Energy Efficient

Architecture

Ar. Sunaina Mariam John

S8
Marian College of Architecture
Syllabus
Module 4
 Introduction to Biophilic Design:Biophilia and
Biophilic design, principle's and benefits of
Biophilic design.
 Energy effectiveness "of Biophilic architecture.
 Biophilic buildings connect people with nature-
Patterns of Biophilic design
What is Biophilia ?
 Biophilia is the inherent human inclination to affiliate with
nature that even in the modern world continues to be critical
to people’s physical and mental health and wellbeing (Wilson
1986, Kellert and Wilson 1993, Kellert 1997, 2012).

 The idea of biophilia originates in an understanding of human

evolution, where for more than 99% of our species history we
biologically developed in adaptive response to natural not
artificial or human created forces.
The human body, mind, and senses evolved in
a bio-centric not human engineered or
invented world.

While biophilia refers to the

inherent need to experience and
love nature, Biophobia is a
human's inherited fear of nature
and animals.
What is Biophilic Design?
 Biophilic design is a concept used within the building
industry to increase occupant connectivity to the natural
environment through the use of direct nature, indirect nature,
and space and place conditions.
 Used at both the building and city-scale, it is argued that this
idea has health, environmental, and economic benefits for
building occupants and urban environments, with little
drawbacks.
 Although its name was coined in recent history, indicators of
biophilic design have been seen in architecture from as far
back as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

Hanging Gardens of Babylon

 Considered as one of the pioneers of biophilic design,
Stephen Kellert has created a framework where nature in the
built environment is used in a way that satisfies human needs
 His principles are meant to celebrate and show respect for
nature, and provide an enriching urban environment that is
multisensory.
 The dimensions and attributes that define Kellert's biophilic
framework are below.

1. Direct Experience of Nature - Direct experience refers to

tangible contact with natural features.
2. Indirect Experience of Nature - Indirect experience refers
to contact with images and or representations of nature:
3. Experience of Space and Scale: The experience of space
and place uses spatial relationships to enhance well-being
Direct Experience of Nature
1. Light: Allows orientation of time of day and season, and is
attributed to wayfinding and comfort; light can also cause
natural patterns and form, movements and shadows. In
design, this can be applied through clerestories, reflective
materials, skylights, glass, and atriums. This provides well-
being and interest from occupants.
2. Air: Ventilation, temperature, and humidity are felt through
air.
 Such conditions can be applied through the use of windows
and other passive strategies, but most importantly the
variation in these elements can promote occupant comfort
and productivity.
3. Water: Water is multisensory and can be used in buildings
to provide movement, sounds, touch, and sight.
 In design it can be incorporated through water bodies,
fountains, wetlands, and aquariums; people have a strong
connection to water and when used, it can decrease stress
and increase health, performance, and overall satisfaction

Singapore airport
4. Plants: Bringing vegetation to the exterior and interior
spaces of the building provides a direct relationship to
nature.
 This should be abundant (i.e. make use of green walls or
many potted plants) and some vegetation should flower;
plants have been proven to increase physical health,
performance, and productivity and reduce stress.

An example of a green wall at Simon

Fraser University, British Columbia
 5. Animals: While hard to achieve, it can be done through
aquariums, gardens, animal feeders, and green roofs.
 This interaction with animals promotes interest, mental
stimulation, and pleasure.

