#87: Biophilic Architecture and Design, with Louisa Whitmore (@louisatalksbuildings)

[00:00:00] Welcome to The Green Urbanist, a podcast for urbanists fighting climate change. I'm Ross.

[00:00:24] Hello everyone. Welcome back to another episode. Ross here. Today's episode is a conversation with

[00:00:30] Louisa Whitmore. My name is Louisa Whitmore. I'm an architecture enthusiast, TikTok creator and

[00:00:37] host of the documentary series, The Nature of Design. Now, Louisa is the host of the Nature

[00:00:43] of Design documentary series, which is all about biophilic design in architecture and in landscape

[00:00:49] design. And that's exactly what we're talking about on today's episode. So a chat to Louisa

[00:00:56] about her experience making the documentary and about some of her favourite sort of case studies

[00:01:00] of the places that they went and visited as part of the documentary. So this is a really good

[00:01:05] episode to get some examples, some case studies of biophilic design from I think mostly in

[00:01:11] North America. Really, really nice chat. And we also talk about some of the health benefits and

[00:01:16] some of the mental health benefits, why we really need to be experiencing biophilic places

[00:01:21] and how we can do more of that within dense cities with limited space. It's a really

[00:01:26] nice chat. I really enjoyed it. And I think you're really going to enjoy it as well.

[00:01:32] If you're interested in checking out the documentary series and watching it,

[00:01:36] again, it's called The Nature of Design and that's available on a website called

[00:01:40] thegreenchannel.tv. And the link to that is in the episode description along with some other

[00:01:46] social media links. You can go check out Louisa's TikTok and the Instagram and the TikTok

[00:01:50] pages for the documentary as well. Just to say, I know my posting schedule for podcasts

[00:01:57] has been a bit all over the place recently. Please forgive me for that. I'm just incredibly

[00:02:02] busy doing all this stuff outside of podcasting, which does tend to happen.

[00:02:07] And so you just have to bear with me the next couple of weeks, potentially months,

[00:02:13] life will continue to be busy. But I've got a couple of more really good episodes coming up.

[00:02:17] So stay tuned for that. And if nothing new comes out soon, then have a look in the

[00:02:24] back catalog. There's over 80 episodes. I'm sure you'll find something that you enjoy there.

[00:02:32] So please tell me a little bit about this documentary. What is it about?

[00:02:36] Yes. So The Nature of Design is a documentary series about biophilic architecture and design,

[00:02:45] basically natural design, bringing nature into architecture. Biophilia is the design principle

[00:02:52] of bringing nature into architecture. So that's what it's all about. And so we focus on several

[00:02:58] different aspects of bringing nature into design, nature into architecture, work,

[00:03:03] office buildings, etc. play hotels, resorts, public parks, things like that. And all of the

[00:03:10] different ways that being around nature impacts you and your brain and your enjoyment of a space.

[00:03:17] It was a really fun time to learn all of that while researching while making

[00:03:22] the documentary. And I'm really excited for it to come out. Amazing. Yeah. It looks great.

[00:03:27] Hopefully it's quite inspirational for people. I wonder, how did you get into biophilic architecture?

[00:03:34] What was your sort of way into it? Well, that's a great question. Basically,

[00:03:42] the producers of the documentary, B Video Productions, reached out to me and said,

[00:03:46] hey, have you heard of this architectural concept? We're thinking we want to make

[00:03:50] a documentary about it. Would you like to be involved? And I was just sort of starting out

[00:03:55] as an architecture creator on TikTok at that point. I'd only been doing it for a few months.

[00:04:00] I was learning about all these new types of architecture I hadn't really looked into before.

[00:04:04] So that was just kind of one added onto the list. And I started looking into it. It's so

[00:04:08] fascinating. And I'm so glad they reached out because I've learned so much and I've learned

[00:04:14] so much about how I personally experience being in a space and how I feel when I'm around

[00:04:23] nature. Example right now, I know that I'm sitting at my desk at my window looking out at

[00:04:29] a tree and I know that that helps me work, that helps me be productive, that helps me feel

[00:04:35] good in my workspace. And that's why I organize my room this way. And I only know

[00:04:39] that because of this learning that I've done through the documentary.

[00:04:43] Yeah, exactly. So if you're an office worker and you're spending a lot of time looking

[00:04:48] out the window, just remember it's good for your productivity. Tell your manager that.

[00:04:52] It is. Looking outside, seeing greenery, if that makes you happy, it's just going to be

[00:04:58] better. You're going to be better all around. Yeah, there's incredible research done on

[00:05:04] biophilic architecture or biophilic environments where we're sort of immersed in nature. If we

[00:05:08] can see plants and trees and natural views, people in hospitals, they heal quicker in those

[00:05:16] environments. Your stress is reduced, all the sort of things, even in places like airports.

