BIOPHILIC DESIGN

Biophilic Design is an innovative way of designing the places where we live, work,
and learn. We need nature in a deep and fundamental fashion, but we have often
designed our cities and suburbs in ways that both degrade the environment and
alienate us from nature. The recent trend in green architecture has decreased the
environmental impact of the built environment, but it has accomplished little in the
way of reconnecting us to the natural world, the missing piece in the puzzle of
sustainable development. Come on a journey from our evolutionary past and the
origins of architecture to the worlds most celebrated buildings in a search for the
architecture of life. Together, we will encounter buildings that connect people and
nature - hospitals where patients heal faster, schools where childrens test scores
are higher, offices where workers are more productive, and communities where
people know more of their neighbors and families thrive. Biophilic Design points the
way toward creating healthy and productive habitats for modern humans.
"Biophilic Design extends the theory and practice of green building into a new
dimension--the realm of human connection with nature and sense of place. If
designers and planners want to create truly sustainable places that people will love
and care for now and many generations to come, they need to give this film their
close attention. We are using it as an important resource for teaching in our
college."
Louise Chawla, Professor, College of Architecture and Planning, University of
Colorado, Editor and co-Author, Growing Up in an Urbanizing World
"At a time when our society faces such extraordinary environmental and social
challenges because of our separation from nature, this film is a breath of fresh air
and takes us on journey of possibility and hope. This inspiring film features some of
the leading visionaries in architecture and design, people who understand the real
world need to design residential and commercial buildings and cities that are not
only functional but feed our souls by reconnecting us to nature.Biophilic Design is
essential viewing for policy makers, planners, designers and anyone engaged in redesigning the future."
Bryony Schwan, Executive Director, The Biomimicry 3.8 Institute
"Natural environments are not amenities, and they are not mere 'resources' or
quaint luxuries. They are essential to human mental, physical and social well-being,
most urgently for our children. Stephen Kellert has yoked health and environment in
a new and powerful way for all who view Biophilic Design."
Dr. Richard Jackson, Pediatrician, Professor and Chair, Environmental Health
Sciences, University of California-Los Angeles
"I was truly impressed with, as well as inspired by Biophilic Design.... [It] should be a
required part of any design curriculum, not just for architects but also for engineers,
interior designers, and even landscape architects. I can also see practicing
designers using the film as an effective tool in talking with clients about the value of
using 'the poetry we find in nature' for many different kinds of projects. I can see
Biophilic Design extending beyond the design community. It will resonate with and
inspired anyone remotely interested in the intersection of nature and design."
Naomi Sachs, ASLA, EDAC, Founder and Director, Therapeutic Landscapes Network

"This film goes well beyond the current concern with `green' building
design...Provides convincing evidence from a wide range of types of settings that
the reintroduction of nature into our everyday living environment profoundly
impacts our individual health and well-being...Biophilic design could be a critical
step in fostering a necessary societal level change of consciousness: through the
broad reintroduction of nature into human habitats citizens will be more likely to
become aware of their love of, and mutual connectedness with, nature and become
passionate advocates for global change in how we work to sustain life on earth."
Roger Hart, Director, The Children's Environments Research Group, Professor,
Environmental and Developmental Psychology and Earth and Environmental
Sciences, City University of New York
"Progress has certainly been made with the more measurable and verifiable aspects
of environmental design, such as minimizing the use of energy, water and
materials. In the end, however, it is perhaps the depth of our emotional connection
to the natural world that is most important to our environmental future. Deep
affinity and resonance with nature give the environment its compelling value that
ultimately leads to its measurable conservation. Biophilic Design, The Architecture
of Life fills a huge void in our understanding the role of the natural world in modern
life. It brings home why nature's presence in our daily lives is central to our
existence and what we can do to reverse a centuries old decline."
Stephen Kieran, FAIA, Founding Partner, KieranTimberlake