Dubai Mall aquarium Koi Fish Café in Vietnam

6. Weather: Weather can be observed directly through
windows and transitional spaces, but it can also be
simulated through the manipulation of air within the space;
 Awareness of weather signified human fitness and survival
in ancient times and now promotes awareness and mental
stimulation.
7. Natural landscapes: This is done through creating self-
sustaining ecosystems into the built environment.
 Given human evolution and history, people tend to enjoy
savannah-like landscapes as they depict spaciousness and
an abundance of natural life.
 Contact with these types of environments can be done
through vistas and or direct interactions such as gardens.
Such landscapes are known to increase occupant
satisfaction.
8. Fire: This natural element is hard to incorporate, however
when implemented correctly into the building, it provides
color, warmth, and movement, all of which are appealing
and pleasing to occupants
 The experience of fire can be both a source of comfort and
anxiety.
 The satisfying presence of fire in the built environment may
be achieved through the construction of fireplaces and
hearths, but also simulated by the creative use of light, color,
movement, and materials of varying heat conductance.
Indirect Experience with Nature
1. IMAGES OF NATURE: This has been proven to be
emotionally and intellectually satisfying to occupants;
images of nature can be implemented through paintings,
photos, sculptures, murals, videos, etc
2. NATURAL MATERIALS: People prefer natural materials
as they can be mentally stimulating.
 Natural materials are susceptible to the patina of time; this
change invokes responses from people.
 These materials can be incorporated into buildings through
the use of wood and stone. Interior design can use natural
fabrics, furnishings, and leather.
3. NATURAL COLOURS: Natural colours or “earth-tones”,
are those that are commonly found in nature and are often
subdued tones of brown, green, and blue.
 When using colours in buildings, they should represent these
natural tones.
 Brighter colours should only be used sparingly – one study
found that red flowers on plants were found to be fatiguing
and distracting by occupants
4. SIMULATIONS OF NATURAL LIGHT AND AIR: In areas
where natural forms of ventilation and light cannot be
achieved, creative use of interior lighting and mechanical
ventilation can be used to mimic these natural features.
 Designers can do this through variations in lighting through
different lighting types, reflective mediums, and natural
geometries that the fixture can shine through; natural airflow
can be imitated through mild changes in temperature,
humidity, and air velocity.
5. NATURALISTIC SHAPES: Natural shapes and forms can
be achieved in architectural design through columns and
nature-based patterns on facades –
 including these different elements into spaces can change a
static space into an intriguing and appealing complex area.
 These naturalistic forms can be extraordinarily diverse from
the leaf-like patterns found on columns, the shapes of plants
on building facades, to animal facsimiles woven into fabrics
and coverings
6. EVOKING NATURE: This uses characteristics found in
nature to influence the structural design of the project.
 These may be things that may not occur in nature, rather
elements that represent natural landscapes such as
mimicking different plant heights found in ecosystems, and or
mimicking particular animal, water, or plant features.
 For example, the “wings” of the Sydney Opera House
suggest the qualities of a bird;
 Notre Dame’s stained glass windows, a rose-like flower;
while,
 The skyline of some cities mimic the vertical heterogeneity of
a forest. None of these designs actually occurs in nature, but
they all draw from design principles and characteristics of the
natural world.
Sydney Opera House- wings of a bird

Notre Dames stained glass

windows- The rose window
7. INFORMATION RICHNESS. The diversity and variability
of the natural world is so pronounced, it has been
described as the most information-rich environment people
will ever encounter. Whether natural or built, people tend to
respond positively to information-rich and diverse
environments that present a wealth of options and
opportunities, so long as the complexity is experienced in
a coherent and legible way.

Birds Nest Olympic stadium- Beijing

China
8. AGE, CHANGE, AND THE PATINA OF TIME: People are
intrigued by nature and how it changes, adapts, and ages
over time, much like ourselves.
 In buildings, this can be accomplished by using organic
materials that are susceptible to weathering and color
change – this allows for us to observe slight changes in our
built environment over time.
 9. NATURAL GEOMETRIES: The design of facades or
structural components can include the use of repetitive,
varied patterns that are seen in nature (fractals).
 These geometries can also have hierarchically organized
scales and winding flow rather than be straight with harsh
angles.
 For instance, commonly used natural geometries are the
honeycomb pattern and ripples found in water.
 Other prominent natural geometries include hierarchically
ordered scales such as the “Golden Ratio” and “Fibonacci
Sequence.”

