Today we are speaking with Caroline Pidcock all about biophilic design, also known as designing in accordance with nature. Her practice has been inspired by the possibilities of creating desirable places, that are sustainable for the planet and enhance people's wellbeing. After 25 years of running her own residential practice she is focusing on how to strategically accelerate the uptake of sustainable ideas.    

 Connection to nature is essential to wellbeing - yet past design practices in urbanization have led more to a detachment from the natural world. In this episode, we discuss:

• Opportunities to reconnect with Nature through the built environment
• The latest research that supports biophilic design principles
• The 14 patterns of biophilic design, as described by Terrapin

 

New research, funded by FWPA, produced by Pollinate and peer reviewed by Jacki Schirmer of university of Canberra was launched last week at the 2018 Green Cities Conference, has revealed that buildings designed on biophilic principles, including natural looking wooden surfaces in the workplace, are strongly associated with increased employee well-being and satisfaction; in turn enhancing engagement, creativity, innovation, retention and wellness - and all of which leads to improvements in productivity and personal and business success.

 

If you want to find out more about the research, go to:

https://www.woodsolutions.com.au/blog/wood-makes-more-workable-workplaces-assoc-professor-jacki-schirmer

 

Got a question about wood? One of the WoodSolutions technical guides should have the answer. To download your free guide, go to:

https://www.woodsolutions.com.au/articles/technical-design-guides