We like working with the people at Frovi; as a contemporary furniture brand, they thrive on enabling creative spaces and modern, inventive design concepts.

A concept they have been taking a particular interest in recently is biophilic design and how furniture plays a central part. We think it’s really cool and could be a great addition to both homes and office spaces, so have a read - we’ve got the low-down for you right here.

What is biophilic design?

Before we created urban cities, houses and offices, we spent a lot of our time as human beings outdoors. It’s in our nature to be connected to nature. In fact, our health and well- being now is still intricately linked with the benefits of being outdoors.

But, our busy modern lives today don’t always allow us that crucial time outside that we need to feel good, so biophilic design works to become the bridge between indoors and outdoors, creating spaces that we as humans can thrive in.

Biophilic design is a term popularized by American psychologist Edward O Wilson in the 1980’s, when he observed how increasing rates of urbanisation were leading to a disconnection with the natural world.

Biophilic design is carried out with our best interests at heart. It’s about more than beautiful aesthetics; it’s about creating environments that we can perform to the best of our abilities in, day in and day out, and nurture our inner craving for nature.

How does biophilic design help?

It’s okay if you’re a bit cynical about the whole thing. It does sound kind of crazy that our minds and bodies can be so affected by a bit of clever interior design. Companies such as Apple, Google and Amazon are investing heavily in biophilic design elements and reporting improvements in worker concentration and cognitive ability so it’s more than a design fad.

So, to help show you why this is such a great movement in design, we’re going to reference Frovi’s good friend Oliver Heath, a pioneer in biophilic design, and give you some stats to blow your mind.

Firstly, by incorporating natural elements into an indoor environment, research shows that things like stress, blood pressure and heart rates have all been reduced, whilst creativity, well-being and productivity see an obvious rise.

 

Biophilic design

By incorporating biophilic design into your office, you can increase productivity amongst your employees by 8%, whilst well-being can sky-rocket to an increase of 13%.

In schools, rates of learning increased by 20-25%, concentration and attendance rose and symptoms of ADHD lessened. In healthcare areas, recovery time after an operation was reduced by 8.5% and the need for pain meds was reduced by 22%.

If you’re interested in digging deeper into some research, Human Spaces produced global research into biophilic design and found that natural light and greenery led to a 15% increase in staff wellbeing, productivity and creativity over a three-month period.

All of this simply from incorporating aspects of nature that we instinctively connect with – isn’t that crazy?

How can you start?

By now, you’re probably eager to get some biophilic design going on in your workspace, so if you need some help optimising your environment, get in touch with us at Trevor Blake. We’re experts in office furniture and can also use the wisdom of our partners like Frovi to help you create a space you can work and be happy in.