Total biophilia. The end of the competition between the city and nature?

For millennia, man has been at war with nature over territory, undermining rocks, flooding valleys and draining seas, turning rivers back. But the heroic aesthetics of the times of industrialization are being replaced by new images. The symbol of progress today is not a smoking factory or a weapon of mass destruction, but gardens on space stations. And the city is no longer a megamachine, but rather a "cybernetic organism". No one opposes nature to the artificial environment anymore, today we are talking about a mutually beneficial synergy. 

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) state that biophilic design is a key competency of today's architects. We tell you more about how and why biophilia became a platform for the most progressive innovations in architecture and design.

 

Form follows nature

Do you know what the "savannah effect" is in the context of architecture? For example, psychologists use it to explain people's positive reaction to the design of Frank Lloyd Wright's famous Johnson Wax office building. As a reminder: the transparent ceiling in the open-plan office is supported by 60 dendromorphic columns. Workplaces are located as if in diffused shade under the crowns of trees. The iconic interior appeals to the majority, and all because, as scientists believe, it appeals to the "evolutionary perception of the world."

Somewhere in the depths of our subconsciousness, there are nostalgic warm feelings for the savannah landscape as ancient as man himself - an open and bright space with groups of sprawling trees that provide shade and protection. The father of the "prairie style" followed nature long before Koichi Takada, who recently proposed a paraphrase of the famous modernist principle "form follows function". "Form follows nature" is the new motto of XNUMXst century architecture.

Today, we call such a design biophilic. If Aristotle used the term "biophilia", understanding it literally as "love of life", then the American biologist Edward O. Wilson in the 1980s proposed to use this word as a term describing the innate connection of man with nature. The apologists of the first three industrial revolutions considered the attraction to the earth to be a rudimentary feeling. However, the era of digital technologies gave an unexpected impetus to the awakening of biophilia, which today forces the modern citizen to look for new ways and ways to make the artificial environment more "alive".

The "Great Workshop" is the office of the Johnson Wax Company (Racine, Wisconsin, USA), designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1936. Image source: Frank Lloyd Wright Trust

Modernists generally encouraged irrational fears of wildlife in their well-intentioned efforts to rid cities of disease and make people work more efficiently. As a result, this led to the formation of a sterile, controlled, mechanistic and rather faceless urban environment.

Citizens spend most of their lives in their homes, and the rapid development of technology has opened a new virtual dimension that literally absorbs all the attention of the new generation. However, a person is primarily a biological being, and at some point the lack of connections with nature became very painful.

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, people are still most often killed by cardiovascular diseases. They are mostly triggered by stress. In the XNUMXst century a sterile minimalist office with even artificial light can be as unhealthy a place as the dank, dark cellar of a shoe factory in the XNUMXth century. Just other diseases.

In their report, Biophilic Architecture: A Review of Causes and Results, researchers Jana Söderlund and Peter Newman argue that our heightened attraction to nature is nothing more than a stress response. And the higher the tension felt by the citizen, the more positively he perceives architecture with signs of biophilicity.

"Studies have shown that natural scenery holds attention longer than street scenes. We never get tired of looking at nature. It's surprising that retail, advertising and design have long used similar techniques, but architects almost never do it."

 

Bill Browning, founder of Terrapin Bright Green

Apple's biophilic headquarters in Cupertino, designed by Norman Foster. Photo: Daniel L. Lu. Image source: wikimedia.org

“Enjoying a landscape makes the mind work tirelessly and at the same time trains it; both comforts and inspires at the same time," said the great gardener Frederick Law Olmsted. In Japan, diabetes patients are recommended to regularly "swim in the forest" according to the ancient Japanese practice of Shinrin-yoku health walks. Unfortunately, the therapeutic effect of inhaling forest air saturated with phytoncides is difficult to reproduce in city conditions, but it is necessary to strive for it.

Cederlund and Newman have analyzed and referenced more than a hundred scientific studies examining the psychological, sociological, and financial impact of biophilic architecture and green urban policies on people and communities—all of which prove Olmstead right.

 

Principles and patterns

Humans' response to natural archetypal patterns is involuntary because evolutionary aesthetic experience is woven deep into the subconscious, but that is precisely why this response is predictable. It turns out that even a vase of flowers lowers cortisol in the blood of office workers. And researchers from the University of Birmingham recently stated that a 20-minute walk in the park is enough to improve well-being and increase the level of happiness.

Such a "resetting effect" is caused not only by direct contact, but also by indirect contact. Biophilic design — natural ornaments, fractals, patterns, colors, sounds, textures — is able to tune in to a positive mood. And although we understand the artificial origin of the columns that create a rhythmic alternation of light and shadow, perforated screens on the facades, floral ornaments on the walls, our brain connects them with ideas about living nature.

