by Sally Augustin, Ph.D.
As the seasons change, the fact that we live in a dynamic world is top-of-mind. Outside, temperature, plants in bloom, and the amount of moisture in the air shift. Why don’t the spaces we work in change seasonally as well?
They should. Variation from time-to-time is a central tenet of biophilic design. Biophilic design applies the same principles to human-designed spaces that Mother Nature does in the outdoor places where we feel most comfortable. Another aspect of biophilic design that have been reviewed in this column include designing to support human beings’ desire to sit in a protected space and keep track of what’s going on in the world around themselves – what’s known in the environmental psych biz as having prospect and refuge. An inglenook or a seating area that is cut back into a wall do just that, for example.
Some gentle change makes our environment more interesting, but doesn’t eliminate the familiarity that we also value as a species. Humans’ affection for the familiar should guide the seasonal variations planned, just like the budget.
So how can you vary a space from season to season to make higher performance levels more likely? Switch out the plants, giving preference to the green leafy ones that have been tied to reducing stress and making creative thinking more likely. Rearrange the furniture in the reception area; often there are several options that don’t compromise circulation, image garnered by visitors, etc. Switch out the artwork and similar, more decorative elements. A few options, recombined in interesting ways, can get a lot done for their owners.
Switch things out every so often to keep high performance in.
Sally Augustin, PhD, a cognitive scientist, is the editor of Research Design Connections (www.researchdesignconnections.com), a monthly subscription newsletter and free daily blog, where recent and classic research in the social, design, and physical sciences that can inform designers’ work are presented in straightforward language. Readers learn about the latest research findings immediately, before they’re available elsewhere. Sally, who is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, is also the author of Place Advantage: Applied Psychology for Interior Architecture (Wiley, 2009) and, with Cindy Coleman, The Designer’s Guide to Doing Research: Applying Knowledge to Inform Design (Wiley, 2012). She is a principal at Design With Science (www.designwithscience.com) and can be reached at sallyaugustin@designwithscience.com.