Team 9 Principle #1: Biophilia Effect

Biophilia effect is the name given to describe the emotional, cognitive and physical benefits conferred by exposure to natural environments (William James Holt, Psychology, The Briefer Course). On its own, the term biophilia was first coined to describe being attracted to life and vitality, in the sense of a psychological orientation (The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness by Erich Fromm, and Biophilia by E.O. Wilson). In the context of design, biophilia effect refers to the use of people’s attraction to nature as a means of increasing aesthetic value of environments (Lidwell, et. al, Universal Principles of Design, p 36).

Example 1. Biophilia effect and the digital representation of nature

 

This example, cited in Universal Principles of Design, came from a redesign proposal for a hospital hallway. As an observer of just these images, I find this to be an example of the finding by Stephen Kaplan,  that the biophilia effect does not require a real environment, rather, that imagery of such views – such as these digital renderings in a design proposal – can suffice. (“The Restorative Benefits of Nature: Toward an Integrative Framework”, Journal of Environmental Psychology, 1995, vol. 15, p. 169–182.) Imagine the thrill of this client to learn they would not have to rebuild their hospital to take advantage of these ideas!

Example 2. Biophilia effect in the wild, Washington state

Now look closely at the photos below. These photos depict the everyday office views at Microsoft Corporation in Redmond, WA.

What’s astonishing to me is these are snapshots I took at work, and are 100% real world, 24/7 nature bonanza.

Further on the subject of nature views, Don Norman says of the notion of Zen View, “If there is a beautiful view, don’t spoil it by building huge windows that gape incessantly at it. Instead, put the windows which look onto the view at places of transition-along paths, in hallways, in entryways, on stairs, between rooms.” (Don Norman, Emotional Design, Why We Love or Hate Things, 2003, pp 110-113).  But Norman seems to taken in by the biophilia effect himself instead describing what I’ll call biophilia payoff: gazing at the forever pleasure of nature’s ever-changing visage.

Example 3. Biophilia as a source of inspiration

Biophilia in human creativity is broader than the biophilia effect in design. Here is a different interpretation of biophilia from the great musician and artist Bjork.

Bjork releases her ‘Biophilia’ album in 2011, along with a  digital interactive experience. The New York Times reviewed the experience and described it as breaking new ground: “essentially turns an album into a sort of audiovisual game, delivering a miniature production studio into the world’s willing hands.”

Ever ambitious as an artist, the album and accompanying digital work centers on the idea that biophilia is “the love for nature in all her manifestations from the tiniest organism, to the greatest red giant floating in the farthest realm of the universe”, as introduced by David Attenborough. “With biophilia, comes the restless curiousity, an urge to investigate and discover the elusive places where we meet nature.”