The Bank of America tower in Houston, which was built according to the project of the Gensler company, is known for its "sky park" designed by the landscape architects Office of James Burnett. Image source: hydrotechusa.com

An unconscious sympathy for architecture with the patina of time, the joy of meeting the signs of the change of seasons (all those enthusiastic posts "the first snow has fallen!", "look at the crocuses in the front garden!", countless selfies in autumn leaves and cherry blossoms), the perception of city streets as canyons or paths in the forest, where every turn intrigues and promises new experiences - these experiences of space and place are also manifestations of biophilia.

Sphere is Amazon's biophilic office in Seattle, USA, designed by NBBJ. Photo: Mike Kane. Image source: Bloomberg

In 2015, Stephan Kellert and Elisabeth Callabrese published a guide, The Practice of Biophilic Design, in which they formulated five main principles of biophilic design.

  1. Biophilic design is a constant interaction with nature.
  2. Biophilic design focuses on human adaptation to the natural world in ways that throughout evolution have promoted health, fitness, and well-being.
  3. Biophilic design forms an emotional attachment to certain conditions and places.
  4. Biophilic design promotes a positive interaction between people and nature, which helps increase relationships and increase responsibility for communities.
  5. Biophilic design encourages multiplying the effect of solutions and ways of integrating architecture into nature.

 

Futu Life near Kyiv: biophilic design and sustainability — not tomorrow, but today

Recently, Kyiv-based architect Dmytro Aranchii, founder of Dmytro Aranchii Architects, presented the concept of a sustainable settlement on the banks of the Dnipro River - "Dniprovi Kruchi 2.0". Dmytro's idea is based on the principles of biophilic design and sustainism (read about this multicultural phenomenon in the article "To be sustainable. Sociology and architecture of the future" in volume 4 of PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA).

Futu Life on the banks of the Dnieper should become a city where the IT cluster is combined with the functions of culture, health and recreation. The components of the Futu Life concept — building from recyclable materials — became the transport scheme (the construction of a cable car is planned), energy autonomy, etc.

Dmytro Aranchii, architect, founder of Dmytro Aranchii Architects

The architecture of the buildings designed by Dmytro Aranchii Architects fully complies with the principles of biophilic design — low-rise and maximally integrated into the terrain, with green roofs and green ramps.

The multi-comfort of the interior spaces will be provided by maximum daylight, high-quality air ventilation with energy-saving recuperation and climate-regulating heat pumps. PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA will monitor the development and implementation process of this revolutionary project for Ukraine, and in the meantime we asked Dmytro a few short questions.

PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA: Do we understand correctly that Futu Life should become a kind of "Silicon Valley", but at the same time a standard of sustainability for Ukraine?

Dmytro Aranchy: Yes, everything is correct. Futu Life should unite the IT cluster with culture and raise the standards of sustainable construction in Ukraine to a qualitatively new level. To some, this project may seem too revolutionary, but I believe that it is impossible to continue building the way we are doing now. Our country does not need gradual changes, but radical ones.

PM: What is the identity of Futu Life and the difference between the Ukrainian concept and the technopark towns implemented in the West?

YES.: After all, the concept of Futu Life is not the concept of a typical technology park, since the IT cluster is complemented by significant cultural, health and recreational components. This area is rich in archaeological finds, so we included in the project the museums of Tripillia and Rus, as well as the museum of aerospace technologies. The planned construction of a health and wellness and biomedical center, a recreation complex with a hotel, a promenade and a restaurant with an underwater part on the shore. All this will become the basis for the development of the tourism industry.

PM: Ukrainians are extremely distrustful of futuristic projects, believing that all this cannot be implemented in our conditions. Is it already clear what the terms of implementation are?

YES.: Ukrainians are not unique in this matter. Futuristic projects are distrusted all over the world. The main thing is to have a clear plan and understanding of implementation. As for the terms of implementation, of course, the pandemic makes adjustments to the customer's plans, but it is known that an elephant can be eaten in parts. Therefore, we are now talking about the construction of the first stage, which will become a platform, a kind of fertile ground for the implementation of the next stages.

Futu Life project. Dmytro Aranchii Architects

Futu Life project. Dmytro Aranchii Architects

PM: An idea shoots when its time comes. Do you think Ukrainians are ready for biophilic design, eco-architecture, eco-urbanism, in short, to follow nature?

YES.: The fact is that this is not the case with all ideas. There are many inventions for which humanity was in no way ready. Only a cohort of scientists approached what most people did not believe. A trivial example is the same iPhone, which no one particularly expected or demanded. But it became a very convenient and popular device, which marked the appearance of other gadgets.

