3. Image Courtesy of World Green Building Council
Health, Wellbeing & Productivity in Offices report
4. Introduction and Concepts
Biophilic Design: Why now?
• Stress related illness primary cause of sickness by 2020 - WHO
• In 2015/16 stress accounted for 37% of all work related ill health
cases and 45% of all working days lost due to ill health.
• Urbanisation 90% of UK now urbanised – up from 79% in 1950’s
• We spend 90% of our time indoors
• Technology 93% of U.K. adults have smart technology
• 1/3 admit to checking smart phones in the middle of the night
5. Think of a space where you feel most
happy, calm and relaxed
6. Biophilia
Biophilia – The innate human attraction to nature and natural processes
Image: Michelle Karpman
10. Key constructs of Biophilic design
Contact with nature
Water, trees, plants, light
Human spatial response
Energising, relaxing, restorative
Natural analogues
Evoking a sense of nature
11. 14 Patterns of Biophilic Design
Direct Connection
1. Visual Connection with Nature
2. Non-Visual Connection with Nature
3. Non-Rhythmic Sensory Stimuli
4. Thermal & Airflow Variability
5. Presence of Water
6. Dynamic & Diffuse Light
7. Connection with Natural Systems
Human Spatial response
11. Prospect
12. Refuge
13. Mystery
14. Peril
Indirect – natural analogues
8. Biomorphic forms & patterns
9. Material connection with nature
10. Complexity and order
12. Direct contact with real forms of nature
Visual connection - plants Non visual connection -
The senses -sounds, smells, touch
Non rhythmic sensory stimuli
Ripples across water, fish,
leaves swaying in a tree
13. Connection with natural systems - seasons Incorporating water features Thermal and airflow variability
Direct contact with nature
17. The Importance of Sleep
Sleep deprivation is linked to a higher mortality risk, diabetes, depression.
Limit the use of electronic
items before bed
Make use of circadian lighting
systems
Walk or cycle to work and reap
the benefits of a photon shower
Daylight exposure and access to windows at work has been linked to improved sleep duration and mood, reduced sleepiness,
lower blood pressure and increased physical activity, whereas lack of natural light has been associated with physiological,
sleep, and depressive symptoms.
19. Natural analogues - evoking a sense of nature
Interface – Urban Retreat
Students in the solid wood classrooms had a heart rate of average 8600 beats per day less than in the
normal classroom.
School without Stress / Wood furnishings healthy for students, Joanneum Research Institute of Health Technology 2008-2009
23. Biophilic Design Strategies
What approaches can we take to suit time budgets & buildings?
• Low cost -
for the money in your pocket – staff or business activity
• Medium cost
Low to medium cost refurbishment – budgets and contractors involved
• High cost
high budget refurbishments to new build design projects
24. Low level biophilic interventions
(minimal cost, time and scale)
• Hanging and desk plants
• Desks near windows
• Cut flowers
• Natural soundscapes
• Natural imagery
• Natural scents (diffuser/ atomizer/
scented plants)
• Communal meals
• Encouraging outdoor exercise
• Connecting to nature through
education
• Office pets
DHA Place, AmsterdamMinistry of New, Mumbai
25. Mid level biophilic
interventions
(medium scale involving a budget
and contractors)
• Planting schemes
• Window seats
• Artificial green walls
• Moveable water features
• Natural materials (e.g. timber/
stone)
• Biomimetic materials
• Colour to walls (natural shades)
• Zone spaces for activities (colour,
lighting, screens)
• Activity specific furniture (focus,
meet, relax)
• Changing rooms to encourage
cycling / running to work
Selgas Cano, Second Home, Libon
28. Homes are more calming and restorative
7-8 % less crime attributed to areas with access to nature
4-5% property increase
Improved feeling of community
29. Benefits to education settings
Optimising exposure to daylight alone can:
•increase the speed of learning by 20-26%.