[00:05:23] I think they've done studies where it's like people are more chilled out, less stressed out.

[00:05:29] Well, that would make sense. And one of the things that we

[00:05:33] are talking about in the documentary is the Singapore airport. I'm sure you're aware of how

[00:05:39] beautiful that space is. But we also talked a lot about nature's role in healing and the

[00:05:48] concept of healing gardens and nature incorporated into spaces of health and restoration.

[00:05:56] Amazing. Yeah, can you tell me a bit about that? What were some of the places you visited?

[00:05:59] Awesome, I can. We went to the Nikkei Seniors Manor in Seattle, which is an apartment complex for

[00:06:12] seniors, most of whom are Japanese Americans. And we met Daniel Winterbottom, who is the

[00:06:19] landscape architect who designed their healing garden. And it was amazing to hear from him

[00:06:25] directly all of the things that went into designing that garden. And since many of

[00:06:31] the seniors living in that complex are Japanese Americans, immigrants from Japan,

[00:06:38] he incorporated a lot of techniques from Japanese healing gardens to bring the memory,

[00:06:47] include memory as a function of that. So that was fascinating and it was just a beautiful

[00:06:53] little space, this tiny triangle outside of an apartment building in the middle of downtown Seattle.

[00:06:59] And it was right next to this big road with all the trucks going by all of the time and

[00:07:05] like sirens and planes flying overhead because it was close to the airport. But once you were

[00:07:10] in that little canopy of trees and walkways and fountains, it just felt like everything

[00:07:16] else just disappeared. It was lovely. We also visited another one of Daniel Winterbottom's

[00:07:22] projects, which is the healing garden at the VA hospital in Seattle. There are multiple,

[00:07:30] it's just several little small nature pockets for when you need a break. There's one even

[00:07:37] for the staff. Healthcare staff are so overworked, especially right now. There's just such a crisis

[00:07:45] and having that little space for them to go relax, look at nature, just step back,

[00:07:51] take a breath has been very, very beneficial for some people. And having the little healing garden,

[00:08:01] nature pockets in for the veterans at the VA hospital, sometimes you just need to step back

[00:08:09] and you need to sit down and experience nature. And I talked to one of the veterans who

[00:08:17] both goes to that hospital, but also works with Daniel Winterbottom to design the gardens

[00:08:24] and works with veterans. And it really has had an impact on his life.

[00:08:32] That's amazing. I love that. Yeah, I have a couple of little spaces like that

[00:08:36] around me in London as well. There's a little nature reserve that was on a site that was,

[00:08:42] I think it was a site that was damaged by bombs in World War II. So it was totally clear

[00:08:46] of buildings and over the decades, it just like regenerated back into a little pocket of forest.

[00:08:52] So I go there usually on Saturdays or whenever I can. And it's just this super calm space,

[00:09:00] right in the middle of a very dense city. And I think big spaces are important as well,

[00:09:05] like having big parks, but where space is limited as it often is in central cities,

[00:09:11] it's just carving out those. You can have a really intensity of nature

[00:09:16] that is actually incredible to be around. Yeah. We talked a lot about those nature

[00:09:21] pockets in the city and we specifically, we visited the High Line. I got to visit

[00:09:26] the High Line with Jennifer from Biofilic Podcast. And seeing the gardens, the bushes, the trees

[00:09:37] right in the middle of downtown New York City was incredible. And Jennifer spoke a lot about

[00:09:43] the importance of these little pockets of nature and how much they can be helpful and beneficial,

[00:09:48] especially for the space, the city of New York during COVID. They were hit so hard and

[00:09:54] it was very, very difficult to open back up, get back out there and heal. And so it's again,

[00:10:02] that kind of healing power of nature there as well.

[00:10:07] Yeah, definitely. Cool. Tell me some more. Where else did you go?

[00:10:12] Amazing. Yeah, I can do that easily. Okay. So you said you wanted to know

[00:10:19] my favorite building space. Yeah, if you can pick a favorite.

[00:10:24] I definitely cannot. My jokey favorite is the woods in my neighborhood.

[00:10:30] Sure, of course. Vancouver a bit and that was lovely. I had a great time,

[00:10:36] but I have been there a lot before. But to show just sort of how we feel in nature,

[00:10:42] I was talking to Dr. Emily Grant while in the woods in Vancouver to talk about how

[00:10:50] nature affects our brains. She's a neuroscientist, so that was really fun.

[00:10:54] I would say my favorite building that we visited was the Bullet Center in Seattle.

[00:11:00] Oh yeah, I've heard about this. Yeah.

[00:11:05] I researched it going in. I had no idea how incredible it is. It's sustainable,

[00:11:11] important, which is super important. But it's also so biophilic and the way that people who

[00:11:18] work in the building, who run the building, the way that they talk about it, it's like it's alive.