My wife, fashion designer Vera Kushchenko, likes to cite Nicolas Ghesquière's answer in such cases. When asked about the futuristic nature of the collection created for Balenciaga, he countered: "Futurism is what I do here and now."

Well, in general, it is certainly necessary, despite readiness, to do and implement all this. I am sure that sustainability and sustainable architecture are what we need. And even if someone does not agree, it is still necessary to move for the sake of the common good.

It is primarily about whether Ukrainians want to breathe clean air, whether they want to drink clean water, whether they want to have a healthy, long and happy life. Of course it is, that's why architecture is about that. And if you delve into your thoughts, every Ukrainian will understand that this is an important topic for him, and not some incomprehensible "futurism" or an unprofitable investment.

 

Nature and the dollar

Even optimists do not promise that the world will become simpler tomorrow. And so people will look for new and new ways to deal with anxiety. For developers, this is a direct recommendation to build new offices, housing and public buildings as biophilic as possible.

Only in the last couple of decades, about a hundred scientific studies have been devoted to the connections between the economy and the city dwellers' attraction to nature, which has intensified. Direct indicators of labor productivity, health care costs, real estate prices, crime statistics, welfare ratings were compared with the costs of biophilic design.

“Enjoying a landscape makes the mind work tirelessly and at the same time trains it; both soothing and inspiring at the same time"

Frederick Law Olmsted

Studies in offices have proven that a "seat by the window" is always more productive. Back in 2011, Ihab Elzeyadi, a professor at the Department of Architecture at the University of Oregon, found out how the view from the window affects the productivity of office workers at his alma mater.

The main university building proved to be very suitable for testing the biophilic hypothesis: 30% of the workplaces were located near windows overlooking the landscaped landscape, 31% had views of the street and parking lot, and 39% of the workplaces were located deep inside the building. .

It turned out that employees from the first group got sick less often and missed work less often. This information is a calculated indicator for evaluating labor efficiency. And it was in Soviet schools that the view from the window was considered "distracting", and such places were given only to excellent students who had already proven the ability to fully concentrate on the teacher's speech.

Now the landscape outside the window is considered a catalyst for creativity. Headhunters at Bank of America, in order to attract and retain the best candidates, make sure to emphasize that 90% of jobs in an office building in Manhattan have a view of Bryant Park, the river or green roofs.

The Bank of America office tower in Manhattan overlooks Bryant Park. Photo: Jean-Christophe Benoist

Scientists from Toronto, authors of the study Neighborhood greenspace and health in a large urban center, made a very bold conclusion: "Adding an average of 10 trees to a city block improves the sense of health to such an extent that it is comparable to an increase in personal annual income of $10000 or with the feeling that a person has become 7 years younger."

Rich neighborhoods are always greener. The fact that the appearance of new parks, recreation areas and the arrangement of green roofs triggers the processes of gentrification has long been obvious to developers in New York, London, Hong Kong, Singapore and other financial capitals. Apartments in buildings with a high "green rating" sell faster, despite the fact that they cost more.

The headquarters of Apple in Cupertino was designed by Norman Foster according to the principles of biophilic design: the glazing provides a panoramic view of the lush gardens, walking through which employees discuss work issues and recharge creativity, because it turned out that a short immersion in nature and a corresponding disconnection from multimedia and technology increase the ability to solve creative tasks is almost doubled.

Not only did Steven Jobs prefer to hold meetings outdoors, but Mark Zuckerberg also brainstorms while walking in the hills of Palo Alto. Well, Amazon's headquarters — like, for example, the spherical gardens in Seattle or the PenPlace campus under construction — are absolutely and uncompromisingly "green."

The Terra Sustainability Pavilion at Dubai EXPO, designed by Grimshaw Architects. Image source: Expo 2020 Dubai

The giant Terra sustainability pavilion at EXPO in Dubai, designed by Grimshaw Architects, today can be called the largest material embodiment of biophilic design patterns. A grove of solar "trees" is a direct reference to Wright's iconic savannah-style office, while Terra's interactive interiors engage all the senses.

Popularization of biophilia in the context of sustainable high technologies is very appropriate. Do not underestimate "green" design, considering it a opportunistic "hipster problem", indulgence of nostalgia for rural pastoral: it is not only a manifestation of social concern, but also big money.

Biophilic design is not a narrow direction. It is a new ethos, an interstitial fabric for a multitude of innovative practices and technologies. He does not deny technical progress, but returns it to a consciously hedonistic course, when the artificial environment does not contradict nature, but is in harmony with it.

Arguments in favor of biophilia are focused on the psychological and physical well-being of a person, and this is at least competent from the point of view of promoting the idea. After all, agree: a call to take care of yourself is much more effective than an abstract call to protect nature!

 

/The material is published on the pages #30 volume PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA/