How Buildings Can Make Us Better
[Applause]
in my 25 year career as a designer
i’ve asked the same question to
thousands of people
if you could be anywhere in the world
right now
where would you be
now if you’re like most people you would
have imagined yourself
somewhere in nature
maybe on a sunny beach yeah
maybe in a park or a beautiful garden
setting
maybe amongst the trees
being in nature makes us feel fully
alive
we can feel the sense of vitality and
inspiration
and at the same time clear
grounded and connected and science
confirms
spending time in nature helps our minds
and our bodies
to be at our best heart rates and blood
pressure regulate
our stress is reduced even our immune
systems are
activated we thrive
but here’s the problem
we are estimated in the u.s to be
spending 90
of our time inside
and most of these places the places that
we
live work learn and heal
they’re isolating us from nature they’re
not helping us to thrive
these environments have actually created
a vast divide
from who we really are
dynamic sensory rich living beings
that thrive on connection to the natural
world
and this separation is harming us
physically
mentally and emotionally these walls
that we have created around us
they’re closing us down and making us
unhealthy
but i’m here to tell you of a different
way
a way for us to thrive inside
now when i first started off as an
interior designer
i was excited about the creativity
and the stylish trends but in college
i got a project i wasn’t excited about
it was for a renovation of an older
hospital
i dreaded it and that same year
my father who i’m pictured with here
he was diagnosed with an aggressive form
of cancer
and so as i designed for this project in
school
i listened to his stories of being a
patient
within the walls of the clinics in the
hospitals
and they were disheartening
he told me about getting lost a lot
and the stress of the artificial glaring
lights you know the ones
and the lack of sunshine and these
lovely gardens that he could see
but they were off limits to patients
it was heartbreaking and it was a tough
year
but my father he fortunately got better
and it was this experience that
transformed me
it transformed me as a designer because
i could see
how the physical environment could have
supported him
when he needed it the most so i went on
to practice
as a designer focused on healthcare
for 15 years to understand how
environments can help us to heal
then i started designing beyond the
walls of the hospital because i wanted
to help people
before they got sick
my path as a designer focused on health
and well-being
it was as clear as daylight
in fact daylight was an essential part
of the answer
so this profound innate connection we
have
to the natural world it’s called
biophilia
and it translates as our passionate love
of life
and the theory of biophilia is this
having spent the majority of our
existence
immersed in nature our connection to the
natural world
is embedded genetically and biologically
encoded within us and bringing nature’s
patterns
into our spaces biophilic design
supports
and promotes this natural connection
but what do we really need to be doing
to transform
transform these harsh and cold spaces
the change is rooted in three things
and the first thing we need to do is we
need to break down these walls
and let nature in
so we need views plants
sunlight water we need
close and meaningful connection to
nature
every day
we need access to gardens and rooftop
decks
plants animals water flourishing
in and around our buildings
this exposure to nature substantially
increases our creativity
our productivity even our happiness
we need to blur the lines between inside
and out
and yes daylight we need sunshine
to nourish our circadian rhythms of our
body
which are regulating our sleep and wake
cycle our moods
even our children’s development
studies show we can increase test scores
10 percent
overall learning rates by 25 percent by
opening the blinds and letting in
the light
and we need plants we need plants and
majestic forms like dynamic living walls
and in simple ways like we can’t forget
the power of the potted plants
we need to say yes to life in our
buildings
the second way to make this
transformative change
is our buildings can’t just look good
they need to feel good
so many of these spaces have caused our
bodies to close down
for our senses to be forgotten so our
buildings need to remind us
that we’re living they need to reawaken
our senses
we do this through things like natural
materials
textures patterns sacred geometry
fractal patterns and what the research
tells us
when we experience any experience these
elements
we are able to actually process
information
faster think clear and become restored
and it doesn’t need to cost more when i
worked on this project this rich
reclaimed
conference room table was the same price
as a standard table we really can’t
afford to live
any other way
and imagine these spaces for
contemplation
and reflection with sounds of nature
nested within our cities our buildings
need to remind us we’re alive
the third way to make this
transformative change
is that our buildings need to remind us
to care
we do that through the elements of
fostering beauty in our space
and also creating a sense of awe
and when we do this places become
memorable
they also become the places that we love
they connect us to each other and they
inspire us
authentic beauty is an inspirational
language that speaks to us
beyond words you know it
when you feel it it’s it it makes you
feel
comfortable and cared for and it’s warm
and it’s inviting
and the research shows us when we find
beauty in place
we become emotionally attached to that
place
we actually become more caring
even more compassionate
and to create this sense of awe and
wonder and delight
like i learned on this project is often
expressed through art
art that is embraced and informed by
community
and culture and place
considering our local artists with
indigenous materials
these are the elements that lift the
human spirit
and finally these concepts aren’t just
for our new
buildings they can and need to be
imagined in our
many existing spaces like
who would have known this modern vibrant
office space
was once a dark and run-down adult
bookstore this is transformation
we are nature when we’re surrounded by
nature’s
patterns we thrive
and we can get this feeling in the
spaces that surround and support us
we don’t have to wait for that vacation
or that far-off destination
we need to bring these elements into our
spaces
every day and you can start today
adopt a new house plant
care for it open your windows
and plant seeds for better designs in
your community
we need this now more than ever
and when we bring in the power and
inspiration of nature
into the places that we live work learn
and heal we are happier
we are healthier we are more connected
and we are better because of it
thank you