Should a ‘work’ place be any different from the other spaces people inhabit? The relationship between individuals and their environment can be a crucial determinant of how they feel, perform and interact with others. So, designing spaces that inspire, energize and support the people who use them is a global imperative.
People’s connection to nature – biophilia – is an emergent field that can help organizations meet that challenge. This unique study explores the relationship between psychological well-being, work environments and employee expectations on a global scale for the first time. Biophilia, a concept first popularized by Edward O. Wilson in 19841, describes the innate relationship between humans and nature, and concerns the need we have to be continually connected to nature. Plenty of research confirms this human preference for the natural, rather than built, environment2. For example, in a 2004 study, when asked to describe their ideal city, people more often chose non-urban characteristics, greenery in particular3, and in other studies it has been shown that a pleasant and natural view can raise the price of a house considerably4.
Although it has been proposed that this desire for a connection with nature is the result of an anti-urban bias combined with a romantic view of nature, environmental psychology research tells us that being connected to nature, is in fact, an adaptive human function that allows for, and assists with, psychological restoration.
This means that within an urbanized environment, bringing in elements that allow direct nature connection (such as parks and lakes) or indirect connections (i.e., interior design using natural elements, nature-resembling colours and patterns, indoor plants and views of greenery) can help us to mentally recover and provide respite from our day-to-day activities, to maintain positive well-being.
Interest in biophilia has grown substantially over the last decade, largely due to the rapid urbaniziation of the modern world, which has resulted in cities that are characterized by a predominance of manmade structures. Global figures show this incredible shift in populations moving into urban areas over the last 60 years.
Some countries, including those we have analyzed in this report, have seen an increase of over 40% in the number of individuals in the population residing in urban areas since 1950. In particular, those countries that have seen the greatest economic development in recent years appear to be the nations with the greatest increase in urbanization such as Brazil (51%), Indonesia (42%), the Philippines (39%) and China (32%).
Globally, it is clear that people are moving away from rural areas to towns and cities. In fact, the United Nations predicts that by 2030, 60% of the world’s population will live in urban environments. Therefore, it is imperative that we consider how the human-nature connection can still be provided to those residing in towns and cities. The answer to this challenge is biophilic design.