•it can also improve attendance by an average of 3.5days/year
•improve test scores by 5-14%
(Analysis of the performance of students in day lit schools –Nicklas Bailey, 1996)
30. Add greenery to interior of learning spaces
Plants in classrooms can lead to improved performance in spelling, mathematics and science by 10-14%;
Plants in the Classroom can improve student performance Daly, Burchett & Torpy, 2010
31. Images: Tectoniques
Tectoniques Architects
The Paul Chevalier School, France
Students in the solid wood classrooms had a heart rate of average
8600 beats per day less than in the normal classroom
School without Stress / Wood furnishings healthy for students, Joanneum Research Institute of Health Technology 2008-2009
32. Benefits to Healthcare setting:
Reduces duration of hospital stays by 8.5%,
post-operative pain medication reduced by 22%
Danish Forest Hospital proposal:Aasarchitecture.com
34. Healing gardens - good for patients, staff and visitors
Shinrin Yoku – in Japan
Creative Commons Image: Celebration Health
35. Royal Pickering Hotel Singapore – WHOA architects “a hotel in a garden“ The room rate of the hotel is more
than double their projection. Because of the demand, they kept raising the rate and people kept coming, so they
raised it more” – Richard Hassell WOHA
Hospitality spaces
• Hotel guests reserve rooms with garden views pay 23% more than the traditional rooms
• Studies reveal guests prepared to pay 18% premium for rooms with view onto water
38. Workplace benefits– cutting costs and improving outcomes
Alleviates stress, reduces absenteeism, increases productivity and staff retention
Creating a competitive advantage –
Companies prioritizing employee engagement & wellbeing were shown to outperform by an average of 10% (
1. http://workplace.bitc.org.uk/sites/default/files/bitc_ guidelines_-public_reporting_0.pdf
39. Attention Restoration Theory
Rachel and Stephen Kaplan¹, suggests that nature can help to replenish our mental and attentional
capacity. Interaction with nature can be called ‘effortless attention’ and helps to replenish our
directed attention².
¹Kaplan, R. Kaplan, S. (1989). The Experience of Nature: A Psychological Perspective. Cambridge University Press.
²Grinde, B., & Patil, G. G. (2009). Biophilia: Does visual contact with nature impact on health and wellbeing?. International Journal of Environmental
Research and Public Health, 6(9), Page 2334-2335
Directed attention Micro recuperative workplaceEffortless attention
40. Indoor air quality – remove toxins, improve CO2 levels
The Green Business Council reports that decision-making in offices is 11-23% better at 600ppm of CO2 than at 1000 ppm
41. Natural light and access to windows
Office workers were found to perform 10% to 25% better on tests of mental
function and memory recall when they had the best possible view versus those
with no view.
Image: The Sky Factory
Heschong, Lisa. Heshong Mahone Group (2003) “Windows and Offices: A Study of Office Worker Performance and the Indoor
Environment” – California Energy Commission
42. Views onto nature
Views from plants have been shown increase productivity by 15% (1)
1. The Relative Benefits of Green Versus Lean Office Space: Three Field ExperimentsMarlon Nieuwenhuis, Craig Knight, Tom Postmes, and S. Alexander Haslam 2014
2. http://www.gallup.com/services/178517/state-global-workplace. aspx?ays=n
3. http://community.virginpulse.com/state-of-the-industry2017-es?utm_campaign=2017%20State%20of%20the%20 Industry&utm_source=press-release
Interface – Touch of Timber
Companies with satisfied, engaged workers have 25-65% lower employee turnover (2). Wellbeing is therefore
becoming a strategic imperative, with 78% of multinationals deeming it a critical part of business plans (3)
43. Natural textures, colours and patterns
When natural features have been applied a 15% reduction in
absenteeism has been reported
Romm, Joseph J. and William D. Browning (1994) “Greening the
building and the bottom line.” Rocky Mountain Institute, Colorado
50. Twitter: @Oliver _Heath
The Science & Style of Biophilic Design
Improving health & wellbeing
in the built environment - naturally
Notas do Editor
Second Home Image permission requested from Selgas Cano
Prospect
‘A space with a good Prospect condition feels open and freeing, yet imparts a sense of safety and control, particularly when alone or in unfamiliar environments.’
Having unimpeded views over a distance can reduce stress boredom and fatigue whilst improving comfort levels, and creating a feeling of exploration and excitement about spaces.
Terrapin Bright Green 14 Patterns of Biophilic Design: Improving health & well-being in the built environment
Second Home Image permission requested from Selgas Cano
Prospect
‘A space with a good Prospect condition feels open and freeing, yet imparts a sense of safety and control, particularly when alone or in unfamiliar environments.’
Having unimpeded views over a distance can reduce stress boredom and fatigue whilst improving comfort levels, and creating a feeling of exploration and excitement about spaces.
Terrapin Bright Green 14 Patterns of Biophilic Design: Improving health & well-being in the built environment
Retreat –
A UTS study showed that plants in the office resulted in 30-60% reductions in feelings of stress, anxiety in university staff
IMAGE PERMISSION NEEDED
IMAGE PERMISSION NEEDED
IMAGE PERMISSION NEEDED
Nanyang Technological University (NTU) North Spine Academic Building in Singapore
NTU ACADEMIC BUILDING
Plants can be a highly effective addition; trials have found that plants in classrooms can lead to
improved performance in spelling, mathematics and science of 10-14%; Plants in the Classroom can improve student performance Daly, Burchett & Torpy, 2010
Plants can improve air quality by taking in CO2 and toxins
Improve acoustics - green walls can provide acoustic improvement, benefit teachers and students communicating with large classes.
