Modern Biophilic Office Interior Design Inspirations

The office is a place where most employees spend many hours of their week; it’s important that it’s designed in a way that makes them want to come there rather than dreading it every single morning. One such way that has recently been gaining popularity among office designers is biophilic office design.

What does it entail? In the simplest terms possible, it’s creating an office building interior design that incorporates nature. Think natural light, wood, bamboo, stone, plants, green… - these are all common themes in biophilic offices.

Even though, without a doubt, biophilic designs are pleasant to the eye, they also can offer several benefits to those who work in such spaces. What exactly are those benefits? And how to create a biophilic office design in your space? We’ll talk about that and more here.

What Is Biophilic Office Design?

In a nutshell, a biophilic office design is one that incorporates nature into the space, especially plants, as well as other elements that remind us of the outside, such as earthy colors and water features.

The idea of a biophilic office design comes from ‘Biophilia,’ which, as defined by Harvard naturalist Dr. Edward O. Wilson, is the “innate tendency to focus on life and lifelike processes.” The term has been around since the 80s when Wilson noticed an increasing disconnection from nature due to increasing urbanization.

Biophloc office designs combine modern with nature, creating spaces where our inner need to be close to nature can be satisfied. Often mimicking landscapes, biophilic office design is not only aesthetic, but also provides your employees with a number of benefits - but we’ll talk about that later.

Elements of Biophilic Office Designs

There are several elements that make up a biophilic office design:

Environmental Features

This includes plants, earthy color schemes, water features, focus on natural light, and use of natural materials. Depending on the specific design, this can be executed on a smaller scale, e.g., by adding small plants throughout the office, or on a larger scale, e.g., by incorporating bigger elements like dedicated plant areas using indoor planters .

Natural Shapes and Forms

While modern design is all about sharpness and edges, biophilic office design focuses more on embracing the imperfect - shapes like spirals, arches, and curved lines are very much welcomed and encouraged. An example of this could be shaping the entrance as an arch rather than a typical rectangle.

Natural Patterns and Processes

This element of biophilic office design involves incorporating patterns found in nature and reflecting natural processes like aging. An idea here is using steel in your design, as that’s a material that doesn’t stay static - it evolves, often developing rust to show the passage of time.

Light and Space

Natural light is a very important element of a biophilic office design, not only because of its several benefits but also because it’s something that we experience at all times when outside. The incorporation of varied lighting is encouraged, as it mimics the light outdoors that does not stay the same, changing constantly.

For example, using diffused light can make your employees feel as if they’re in a forest, with light struggling to pick through the trees.

Place-Based Relationships

This element might be harder to explain, but its main idea is to design a space that reflects the spirit of the place rather than creating another mass design that looks like something you can find anywhere. It’s also about using local materials, native plantings, and indigenous building techniques.

A very simple idea that lets you incorporate this element into your biophilic office design is using art from local artists or adding elements referencing an important historic event or figure related to your location.

Evolved Human-Nature Relationships

Finally, the last element of modern office building interior biophilic design is about recreating what our relationship with nature makes us feel. This includes feelings of refuge, excitement, complexity, or curiosity, among others. Integrating them into your office design can make you appreciate them further.

Benefits of a Biophilic Office Design

As mentioned before, a biophilic office design is a popular concept not only because it looks nice (although that is probably partially responsible, too) - but mostly because it provides your employees with several benefits, including:

• Improved mental health and well-being - It’s no secret that exposure to natural elements such as natural light, greenery, and water features can have a positive effect on your mental health and overall well-being, reducing stress, improving mood, and enhancing cognitive functions.

• Increased productivity and creativity - According to a study conducted by the University of Melbourne , exposure to plants in the office increased employees’ productivity by 15%. Natural elements can stimulate the brain, improving concentration and having a positive effect on creative thinking.

• Reduced stress - Biophilic office design has shown the potential to reduce stress, as exposure to nature has been linked with lower cortisol levels - the hormone associated with stress. What’s more, exposure to nature has been shown to have a calming effect on individuals - that’s why it is said that if you want your space to have a soothing effect, paint your walls green.

• Improved cognitive function - According to a study done by researchers from Harvard University , occupants of green-certified office environments scored higher on cognitive function tests by as much as 26%. Additionally, they also had 30% fewer symptoms of sick building syndrome and 6% higher sleep quality scores compared to those in non-certified buildings.

• Improved physical health - Plants purify the air, getting rid of pollutants, toxins, and airborne microbes, like bacteria and mold spores. Additionally, they can bring moisture to the typically dry office environment, reducing irritation of nose and throat membranes.

