“I started walking on a rigid pavement – My limbs are twinging every footstep, and then I reached a loam surface, I removed my shoes continued a short while. This one was a completely different experience I now felt the doormat foliose puffs. I felt the massage of soil and grass on my feet. My mind pulled away, I was in deep thoughts and walking slowly.
Since the beginning of the time humans have been living with and evolving with nature. In fact, being surrounded by nature is in our DNA. As a designer we must design a space to connect with nature. I could say we should design a space by incorporating biophilic design in it. Scientists discovered genetic links that illustrate how humans have adopted their biological response mechanism to natural environment.
In 2017, researchers H. Ikei, Y. Miyazaki, and C. Song found that merely touching untreated, naturally dried wood had advantages for the human brain. In experiments involving untreated wood versus treated (painted, coated, varnished) they determined on the participants – reduced brain activity, lower rate, reduced sympathetic nerve activity, and exaggerated parasympathetic nerve activity once touching untreated or natural wood. The participants touched the wood for ninety seconds, they found the aroma, naturally dried wood calms the brain and relaxes the body.
In 2019, Michael David Burard and Andreja Kutnar, found that beneath bound conditions, victimisation wood within the engineered indoor setting might cause improved stress responses. as an example, M. D. BURNARD AND A. KUTNAR responses indicated by secretion corticosteroid levels were lower at setting with oak piece of furniture than within the corresponding management setting. The reduced reaction to stress incorporates a tiny impact for any single nerve-racking state of affairs, but, over time, even tiny reductions to stress responses will contribute to improved mental and physical health outcomes, that successively cause improved social outcomes (McEwen, 1998).
Cities were built by the industry and for the industry. Vast new tracts of monotonous, industrially produced concrete jungle. Since the physical space affects us so deeply, it was not surprising to see how the imposed monotony even affected the way people carried themselves physically.
There are scientifically accepted principles of biophilia – the presence of wood and view of nature, risk and peril, volatility is a sensation that reminds us we are humans, presence of water, curved organic forms and materiality.
Currently we tend to face an environmental condition and health emergency. Environmental degradation continues the chances related to increasing world population. Biophilic design is a way to push healing for the surroundings, for our town filled with busy individuals and for our own personal selves.
References:
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- 1. Physiological effects of wood on humans: a review, J Wood Sci (2017) 63:1–23 DOI 10.1007/s10086-016-1597-9
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- 2. Human stress responses in office-like environments with wood furniture, BUILDING RESEARCH & INFORMATION 2019 https://doi.org/10.1080/09613218.2019.1660609
Authored By:
CH Shiva Kumar
Assistant Professor
School of arts and design, Woxsen University.