Rooted Biophilia

There’s nothing new about being inspired by nature. In fact the reason why Biophilic Design is so powerful is because it taps into our evolutionary history, which is a very long story of being surrounded by and learning from the more-than-human world. A world in which we all used to live in daily close connection. From cave paintings of animals, to bird headed gods in Egypt, to the Art Nouveau movement, humans have always drawn from the natural world, observing it, dissecting it and taking from it.

So what is new about Biophilic Design? Well at its worst, not much! Some “Biophilic” designers are happy to stop at observation and extraction of data and ideas. But those designers are missing the opportunity that this special time in design history offers us.

For the first time not only can we observe the visible, we have increasing knowledge about what was previously invisible. The marvels of the microscopic, the gigantic potential of genetics and also the place we hold within the larger support systems of spaceship earth. We understand our power, and its limits, more than we used to. We can measure the effect we are having as a species on the climate, the toll we are taking on biodiversity. This new knowledge is what makes Biophilic Design different from past iterations of nature inspired creativity, and to truly reach its full potential this generation of designers will accept and apply this knowledge.

This is why, for example, plastic plants from virgin sources have no place in Good Biophilic Design. How many real plants have been destroyed in the extraction and production of the plastic that is used to create their imitation? Biophilic Design works to increase the connection between humans and nature, so design which broadly destroys nature, and therefore decreases the amount available to humans to interact with, is NOT good Biophilic Design, even if it’s coloured green.

At its best Biophilic Design is a holistic practice combining scientific understanding with a personal and unquantifiable connection to the wilder parts of ourselves and the world. Good Biophilic Design is created with care for the nature that inspires it. I also firmly believe that working in this way is not a constriction, it is a parameter leading us to truly innovative solutions. At its best it is an exciting challenge to rethink the linier extractive consumption model, and seek instead a new world of design that is created in joyful collaboration with the world that supports us. Materials that grow, cities that breathe, spaces that are alive with the systems of life, buzzing with busy interspecies collaborators or ringing with the voices of our non-human relatives. 

Biophilic Design is an invitation to create a less lonely world, one where we thrive as one species among many. We can only do our best, we also have to live and work in the current system, for now, but make no mistake, this transformation is already underway, are you a part of it?

This article is published in our partner in Biophilia passion, the Biophilic Journal. We highly recommend checking out their publication if you would like to learn more about what Biophilic design is and how to apply it.