As the year moves on past June, in the Northern hemisphere there’s less daylight each day, while the reverse is true South of the equator. The changing number of hours of sunlight and other sorts of indications of season and the passage of time are important to humans. Recognizing this variability is a central principle of biophilic design, but one that’s not frequently discussed.
Study after study shows that biophilic design helps keep our stress levels low and our wellbeing high, both of which are good for our cognitive performance.
Even today after years of discussion, many designers try to implement biophilic design by scattering a few plants around a space and then heading out to lunch—but there is actually much more to biophilic design than a few new Ficus trees.
Biophilic design conceptually replicates the sorts of conditions in designed spaces that were found in the natural places where Homo Sapiens thrived thousands and thousands of generations ago. And the places where we “grew up” as a species were not the same in January and June, at dawn and at noon.
Windows that let natural light flow into our workplaces and homes (hopefully without glare) help keep our circadian rhythms in check, which boosts our mood and quality-of-life—circadian issues are often discussed by biologists and the manufacturers of circadian lighting systems. Less often talked about (except by biologists) is the fact that changing light levels help us keep track of what time of the year it is, which lets us stay connected to where we are on the planet, which is highly desirable brain performance- and mood-wise. So, we get a big, big push toward mental wellbeing if we are near a window, even if it is a clerestory window high on a wall or a window that’s frosted because the view outside would make us more jittery than a whole thermos of espresso.
To show time of year and time of day, changing other physical conditions in an office at different times can be a plus. Having an office be a little bit warmer (never uncomfortable) at noon than at daybreak or in July compared to January (in the Northern hemisphere) reinforces the same day part/seasonal variations we get from different amounts of daylight. So does shifting plants from one sort to another based on the time of year. Nonsectarian end-of-year decorations do the same thing, even if your Secret Santa is an idiot.
Ever wonder why leather is such a popular upholstery option? One of the reasons is that it shows wear over time, which accrues through the years, highlighting the passage of time, which, as noted earlier, is a key attribute of biophilicly designed spaces. Similarly, copper has biophilic applications, for reasons that include the fact that it develops a patina over time (not just because it’s a great color and shiny initially and a lovely shade of green when it ages).
Although many of us approach our next birthday with dread, as a species we get a positive jolt from knowing the “time” where we are and what season we’re in. Spaces where we thrive help us do that.
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.