The role of Biophilia in post pandemic facility design

While the world awaits the tipping point on COVID vaccinations and herd immunity, people have begun turning a cautiously optimistic eye toward the future. What has become clear is that the mental health impacts of the pandemic are still being felt … and will be for some time.

This raises an interesting theoretical question: As we move past the pandemic, can biophilic design play a part in building-occupant wellbeing and recovery?

We've written in another Briefing about a second phase or surge that is looming – thousands, if not millions of people who are suffering from the mental aspects of the pandemic. Burned-out healthcare workers, laid off wait staff, and their families, to name just a few, are all having to work through the pressures coming from lives turned upside down.

Several sources point to a post-COVID-19 surge of mental health cases lasting for three years or longer as patients work through the post-traumatic stresses of the pandemic. As the BBC reported, a sizable minority could be left with mental health problems that outlast the pandemic.

The point here is that everyone has been impacted by the pandemic – some are coping well, others are struggling, while still others are engaging in harmful behaviors. All told, everyone is looking for some form of relief from the strain.

One effective tool is encouraging a reconnection with nature to lower stress levels and improve mood. Even in the depths of lockdowns, government experts were encouraging people to "get outside" to walk, exercise and just "get some fresh air."

What most designers agree on is things like daylighting and access to natural elements (direct or indirect) can have a positive effect on a person's mood and productivity.

Studies have shown that we spend about 90 percent of our time indoors, and the workplace is no exception. A survey reported in WorkDesign magazine found that about 35% of respondents don't get more than 15 minutes of outdoor time during a typical workday. One effective tool is to employ biophilic design.

biophilia noun

bio·phil·ia | \ ,bī-ō-'fi-lē-ə , -'fēl-yə\

Definition of biophilia: a hypothetical human tendency to interact or be closely associated with other forms of life in nature. (Merriam Webster)

In a nutshell, biophilia has come to mean: Love of living things. A close corollary would be: Love of nature.

Biophilic design is a concept used within the design profession to increase occupant connectivity to the natural environment through the use of direct nature, indirect nature, and space and place conditions.

The theorists argue that this approach taps into the hard wiring of human beings who, over the span of historic time, have developed an affinity for the life-supporting aspects of the natural world.

The idea then is to allow building occupants to have direct access to nature – for example, a rooftop garden, adjacent nature walk, or a garden courtyard, or to allow them to experience nature when outdoor access is either unfeasible or impractical – natural views, graphics and imagery, etc.

If there was a landmark inaugural study of biophilia in healthcare design, it might be thanks to Dr. Roger Ulrich of Sweden. In an article in Commercial Architecture (Feb. 2016), Senior Editor Ken Betz, writes:

Roger Ulrich, Ph.D., EDAC, a professor of architecture at the Center for Healthcare Building Research at Chalmers Univ. of Technology in Sweden didn't use the term biophilia when he did a study in 1984 that suggested simply that surgery patients recovered better in rooms with a view through a window. But "what few realize is that Ulrich's famous study was essentially about the impact of biophilic design on the built environment," said David Navarrete, director, research initiatives, The Sky Factory, Fairfield, IA.

Catie Ryan expanded on the importance of Ulrich's classic study, which measured the influence of natural and urban sceneries on patients recovering from gallbladder surgery. "Some patients were provided with views to nature, whereas others looked at brick walls. With all other variables equal, his findings revealed accelerated recovery rates and reduced stress for the patients who had views of nature. On average, patients whose windows overlooked a scene of nature were released after 7.96 days, compared with the 8.71 days it took for patients whose views were of the hospital's exterior walls to recover sufficiently to be released—a decrease of 8.5%," she said.

Those are some impressive numbers, to be sure. We feel confident in saying that utilizing nature as a positive distraction benefits all ages of people. By allowing the lines between interior and exterior to blur, the benefits of the outdoors can be brought inside. Similarly, accessible outdoor spaces that carefully address safety concerns can be calming, positive and therapeutic distractions.

Not everyone can put in a rooftop garden, or landscape their entire campus at the drop of a hat. Such projects can be time and capital intensive. So here are two quick ways a facility can tap into biophilia.

Imagine turning nature scenes into whole-wall imagery or using large graphics to inspire and give hope. Aspex® Printed Wall Protection combines high resolution images with durable wall protection. The beauty of the product is in the unlimited options available to the designer.

Along with endless design ability, Aspex provides high-impact durability to your wall and clear, crisp imagery of digital printing. The graphic is back-printed onto the clear sheet you don't have to worry about the image being scratched over time.

And digitally printed wall art of nature scenes (shown left) allows for the inclusion of beautiful natural imagery in a smaller, but no-less-dramatic way.

As reported in Buildings magazine (December 2018), a study of 7,600 respondents in 16 countries reported that "window views of greenery and water were linked to lower stress levels compared to greater stress levels for employees without a window." Allowing daylight in improves overall mood and worker productivity. Shade fabrics with higher openness factors can reduce the sun's glare and heat gain, yet still allow for outside views.