Biophilic Design

Biophilic design uses the human connection to nature (“biophilia”) to connect people more closely to nature in buildings including homes, workplaces, businesses, public facilities, schools, hospitals, and more. Biophilic-designed buildings incorporate indoor plants, interior landscaping, natural lighting, fresh air ventilation, and other elements to create a healthier environment to support human health and wellbeing.

There are 24 individual qualities of biophilic design. They include:

  • Direct experience: contact with green elements such as plants, views of nature, water, and natural airflow.
  • Indirect experience: the use of natural materials such as wood or natural fabrics like cotton and wool; exposure to images of nature in artwork; and the use of natural shapes and forms.
  • Experience of space and place: How is your own cultural and ecological attachment to a particular indoor area affected?

Multiple studies show a positive relationship between the presence of nature in the workplace and employee wellness and productivity. The design think tank Human Spaces reports employees working in environments with natural elements like plants and sunlight have a 15 percent higher level of well-being. This translates into a six percent increase in productivity and a 15 percent increase in creativity.

Think about what a six percent efficiency increase would mean in your business. Imagine one creative idea that turns into the next Tesla, Bitcoin, or even Scrub Daddy (look it up). What would you be willing to invest in getting there?

There are several simple design changes easily made in workspaces. The easiest and most cost-efficient way is the addition of plants into your environment. This action also gets building owners and facilities managers thinking big picture about the amount of space people have to work in or the best way to make buildings safer and healthier. Safety, health, and worker productivity all go together.

Natural light, plants and vegetation, living walls, natural textures and materials, and views of nature will all provide the positive impact employers need to hire and keep their employees. And it can all be done for less than the cost of a cup of coffee per employee daily.

The Future of Living Walls in Los Angeles

| June 1, 2017 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Case Studies, Indoor Plants, Living Walls
One of the things we love about working with living walls is finding something new to incorporate into our client projects. We’ve been big fans of preserved moss walls, and found a way to combine it with traditional living walls for the architecture firm Gensler’s Los Angeles location. Gensler’s Los Angeles office is the first vertical urban creative campus in the downtown area at 500 South Figueroa Street. The campus is comprised of Gensler’s original three-level atrium building, which it outgrew a long time ago,  connected via a custom-designed bridge to the City National Bank tower next door where it is leasing several more floors of office space to accommodate its 600 employees.… Read More

Reduce Workplace Distractions with Plants

| May 18, 2017 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Living Walls, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping
People working in an office with lots of plants.
Companies were quick to jump on board the open office design trend when it first showed up in the 1990s. Busting down the doors created community and encouraged creativity. People also needed less workspace thanks to technology. No one needed a huge computer workstation anymore when a laptop or even a tablet or phone would do. By opening up office space and shrinking the average workstation, companies could also save a lot of money on their office leases. The result: the International Facilities Managers Association says 70 percent of all workplaces today have some kind of open office design. In the 20 plus years since the walls came down, workplace efficiency experts have learned a lot – mainly that the pendulum swung a little too far and some corrections are needed.… Read More

Go Green Or Your Employees Might Go Home

| March 2, 2017 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Environment, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing
The job market has been opening up. It’s great news for people who want to find a quality job. But it’s not such good news for employers trying to retain their most talented employees. Employers should pay attention to the findings in this year’s annual “State of the American Workplace” survey from the Gallup Organization. It gives them a game plan for developing the kind working environment talented people are looking for. A record 47 percent of the workforce say now is a good time to find a quality job. More than half of employees (51 percent) are searching for new jobs or watching for openings.… Read More

Good Earth Plant Company’s Top Ten Workplace Design Trends to Watch for 2017

| December 29, 2016 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Case Studies, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Green Roofs, Living Walls, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping
With just a few days left of 2016, Good Earth Plants has its attention focused on what’s to come for 2017. Here are our top ten predictions on workplace design trends for the next 12 months. Moss Wall Art: Preserved moss walls took our industry by storm in 2016, and there is no sign of it letting up. Look for even more creativity and innovation in these projects. We are incorporating new and different types of mosses and integrating additional materials including elements like driftwood, pods, shells and glass. There is no limit to the possibilities. We are even exploring living moss walls into very limited projects.… Read More

