GARDEN DESIGN
Human’s innate attraction to nature
and natural processes, forms the
basis of Biophilia, which means
‘love of nature’. It implies that
through thousands of years living
as agrarian societies we all have
developed an innate connection to
the natural world. The American
biologist Edward O Wilson in the
1980’s observed how through the
migration to urban environments
it has led to a disconnection with
the natural world. Hence Biophilia
is increasingly regarded with
importance to our health and well-
being in the built environment.
It is now accepted by the scientific
and medical community that
spending time immersed in nature is
good for our mental wellbeing. The
fact that we spend about 85% of our
time indoors means that most of us
are deprived of exposure to nature.
In Japan the benefits of immersing
yourself in nature is known as
shinrin-yoku, or ‘forest bathing’.
In the 1980’s it was developed
by the Japanese as a form ‘plant
therapy practice’ and has become
an important component of
preventative health care and healing
in Japanese medicine. They found
that being immersed in nature
creates calming neuro-psychological
effects through changes in the
nervous system, reducing the stress
hormone cortisol and boosting the
immune system, and has led to
reductions in stress, anger, anxiety,
depression and sleeplessness
amongst the participants and
improved mental clarity.
At East of Eden Plants and Designs,
we believe that the principles
revealed by shinrin-yoku can
be incorporated into thoughtful
Biophilic Design, which aims to
create a human centred approach
to improve the many spaces that
we live and work in today. By
incorporating direct or indirect
elements of nature into the built
environment, there are enormous
benefits to our health and well-
being reducing stress, blood pressure
levels and heart rates, whilst
increasing productivity, creativity
and well-being.
It is not a practical reality for most
urban dwellers to find the nearest
forest. We believe that, there are
some simple, yet very effective ways
of incorporating elements of nature
into the built environment. One of
the simplest, which is both instant
and cost effective, is the use of living
green screens. For many of our
projects we now encourage the use
of instant living screens to produce
a natural green landscape, which
can transform even the bleakest
concrete urban setting.
Biophilic design is often seen as
a rather esoteric indulgence for
interior settings of the few, but
we believe that we can bring the
benefits to far wider groups of
people in urban environments, who
are devoid of nature’s benefits. Once
an area is brought back to life with
green screening, it immediately
improves one’s state of mind, lifts
the spirit and induces a sense of
wellbeing, bringing about a positive
outlook on life. Just having a view
through the window of vegetation
outside has proven to boost
happiness, and combat depression).
Where funds permit, we combine
instant green screening with living
walls to create an enhanced effect,
but they are often beyond the
budget of many clients, particularly
community groups, that are often
in the greatest need of greening
their environment. Instant natural
screens provide an affordable
option, as well as being virtually
maintenance free. By using the
highly reliable green screens, it
provides a sustainable scheme. Once
established the ‘green screened’ area
can then be developed gradually
with other planting, encouraging the
community to get involving in the
green spaces they have created.
Although I am convinced that
connecting with nature, through
the principles of Biophilia, brings
about the benefits associated
with wellbeing. There are further
significant benefits of using living
walls that are likely to improve the
metal state.
These include:
Instantly Conceal and Prevent
Graffiti / Eyesores
Increased Biodiversity
Bumble bee Photographed last summer on Ivy Screen
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