[00:11:25] We went into its digestive system a little bit. We went down to... I got a whole tour.

[00:11:33] We went down to the basement, saw all of the pipes, wastewater systems,

[00:11:38] which are really, really interesting. The way it collects rainwater and treats rainwater and

[00:11:44] treats sewage water, it's fascinating all of the processes. It is quite not exactly comparable

[00:11:51] to a digestive system, but you can think of it that way. It also breathes, which

[00:11:58] is a little bit unsettling to be in a building that breathes, but it's got shutters that

[00:12:06] automatically change depending on the time of day, the sun, the light. The windows open

[00:12:13] automatically depending on the temperature. It's a really fascinating building. It's absolutely

[00:12:19] beautiful. Yeah, I really enjoyed the Bullet Center.

[00:12:25] Yeah, the Bullet Center is like... It's one of those ones because it's a couple of years old

[00:12:29] now, but it's still so far ahead of many new buildings that are made now.

[00:12:34] Yeah. I think it's about 10 years old, but their slogan is still the greenest commercial

[00:12:44] building in the world. When they built it in 2013, I think, their goal was for it to not be

[00:12:54] the greenest commercial building in the world. It was supposed to be a template

[00:13:03] that other buildings could improve upon. Yeah, it's there to learn from.

[00:13:11] Yes, exactly. What were the aspects of it that were biophilic?

[00:13:16] Biophilia isn't just being able to see plants. There's so many other things involved. There are

[00:13:24] 14 or 15 now. I think they added a new one. 15 principles of biophilia, which include seeing

[00:13:32] plants, but also seeing or hearing running water or feeling a breeze, feeling kind of

[00:13:39] natural airflow, unregulated airflow, feeling a breeze. You feel like you're outside. You

[00:13:45] feel like you're, whoa, what a beautiful day. Things like that. Also representations of nature,

[00:13:52] not just nature. The Bullet Center has... It does have that airflow is that it changes.

[00:13:59] It's got these beautiful, massive windows so that there's tons of natural light everywhere.

[00:14:07] Most of the lighting is natural, which is really lovely to be. It's just a lovely space to be

[00:14:12] inside. Lots of exposed wood. That's the representations of nature part. You don't

[00:14:18] exactly feel like you're in a forest, but it's like you know forests exist. Also a lot of

[00:14:25] plants, things like that. That more of a happy accident of its placement. I visited a conference

[00:14:34] room that has these big sliding glass doors. Just everything, the walls are all just completely

[00:14:39] glass. They happen to look out on this little corner of Seattle that is one of those nature

[00:14:45] pockets. They look out on just this little canopy of trees and it was just beautiful.

[00:14:51] Love that. It sounds amazing. I think another aspect of biophilic design, which I think

[00:14:57] maybe flies under the radar a little bit, but which I really love is the materials. You

[00:15:02] mentioned timber, but also things like stone are making a little bit of a comeback in

[00:15:09] architecture hopefully because stone is extremely sustainable because nature made it for us. We

[00:15:16] don't have to do any processing on it. You basically just cut it out of the quarry and

[00:15:20] then it's ready to go. It just lends such a nice tactile quality to buildings. It gives

[00:15:26] a real sense of permanence as well. Yeah, I completely agree. We met an architect in

[00:15:35] the Bullitt Center who works in timber, in designing timber buildings and got to see a couple

[00:15:43] of those just by looking out across the Seattle skyline. That was really, really cool.

[00:15:48] One of the biggest things was we did do a real life test thing. We met Dr. Ocean Vartanian

[00:15:57] in Toronto and he showed us, he did this study using an MRI machine to show how people's

[00:16:06] brains react to images of interior spaces. To test this out, our producer, Bridget,

[00:16:16] very grateful to her for doing this, went into the MRI machine and did this test. I got to

[00:16:23] just sit there and watch what her brain was doing, which was really fun. Her results,

[00:16:30] which matched pretty well with the general results from the actual study that he did,

[00:16:35] because we can't just go off her results because it's so long. Her results matched up pretty

[00:16:40] well with the study that Dr. Vartanian did. What he showed her were photos of interior spaces

[00:16:48] and they were all ranked on, he had a spreadsheet that was all of them ranked on

[00:16:54] different scales of curvature, of color, space, height, things like that that are just the sort

[00:17:02] of natural elements that are a little more abstract. Specifically, curvature is a lot

[00:17:09] more abstract as a natural element. We don't really think about that that much, but there

[00:17:14] are very few sharp angles in nature. Having curvature is a big part of biophilia. What

[00:17:26] the MRI test of Bridget found was that she preferred the spaces that were more curved

[00:17:34] and the spaces that had more natural light, I believe, were her results.