Projects Inspiring Us At Good Earth Plants RN

| September 29, 2016 | Categories: Biophilic Design, Case Studies, Green Roofs, Living Walls, Sustainable Living
Regular blog readers know about my passion for improving our communities and our health and well being through strengthening our connection to nature. It’s amazing to me how something simple like introducing natural elements in our work environment like plants and natural light can reduce job stress and improve our health overall. I get inspired when I see people around the world creating projects taking this simple idea and making it real. Yes, I also admit to being a little envious too, because I would love to see more projects like this in San Diego. Several projects got a “wow” out of me and I’d like to share them with you for your daily dose of “wow” instead of a basketball trick shot or cute pet video.… Read More

Green Roofs Are Even Greater Than We First Thought

| September 15, 2016 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Green Roofs
North America’s largest living roof – about the size of eight football fields – continues to flourish atop Dearborn Truck Plant’s final assembly building, part of the Ford Rouge Center. Photo: Courtesy Ford Motor Company
When I first installed the green roof at Good Earth Plant Company in 2007, all of the information about the long term impact came from Europe. There weren’t all that many green roofs in the United States and there weren’t many studies being conducted on the few that existed. Times change and we are much more enlightened about the positive impact of green roofs on the immediate environment and their contribution overall. Some of the best studies are coming from The Green Roof Research Program at Michigan State University. One of MSU’s collaborators is a company which might not come to mind when you think about green roofs: the Ford Motor Company.… Read More

Amazon Goes Big With New HQ Biosphere in Seattle

| August 4, 2016 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilia, Biophilic Design, Living Walls, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping, Sustainable Living
Rendering of the Amazon headquarters "biospheres" under construction in Seattle. Photo Courtesy NBBJ
Outrageous workplace perks in the tech industry have reached epic proportions. Google has the reputation of offering the most extreme benefits. Google better enjoy its status while it can. The new Amazon headquarters in downtown Seattle is going to blow Google’s free laundry services and the Facebook snack bar away. Amazon is building three massive “biosphere” type greenhouses as part of its new $4 billion headquarters in the hip Denny Regrade. These three connected greenhouses will house 65,000 square feet of tropical plants, with 3,000 different species. Compare this to the San Diego Botanical Garden in Balboa Park. It houses 2,100 species of plants in just under 20,000 square feet of space.… Read More

Good Earth Plants Helps Your Great Ideas Grow

| April 21, 2016 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Environment, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping, Sustainable Living
We can't function well mentally or physically when we are breathing oxygen depleted air. Adding plants to your indoor environment can help a lot. Good Earth Plants can help!
Many of us don’t have labor-intensive jobs, as in the kind of physical work leaving you tired and sore at the end of the day. Our version of heavy lifting gets done mentally, whether we are crunching numbers, crafting communication, or even shooting YouTube videos. But we’re still dependent on a productive and safe environment where we can breathe deeply and let oxygen fuel our brains. Did you know your brain consumes 20 percent of all the oxygen that enters your bloodstream through breathing, but it only makes up two percent of your total body mass? This means your brain uses ten times more oxygen than the rest of your body.… Read More

Let’s Make San Diego A Biophilia Hub

| March 2, 2016 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilia, Biophilic Design, Environment, Good Earth Plant Company, Green Roofs, Indoor Plants, Living Walls, Sustainable Living
Leaders from 40 of the best large gardens in North America came to San Diego last week for the Directors of Large Gardens Conference at the San Diego Botanical Garden in Encinitas. When I opened my San Diego Union-Tribune on Saturday, I was glad to see an article about the meeting by reporter Phil Diehl, and I especially loved the headline:  “Stressed? You may need some nature.” Right up my alley. It’s worth reading. As many good things as the article covered, there were so many other great topics it couldn’t fit in. Many are the things we write about here in this blog: biophilia, bioinspiration, biomimicry, author Richard Louv’s concept of “nature deficit disorder,” the new Wellbeing Standards – I could go on.… Read More

Super Bowl 50 is Super Eco-Friendly

| February 4, 2016 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Environment, Green Roofs, Living Walls
Standard compliant structures in the world. Photo: Courtesy Levi's Stadium website
Super Bowl 50 is just days away. Are you rooting for the Broncos or the Panthers? Or are you tuning in for the commercials, not the game? Looking forward to Coldplay and Beyonce? I’m excited about Super Bowl 50 because it is taking place in the first ever professional football stadium to be LEED Gold certified. Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California is the most eco-friendly, sustainable stadium in the world today. Levi’s Stadium, the home of the San Francisco 49ers, is a typical multi-purpose modern stadium that can host all sorts of events. What sets it apart starts at the top: the NRG Solar Terrace green roof on the west side of the stadium.… Read More