Why Bringing The Outdoors In Makes Us So Happy: An Architect Explains

For thousands of years, humans created buildings that responded to the climate, culture, and place. But over the last century, we have started making cookie-cutter spaces around the world, cutting ourselves off from the outside. Biophilic design aims to reverse this trend. Largely kicked off by the 2008 book Biophilic Design: The Theory, Science and Practice of Bringing Buildings to Life, the movement now seeks to reconnect people and nature in creative new ways.

We spend 90 percent1 of our time indoors, removed from the world around us. Most contemporary Western architecture sees our buildings as tools to assert domination over nature and highlight our separation from it.

But with an increased focus on health and wellness, we're starting to realize that the spaces that we spend so much time in should be using more principles from nature, not fewer. When buildings capture the movement of the sun through the sky using windows, patterns, and architectural details, these dynamic shadows and pools of light connect us to the time of day, the season, and our inner biorhythms. There is a lasting and healing power in these spaces, and they can serve as touchstones whenever we need a respite from our busy and sometimes stressful lives.

I started working in architecture over 20 years ago, on a mission to dissolve the walls that existed between the inside and outside. Needless to say, biophilic design has always made inherent sense to me, and I'm so excited to see it begin to emerge as a design trend. Now, I'm working to help massive companies including Google and Etsy incorporate it into their offices to create healthier environments for their employees. They've created a diverse range of dynamic and varied spatial conditions for employees to work away from their desks, mimicking the spatial variability found in nature and allowing people to be more focused and productive.

Nature is not monotone—colors, shapes, and spaces always shift as shadows move and leaves sprout and fall. Crafting a space that has space for standing and sitting, is quiet in some areas and loud in others, and transitions between vivid and neutral colors can replicate the experience of being outside.