Is the Future of Interior Architecture Called Biophilia?
The terms bio-architecture and green building, now commonly used when considering the design criteria developed in respect of the environment, is accompanied by another concept in line with ‘eco-sensitive’ design: biophilia.
The first definition of the term was proposed by the American biologist Edward O. Wilson who, in the 1990s, described it as follows: ” biophilia is the innate tendency to focus our attention on life forms and on everything that reminds them and , in some circumstances, to become emotionally affiliated with it “.
From this first track, the biophilic design movement started .
Let’s see, also thanks to the contribution of professionals in the field, what the terms biophilia and biophilic design mean today.
Taylor Jacobson Interior Design
Giuseppe Barbiero, Professor of Biology and Ecopsychology Ecology Laboratory and director of the Affective University of Valle d’Aosta (LEAF / UniVDA), explains what the term actually means Biophilia ” The Biophilia is our love for living Nature. All that is alive attracts us and can arouse in us emotions of affiliation ( biophilia ) or repulsion (biophobia). The Biophilia is innate, but it is not instinctive. It is a genetic predisposition that we all have, but that we must stimulate and educate if we want it to flourish.
If biophilia is not stimulated, if we have little chance to interact with the living world, we lose the ability to develop certain areas of the cerebral cortex. With important consequences for our cognitive functions (in particular, the capacity for direct and sustained attention tends to be reduced) and emotional (in particular, the ability to recover from stress tends to reduce) ». Having defined the concept of biophilia, the next step concerns the connection between love for nature and architectural and interior design.