Achieving Biophilic Design in Your Living or Working Space with Tiles
Biophilic design is a concept that connects humans to nature within the space that we live and work in. When applied, it helps bring numerous benefits to health and well-being, increases creativity and cognitive ability.
The biophilic design is one that brings the characteristics of the natural world into a living space. Water, greenery, natural light, or elements like wood or stone are some of the characteristics and these can be in the form of direct or indirect experiences.
In commercial spaces, companies such as Apple and Google or closer to home – AirAsia, Digi, and many of the start-ups invest heavily in biophilic design elements to improve the conditions of the workplace and improve workers’ concentration and engagement during work hours.
Adding in natural elements into the design of home or offices either directly or indirectly, are easy to achieve. However, it is the combination of these elements to the base of the space that needs some aesthetic skills. Here are some combination ideas of bringing biophilic design into your home or office.
The Dynamics of Light
Natural elements such as direct sunlight or the natural patterns, movements, and shadows caused by light can be applied through reflective materials. Large windows allowing sunlight into the room and bright-coloured tile on walls or floors with the objective of reflecting light are some ideas.
Visual Connection To Nature
This can be an art piece on the wall, a scenic outdoor through windows, or stone or wood-designed tiles applied on the floor or wall. Combined with green as pop-colour furniture or décor accessories, it creates the feeling of nature in the space through vision.
Non-Visual Connection To Nature
In addition to sight, our other five remaining senses can experience nature through textures and designs that link back to nature. These are applied through naturally occurring materials, like wood, or a design that mirrors something we find in nature, like hexagon tiles that resemble a beehive.
Presence of Water
Water is a physiological stimulant that enhances your engagement in a space when you can see, hear or touch it. In big commercial buildings like airports and shopping malls, this feature is normally a water fountain while in residential units, it can be a small water feature. The complexity of this element is the safety concerns and the maintenance hence tiling the surrounding area is a good option. Using matt, structured or non-slip tile for flooring is highly recommended.
Connection To Nature
Bringing nature into your space through rooftop gardens, indoor gardens, or patios with lots of green are basics in biophilic design buildings. Using outdoor tiles that match the concept like wood or structured-surfaced tiles that resembles the natural terrain are good combinations that enhance the feeling of natural elements. Wood-designed tiles that mimic real wood in look and feel are better options for outdoors as they are more susceptible to moisture.
The biophilic design elements, beyond the benefits of reducing stress, enhancing creativity, boosting productivity, and creating better well-being is a trend in interior design advocating a humanistic approach. It celebrates how we live and work with nature, something that is in need in our increasingly urbanized cities.