Visual calming effect.
Nils Norman's classroom at the Royal Danish Academy of Art image
Canisius College G-O2 Living Wall image
We gained permission to use images for EAUC Conference presentation have asked for permission to use in further talks and articles
HIGH COST/SCALE
High levels of natural light incorporated through curved glass partitions
Bright, natural bursts of colour evoke a sense of nature
The use of natural, textural materials and timber throughout the walls, furniture and ceiling evoke a sense of nature
The curved atrium spaces provide a direct connection to nature through the incorporation of trees
The incorporation of planting within the scheme will help to provide the space with non rhythmic sensory stimuli
A strong sense of prospect exists within the space through the use of glass partitions and the layout
The use of comfy furniture with high backs creates a sense of retreat
AIR QUALITY:
According to Carnegie Mellon University natural ventilation or mixed-mode conditioning could achieve 0.8 - 1.3% savings on health costs, 3 - 18% productivity gains, and 47 - 79% in HVAC energy savings.
According to the University of Technology, Sydney: ‘High levels of CO2 (above 800 to 1000 parts per million) cause rooms to feel ‘stuffy’. But sick building syndrome-like symptoms can occur at much lower concentrations than this. When CO2 levels are above 1000 ppm, building occupants can become quite unwell. But this level is uncommon in modern buildings thanks to efficient mechanical ventilation systems.’
However The Green Business Council Reports that decision-making is 11-23% better at 600ppm than at 1000 ppm despite the latter being seen as an acceptable level.
The Indoor Environment Dept at Berkeley, California has found that ‘increases in the ventilation rates per person among typical office buildings will, on average, significantly reduce the prevalence of SBS symptoms. Very large increases in ventilation rates, sufficient to reduce indoor CO2 concentrations to approximately outdoor levels, would be expected to decrease prevalence of selected symptoms by 85%. There is no direct causal link between exposure to CO2 and SBS symptoms, but rather CO2 is approximately correlated with other indoor pollutants that may cause SBS symptoms.’
AIR TEMPERATURE:
Cui et al (2013) (Influence of Indoor Air Temperature on Human Thermal Comfort, Motivation and Performance) conducted a study of 36 subjects & concluded that learning was affected by temperature especially when it changed frequently; warm discomfort was more detrimental to performance and motivation than cold discomfort and so recommended a slightly cool to neutral setting.
Windows & Offices: Heschong, Lisa. Heshong Mahone Group (2003) “Windows and Offices: A Study of Office Worker Performance and the Indoor Environment” – California Energy Commission
Two different studies were conducted at the Sacramento Municipal Utility District. The first study looked at 100 workers in an incoming call center, whose performance was continuously tracked by a computer system and measured in terms of time to handle each call. The second study examined the performance of 200 other office workers on a series of short cognitive assessment tests, taken at each individual's desktop computer.
The site provided a range of daylight, view and ventilation conditions, while providing a relatively uniform environment for other potential influences on worker performance. Having a better view out of a window, gauged primarily by the size of the view and secondarily by greater vegetation content, was most consistently associated with better worker performance in six out of eight outcomes considered.
Workers in the Call Center were found to process calls 6% to 12% faster when they had the best possible view versus those with no view. Office workers were found to perform 10% to 25% better on tests of mental function and memory recall when they had the best possible view versus those with no view.
Green vs Lean: The Relative Benefits of Green Versus Lean Office Space: Three Field Experiments Marlon Nieuwenhuis, Craig Knight, Tom Postmes, and S. Alexander Haslam 2014
Three trials were conducted with 33 employees of a large consultancy organization in London. Participants were split into lean or green office conditions to complete performance measuring analytical, processing and intellectual tasks. Each participant was assigned a workstation separated by vertical dividers with a desk, monitor, telephone & chair. In the green area 8 large green plants were included in the office space, each participant could see at least 3 plants from their workstations. In the green area tasks were completed faster without any accompanying rise in errors demonstrating an increase in productivity of 15%. Results from 2 further studies that compared performance and satisfaction in green versus lean environments suggested that a green office leads to more engagement among employees, which in turn has a positive impact on their satisfaction with the workplace, their concentration, and their perceptions of air quality.
Romm, Joseph J. and William D. Browning (1994) “Greening the building and the bottom line.” Rocky Mountain Institute, Colorado
In 1978 ING Bank designed their Headquarters in Amsterdam to maximize natural light, integrate organic art and install water features to enhance workers productivity and create a new image for the bank. After construction was completed staff absenteeism decreased by 15%, employees looked forward to coming to work and voluntarily tended the natural features in the office.
