Natural light, raw materials and indoor tropical gardens… An exciting trend, biophilic design aims to reconnect humans with nature as modern life made us more and more distanced. Biophilic interior design focuses on creating more opportunities to connect with nature in man-made environments. It also has proven benefits including improving physical and mental health. The main principle is more than just bringing the outside in though it’s about integrating nature in all its guises including natural light, plants, materials, textures and patterns.
It can be difficult to comprehend the dimensions of biophilic design concept beyond filling a space with plants. Therefore, we have rounded up the best examples of biophilic design to inspire you, designed by architectural studios.
1. VTN Architects – Vietnam
Vo Trong Nghia Architects combine all of their biophilic efforts on their Stepping House Park project where a large void was created by cutting the volume through the three floors, in the diagonal direction of the section. Adjacent to a green public space, the project aims to integrate the green of the park into the interior of the space through incorporating plants and trees nurtured by national light.
2. Biombo Architects – Indonesia
An indoor tropical garden that makes you feel like you are on a holiday graces the interior of this family villa. With alternating floor-to-ceiling windows, dwellers are offered a constant connection with the surrounding which is another way of integrating biophilic design. Hence, natural ventilation at its finest.
3. Charlotte Taylor & Nicholas Preaud – United Kingdom
Next up is a modernist ‘jungle home’ by British design duo Charlotte Taylor and Nicholas Preaud. Inspired by ‘Casa de Vidro’ also known as ‘Glass House’ by architect Lina Bo Bardi, this dreamy house comprises of concrete and glass volume as well as furnishing elements like bookcases and headboards that adapts nature into its design.
4. IBUKU – Canada
Canadian designer Eleanor Hardy founded IBUKU. Being raised in Bali, she usually utilizes natural materials like bamboo in her designs. The studio is best known for use of the forementioned material to build a community of bamboo houses in harmony with their natural surroundings.
5. Design Unit – Indonesia
Design Unit, an architectural studio based in Bali, focuses on creating spaces that emphasizes the palette of their natural surroundings. A great example to biophilic architecture, ‘Factory in the Forest’ consisting of a green courtyard and canopy-style structure creates maximum contact with nature as the forest penetrates and surrounds the building.
6. Makhno Architects – Ukraine
Mazanka Apartment designed by Makno Architects is defined as a dialogue of Ukrainian architects with the past. Natural materials and modern technologies are harmoniously combined especially in the living room. The cube is decorated with plaster repeating the surface of ancient clay huts. The walls are covered with a special clay solution to get the desired volume. The relief was created by the element itself: when drying, the material had cracked and formed unique patterns. Makhno Architects, had a similar approach with Japanese restaurant Fujiwara Yoshi, where the traditional garden of the restaurant is surrounded with walls featuring natural materials.
7. SeARCH – The Netherlands
A project by Dutch studio SeARCH, Hotel Jakarta in Amsterdam is welcoming natural light from every corner, giving life to the subtropical indoor garden decorating its atrium. The hotel features an array of qualities in tune with nature like the transparent and glass facades defining the unique thirty-meter high wooden main structure.