Biophilic Office Building Interior Design Ideas

In this example, you can see a pretty simple incorporation of biophilic design principles into the office space. There’s plenty of natural light because of the big windows, big plants all around, and furniture made of a material resembling wood.

This is more of a modern take on a biophilic office design. You can see that in here, the designer decided to go for a living wall feature rather than individual plants, although those are incorporated, too. The use of gray with mustard and wood is a good example of how you don’t have to use only green to create a nature-like feeling.

Again, a very simple design, yet it incorporates several elements of a biophilic design. First of all, we have arch-shaped windows rather than classic rectangular ones. The use of sheer curtains allows for natural light to come in. The use of wood, white, and beige allows the eye focus to be on the various plants scattered throughout the space.

How to Create a Biophilic Design on a Budget

Creating a biophilic office design doesn’t mean that you have to go and spend a fortune on decor right away - there are some simple ways that are more budget-friendly, but that can still let you reap the benefits that come with it.

So, here are some ideas for a biophilic office design that will not hurt your wallet (that much):

Invest in Plants

There are plenty of plants that are very budget-friendly and yet can significantly impact how the office space is perceived. Even something as small as a plant on every desk is already a step closer to a biophilic office design. Besides, you can propagate them once they reach maturity, providing you with an unlimited supply as long as you’re willing to put in a little bit of effort.

If you have a little bit more money to dedicate to the project, a very good idea would be to get a few office planters that you can then fill with all kinds of plants in different colors, creating an inviting atmosphere. If you place it somewhere the clients see when they walk into your office, it might also make them feel more comfortable.

Let Natural Light In

A very easy hack to increase natural light is to buy mirrors and put them in strategic places. As an added benefit, this will also make your office space feel bigger. You can also rearrange your furniture, as more often than not, the solution to more natural light is simply changing the layout of things inside the room.

Paint Your Walls

As mentioned, colors like green are associated with nature - so a simple way to make your office more nature-friendly is to incorporate the color into your interior office building decor, for example, by painting your walls. If you don’t want to go all out, painting an account wall should be more than enough.

Invest in Art

Look for local artists and purchase their art for your office, incorporating the fifth element of biophilic office design (place-based relationships) into your office design. You don’t have to go for the most expensive and well-known piece, as that’s not really budget-friendly. Opt for something small, or look for a smaller artist who is just starting to put their work out there. You will save some money while helping them by putting their work on display.

Incorporating Biophilic Design in Hybrid Workplaces

Just because someone is working from home doesn’t mean they can’t create a biophilic office design in their home office - in fact, it might be even easier, as the space they’re working with is significantly smaller than a regular office.

How to do it? Here are a few things to consider:

• When choosing your desk, opt for one made from materials like wood - not only do they tend to be more durable, but wood is a natural material. If you don’t want to use wood, however, you can opt for metal.

• Don’t forget plants - they can make a world of difference in your well-being and the kind of feelings you feel in your home office. Since they purify air, you might even notice an improvement in your health.

• Incorporate natural home decor elements - You probably will want to decorate your home office space, so when doing that, make sure that you go for things that resemble nature.

Biophilic Design Trends for Modern Offices

Biophilic office design has trends that seem to be increasing in popularity recently, including:

• Biophilic design incorporated beyond desks: Biophilic design is becoming more common among all zones of an office instead of just the space where the employees work. For example, cafeterias and focus zones often incorporate some of its elements.

• Incorporating modern solutions: Biophilic design is not about rejecting everything modern - in fact, it’s quite the opposite, and if a modern solution can be incorporated into the design, it is more than welcomed. Smart lighting or self-watering systems are common examples.

• Sustainability: The use of recycled materials in biophilic designs was already quite common, but now that the world is becoming more and more focused on being environmentally friendly, it’s even more frequent.

The Bottom Line

Biophilic office design is becoming more and more popular among office designers, and it’s easy to see why - not only is it pleasing to the eye, but as various studies have shown, it also comes with a number of benefits.

If you, too, want to try and see whether the biophilic design will make a difference in your office, you have a very simple way of doing so - just add a number of planters with different kinds of plants inside of them, with a focus on those that purify the air.

At Pots, Planters, & More, we understand the importance of biophilic design - because of this, we offer our customers the option to choose what kind of color they want their planters to be, including a number of shades that will suit a biophilic design perfectly. What’s more, our planters are made of high-quality materials that are bound to last you for years.

Browse through our selection of planters and find the right one for your office design today