Biophilia is not a new concept. Humans have been staying amongst plants for ages. Houses in villages around the world still use plants as construction ingredients. Modern urban planning also includes biophilic design elements. The benefits of the biophilic design can’t be overemphasized.
The biophilic design consists of both natural and artificial foliage products. And it’s not about standalone properties anymore. Community housing facilities are also looking at biophilia as an essential element of their design process.
Why Biophilic?
Humans have an innate sense of connection with nature. This has been the development over millennia. Even today, people living in the vicinity of nature display better psychological and physical health. Humans feel delighted in the presence of plants, water bodies, and natural lights. A design that caters to this sense of happiness is bound to find wide acceptance.
Talk of restorative spaces. Talk of healthy spaces. Talk of inspirational spaces. Biophilic design encompasses all this. Biophilia is all about a desire to connect to life. It’s a part of human biology. It eliminates the line between what is natural and what is artificial.
Embracing Biophilia in the Design Process
Be it individually or as a community, biophilic design is conducive to several essential elements. It is conducive to how we live. How we intermix with others. How we play and work. How we bounce back after any mishap. It is about having plants in the structure. And it is also about creating spaces that help people to stay calm and relaxed. To become energized.
Biophilic design is about bringing ventilation and natural lighting to the workplace and residences. Getting the outside views to people staying indoors. Biophilic designers create a complex system of plants, water bodies, and also animal life.
A completed biophilic-design unit appeals to all five senses. It can be something ornate like hanging gardens. Or it can be a simpler hanging greenery décor.
Community Housing – Incorporating Biophilia
The concept of biophilic architecture is established in many community housing projects. This architecture implies that the well-being and health of humans are connected with various aspects of the environment around them. This environment consists of accessibility to plant life, availability of natural light, surface types, and more.
The need of the hour is to create community housing projects that ensure sustainability. Sustainability in terms of their environmental impact. Because these communities need to be responsive to climatic emergencies. This would help to create a stronger and more resilient community.
Over the years, many modern urban environments have been devoid of almost any access to nature. This decreases human resilience to psychological and other natural disturbances.
In view of increasing pollution, frequent climate changes, and pandemic situations, there is a need for environmental regeneration. This is necessary to protect human health and ensure welfare. The objective of forward-looking community housing developers is to minimize the human-environment impact. The neighborhoods and communities need to be made more secure. And biophilic designs for community housing show the way to do so.
Biophilia is critical to creating this human resilience. Thus, biophilic designs for community housing are about recognizing and incorporating biodiversity and natural resources. The community residents should instinctively feel attached to nature.
Inherently, humans connect to plant life. In a locality that is devoid of biophilic elements, humans tend to become unduly impatient and aggressive. This is an important aspect that community housing designers need to keep in mind.
In this respect, it’s important to remember something. Biophilic-designed community housing doesn’t mean placing a mishmash of trees and plants here and there. It’s about creating symmetry with the kind of houses. With the topography and the landscape. And also the space available.
For example, in smaller units, a drop tile planter would be ideal. You can go for hanging halo planters or ceiling planters if the room’s height is on the higher side. In community gathering areas or halls, large tile planter boxes would be suitable.
Biophilic Themes
You would need to refer to expert biophilic design option providers for selecting the right theme for the housing. It’s all about implementing the themes in the right manner. Then, it will have the right impact on the dwellers’ health. The following theme suggestions can help in this regard.
- The engagement with nature has to be in a sustained manner. Isolated interactions don’t help. Only a long-term engagement would be fruitful.
- The biophilic design should blend with the overall setting. It should not stick out like a sore thumb. Biophilic design is not about putting plants in community housing out of context. It is about developing an ecosystem where biophilia is part of the community’s culture.
- Usage of more natural materials is crucial. E.g. artificial stones can never recreate the feel of real stones. Even though artificial plants are used in biophilia, the effects that the real ones create are more long-lasting.
- The design should evoke nature through its form. The concept of spaciousness in design is a case in point. The pillars of the buildings in the common gathering areas can have plants entwined around them. This is akin to the way vines wrap themselves around trees.
Another example can be different forms of suspended greenery in the meeting rooms of the community halls. Or even in the drawing rooms of residential units. When you sit there, it evokes a sense of sitting under a canopy of plants. This brings a sense of calmness to the senses.
Designers and architects are increasingly waking up to this fact. They are designing community housing in a way that maximizes the human-nature experience. The aim is to let biophilia build a high-quality and healthy living environment. Interactions with nature should become a part of the community’s everyday life and not a periodical excursion.
