green and natural living with what’s inside it. Inside the building is internal water recycling plant and an energy efficient, low-carbon power plant. A reflective mirror installation provides even more light to the building as well as all of the plants in the building. This effect is even enjoyed by pedestrians and people walking near the building. This extends the reach of biophilia to the surrounding areas.
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The La Kretz Innovation Campus in Los Angeles The La Kretz Innovation Campus (LKIC) is an area that attracts entrepreneurs, innovators, policymakers, and students. These are all people who are dedicated to promoting the green economy. Facilities include workspaces, conference/meeting rooms, labs, workshop spaces, event spaces, and more. It runs on its own microgrid system and has numerous biophilic elements including rooms with all living walls, skylights, walls of glass for natural light, and numerous natural materials used during construction. It also aligns with a number of prestigious environmental certifications with many believing it will get LEED-Platinum status soon.
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Sources https://www.gardenstreets.com/gallery https://www.gardenstreets.com/residential https://www.seattlespheres.com/ https://www.centralparksydney.com/live/so ld-out/one-central-park https://www.ldproducts.com/aboutus/leed
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