Biophilic Design

environment. B People have a psychologically developed need to commune with nature but this has frequently been neglected. All too often, architects have put creative originality before the needs of the people who have to live and work in their futuristic constructions, with scant regard for emotional, as well as practical, considerations. Biophilic design does not advocate tree houses or cave-dwelling, but it does provide nature-based features that maximize human functioning and health. Though not technically a biophilic design, Fallingwater – the stunning house in rural Pennsylvania designed in the 1930s by Frank Lloyd Wright – arguably speaks to the human soul much more than the boxlike blocks of flats designed by his contemporary Le Corbusier. C In the modern world, much of our built environment is obstructing the age-old connection between humans and nature. The rates of technological progress are far exceeding rates of psychological evolution, leaving us ill-equipped to cope with our lifestyle, which in turn leads to increased stress. Because biophilia attempts to integrate basic and current needs, it can alleviate the difficulties caused by the brain’s constant attempts to function in a modern environment it has not yet…