Dubai is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates with nearly 2.9 million people — bigger than Paris or Chicago. Today, more than half the world’s population lives in urban areas and the United Nations projects that to increase to two-thirds by 2050. Yet, despite the outdoors having a powerful impact on our wellbeing, urbanites spend a disproportionate amount of time inside. During Downtown Design, a marquee event for designers in Dubai, experts in design, interiors and architecture gathered at the Steelcase WorkLife Center for a panel discussion about the restorative properties of biophilic design. Together, they answered questions about biophilia, the principle that people have an innate desire to connect with nature, in the workplace.
DOES BIOPHILIA REALLY MAKE US FEEL BETTER?
“When we ask people to close their eyes and visualize their happy place, 95 percent of the time they will say they are outside,” said Matt Hall, Interface Middle East regional director. Workplace design is a tool that can help trigger our brains into recognizing patterns that connect to the natural environment and that we’re programmed to feel good in.
Nature powerfully engages the mind with “involuntary fascination” which helps restore attention and focus, according to environment psychologist Stephen Kaplan. Kaplan also asserts people can concentrate better after spending time in nature. In addition, people with a view of natural elements, such as trees, water or countryside, report greater levels of wellbeing than those looking over more urban settings, according to the Human Spaces Report. (Read: Restoration Office)