The Parthenon, Rome

10. BIOMIMICRY. Biomimicry refers to forms and functions
found in nature, especially among other species, whose
properties have been adopted or suggest solutions to
human needs and problems.
 Examples include the bioclimatic controls of termite mounds,
the structural strength of spider webs, the heat-trapping
ability of certain animal hairs.
 Technologically capturing these characteristics of nonhuman
nature can result in direct utilitarian benefits, as well as
provoke human admiration for the ingenuity of other life and
the creativity of the natural world.

Super trees,
Garden by the
Bay, Singapore
Eastgate Center in Zimbabwe

The facade of Esplanade

Theatre mimics the durian
plant
Experience of Space and Place
1. PROSPECT AND REFUGE. Humans evolved in adaptive
response to the complementary benefits of prospect and
refuge.
 Prospect refers to long views of surrounding settings that
allow people to perceive both opportunities and dangers,
while refuge provides sites of safety and security.
 These complementary conditions can be both functional and
satisfying in the built environment.
 This biophilic outcome can be achieved through such design
strategies as vistas to the outside, visual connections
between interior spaces, and the occurrence of secure and
sheltered settings.
 2. Organized Complexity: This principle is meant to
simulate the need for controlled variability; this is done in
design through repetition, change, and detail of the
building's architecture.
 The most satisfying settings tend to possess qualities of
complexity, but experienced in an orderly and organized way.

Greece
3. INTEGRATION OF PARTS: When different parts comprise
a whole, it provides satisfaction for occupants: design
elements include interior spaces using clear boundaries
and or the integration of a central focal point

Renzo Pianos
Exhibition spaces
 4. TRANSITIONAL SPACES: This element aims to connect
interior spaces with the outside or create comfort by
providing access from one space to another environment
through the use of porches, decks, atriums, doors, bridges,
fenestrations, and foyers.

CEPT Campus,BV Doshi

5. MOBILITY: The ability for people to comfortably move
between spaces, even when complex.
 Clearly understood pathways and points of entry and egress
are especially critical to fostering mobility and feelings of
security, while the absence of these features often breeds
confusion and anxiety.
6. CULTURAL AND ECOLOGICAL ATTACHMENT TO
PLACE: Creating a cultural sense of place in the built
environment creates human connection and identity.
 This is done by incorporating the area's geography and
history into the design.
 Ecological identity is done through the creation of
ecosystems that promote the use of native flora and fauna.
 Cultural and ecological attachments to place often motivate
people to conserve and sustain both natural and human built
environments.

Jaipur Pink City

The Principles and Benefits of
Biophilic Design
1. Biophilic design requires repeated and sustained
engagement with nature.
2. Biophilic design focuses on human adaptations to the
natural world that over evolutionary time have advanced
people’s health, fitness and wellbeing.
3. Biophilic design encourages an emotional attachment to
particular settings and places..
4. Biophilic design promotes positive interactions between
people and nature that encourage an expanded sense of
relationship and responsibility for the human and
natural communities.
 5. Biophilic design encourages mutual reinforcing,
interconnected, and integrated architectural solutions.

• Physical outcomes include enhanced physical fitness, lower blood pressure,

increased comfort and satisfaction, fewer illness symptoms, and improved
health.
• Mental benefits range from increased satisfaction and motivation, less stress
and anxiety, to improved problem solving and creativity.
• Positive behavioural change includes better coping and mastery skills,
enhanced attention and concentration, improved social interaction, and less
hostility and aggression.
Assignment
 Take one example of a Biophilic building and do a thorough
study from the point of view of all the attributes learned
earlier.
 Understand the energy effectiveness, benefits, the patterns
and how it connects people with the natural world.
 This activity needs to be done at city scale and building level.

Just to get an idea of what city scale is –

Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park, Singapore
Supertree Grove, Singapore
Oslo, Norway

Are few prominent examples of Biophilic design in a city scale.