[00:17:39] That's super interesting. I think something I was thinking about recently,

[00:17:44] traveled around Europe, in France and Italy, you often come across these sort of medieval villages

[00:17:48] that are all made from stone and very handmade, ancient places. I was thinking recently that

[00:17:58] these are actually incredibly biophilic as well because nothing is straight. There's no straight

[00:18:03] streets. Everything is curving or turning. The buildings are all, nothing is at a perfect

[00:18:10] right angle. Everything is very rough and everything. I feel like that's probably

[00:18:14] part of why people love them so much and go on holidays there and have their wedding there

[00:18:18] and all that kind of stuff. It just feels like being in nature, despite you're actually in a

[00:18:22] town or a village. Yeah, I completely agree with that. It provides such a nice feeling that's

[00:18:31] such a counterbalance to gridded city streets that a lot of people are so used to. I also

[00:18:39] visited Cook Fox Architects in New York City. What was very interesting about that office was

[00:18:48] it was on the top of a classic New York City, not a skyscraper but a tall building, but they

[00:18:55] had this balcony, this very large balcony. They had completely covered it in, it was a garden.

[00:19:05] They completely covered it in a garden, but not the kind of rooftop garden that

[00:19:12] I was expecting. It was more of, and there's something similar at UBC that we visited

[00:19:19] the year before for the short, we also did a short documentary on just called Biophilia.

[00:19:24] I visited UBC for that and they had a very similar thing. They called it the messy garden

[00:19:29] because they just put in all of these natural plants that would be there, usually,

[00:19:35] like that would be there if there was no building there and just let them go. They grew into this

[00:19:40] tangled giant bush and there was a very similar thing at Cook Fox Architects in New York City.

[00:19:47] There were a few paths so you could kind of wander around, sit down. They had a table so

[00:19:51] they could have meetings outside which seemed lovely, but it was such a, it really was a respite

[00:19:59] from the like busyness of New York City because you could walk over to the balcony and look down

[00:20:04] and go, oh there's tons of traffic down there. People walking around honking their horns.

[00:20:09] Central Park is like a few blocks that way. Is it? You know what, don't quote me on that

[00:20:18] one. I don't remember the directions. I do not know New York City that well. But up on the

[00:20:23] balcony surrounded by these overgrown bushes, overgrown is not a great word because I mean,

[00:20:28] they're grown as much as they're supposed to be, but surrounded by these massive bushes and

[00:20:33] these like creeping branches, it was just so quiet and so peaceful and really just a really

[00:20:42] nice space to be and to think is how I felt in there.

[00:20:46] Geoffrey O'Hara Yeah, that's great. That's so great.

[00:20:48] I really have to check that out because I really think we should be embracing more of the wild

[00:20:53] in cities and that sense of just letting nature do its thing because we actually spend a lot

[00:20:59] of time and energy cutting nature back and keeping it in control in cities and we lose

[00:21:05] a lot of benefits by doing that. So. Lauren Ruffin

[00:21:09] a lot of times, pockets of nature become these very manicured like small little lawn that you

[00:21:17] could come pull up a chair on, which is nice, but it's still just as controlled as the rest

[00:21:26] of the city. It's trying to contrast, but it doesn't really contrast it because it's still

[00:21:32] just a very perfectly manicured lawn and having those little spots of wildness, even though

[00:21:38] that's not really a, it's not a great descriptor of it, but having those little spots where nature

[00:21:43] can just is just free to do its own thing is also really incredible.

[00:21:46] Geoffrey O'Hara Yeah, yeah, definitely. Well, thank you so much,

[00:21:49] Louisa. I've really enjoyed this chat. Any final thoughts you want to share before we wrap up?

[00:21:54] Lauren Ruffin Yeah, my final thoughts, I'm so grateful

[00:21:59] to everyone that I met and spoke to for the documentary. I met some of the coolest people

[00:22:05] ever. Like several architects, several designers, scientists, inventors. I talked to Naila Maloo,

[00:22:15] who is 18 years old and has already invented like three kinds of renewable or she's working on

[00:22:25] plastic made out of duckweed, like a foam plastic. Complete, very, very off topic,

[00:22:31] but she's very impressive and I'm so glad I got the chance to talk to her about that

[00:22:36] and hear about the future of, because she is the future, of plastic design and renewable materials,

[00:22:46] sustainable materials and things like that. So I'm just, I'm so grateful to everybody

[00:22:50] that I got the chance to learn from through this process.

[00:22:52] Geoffrey O'Hara Yeah, sounds super inspiring and I really

[00:22:55] look forward to seeing the whole documentary and hopefully it inspires others as well.

[00:22:59] Appreciate that. Well, thank you so much for having me.