Biophilic design for student mental wellbeing
What is biophilic design?
Biophilic design brings the outside world in to bridge the gap between our indoor urban habitats and the natural environment we co-evolved in over millions of years.
By recognizing the primacy of this synergistic relationship between our wellbeing and nature, biophilic designers then work to create harmonious nature-centric buildings and interiors that minimize their impact on the environment whilst maximizing their health benefits for occupants. And yes, typically this involves a lot of greenery but as we will see below, a pot plant is just the tip of the iceberg.
What does a biophilic designer do?
The work of a biophilic designer can either involve a pure consultancy role working alongside an architecture / interior design studio, bringing a unique combination of sustainable design and wellbeing design principles to the table on larger projects, or involves implementing those same biophilic design concepts directly into a space as the lead designer.
There is an intricate, three-way relationship between our physical and mental health, our planet’s health and the spaces we inhabit. A biophilic designer seeks to apply this equally to entire buildings as specific interior spaces, right the way down to furniture, wallpaper, flooring, artworks and so on.
How can biophilic design help student mental wellbeing?
By creating healthy, green and positive spaces for studying, working, recharging, sleeping and even exercising biophilic design can harness some of the goodness of the outside world for the mental wellbeing of students at university.
This is done through the integration of natural elements in interiors, it doesn't have to be as literal as ‘a view of a forest in the library’ say, it can be a more subtle combination of natural colors, materials, textures, scents and sounds that cumulatively provides a restorative, nature-centric experience for the building. occupant.
The fundamental insight underlying all of this is the spaces we spend time in can have either a positive or negative influence on our mental and emotional wellbeing.
Biophilic design research data
There is plenty of scientific research out there already (see here) but there's always a need for more such studies. Biofilico has delivered two such studies, one of which was in collaboration with the University of Essex in Canary Wharf in London, on behalf of a residential real estate. developer named EcoWorld Ballymore and their The Wardian apartments.
Effectively they gave us a glasshouse by the river and asked us to create a restorative biophilic space as a pop-up one January, then invite local residents and workers in to spend 30-60 minutes of their day simply experiencing the ‘Vitamin Nature space’, as we called it.
Vitamin Nature interior design
We had 108 People spend around about an hour in there over three weeks with a pre and post visit questionnaire. The visitors to the Vitamin Nature space could pretty much do what they wanted but it was declare a ‘digital detox zone’. So some of them were working quietly, or collaborating in teams, or taking time out to have a peaceful lunch.
We had 74% of respondents say they felt an improvement in mood, while 87% reported lower levels of perceived stress, considering they were all coming in from offices in London’s central business district, 83% left feeling more productive than when they arrived and 87% reported feeling more creative afterwards.
Mental health benefits of biophilic design
This shows that we can both reduce the negative impact of other, non biophilic urban environments as well as positively impact feelings of vitality and nature connectedness, all through spending a little time in a biophilic design concept space. Imagine what it could do in you home or office where you spend 8-12. hours a day!
We achieved this particular biophilic design experience via an abundance of air-purifying plants, scented candles and aromatherapy, meditation books and circadian lighting to energize by day then calm after dark, so it doesn’t need to be a huge investment in financial terms, at least not in the context of student accommodation for example.
Biophilic design university gym
Biofilico’s sister company Biofit was asked by the Health Promotion Unit of the Karolinska Institute medical university in Stockholm, Sweden to create a small eco-friendly exercise space for students to use in the centre of campus. See case.study here.
This university campus is big on biophilic design and has been for a while, so they were already harnessing the restorative mental wellbeing benefits of natural interiors for their students.
The task here was to create somewhere students could have a mini movement snack during their study. day, connecting with some biophilia, do a small group class session, meditate, or generally recharge.
To achieve this we worked with lots of air-purifying plants, natural materials, air purifiers, non-toxic recyclable moss-like carpet panels.
The space was only 30 square meters and was not playing any meaningful role in their student mental health promotion efforts so they wanted to convert it into a new, attractive feature for the department to engage with students
Exercise equipment focused on functional and bodyweight training, with gymnastic rings, a balance beam, massage balls, sandbags, stall bars, lifting logs, step-up logs and a pull-up bar, all made from sustainable wood. The idea was to promote a fun, free approach to exercise rather than a prescriptive muscle or aesthetics based style of training.
biophilic design for mental health in student accommodation
How can biophilic design improve the mental health of students in their residential accommodation? Obviously indoor plants with air-purifying properties is one place to start but biophilic design is much more expansive a concept than that.
Nature can be brought inside in representative form, through artworks, wallpapers, books on display, sculptures, objets d’art, organic materials, photography, neutral colours, even textures and patterns.
healthy interiors for productivity in students
To contrast this with, for example, a messy student accommodation bedroom in need of a clean, or a chaotic library with poor lighting and inadequate ventilation, it’s clear that the environments students spend most of their time in can have a direct impact not just on their mental wellbeing but also on their productivity, concentration levels and overall output.
Here then are the fundamental concepts behind healthy buildings and wellness interiors:
improved air quality
healthy materials
biophilic design
multi-sensory design (light, sound & scent)
considerations for mind & body
biophilia for student mental health
The simple act of taking time away from study to connect with nature, be that by taking a walk outside, spending some time in a nearby park or garden, it’s simply about finding a ‘happy place’ in nature close to home or the university so that it is within easy reach. Those are examples of ‘green nature’ but it could also be ‘blue nature’ such as a lake, pond, river or beach.
Equally, the hormone oxytocin is released when we are around other animals, such as pets, which provides a deep sense of connection, vitality and wellbeing. That may mean watching some ducks or birds, saying hello to your local horses, playing with your dog or snuggling up with your cat. It’s all a form of biophilia, nature connection, and it is going to have an instant impact on your mood.
In summary, nature has a huge amount to teach us, both in terms of connecting directly with it but also in terms of what we can do to bring it in to the environments where we study, work and live.