A new pioneering research study proves that there is definitely a business case for introducing Biophilic Design into a Workplace. The findings of this study shows an incredible 200% increase in well-being and environmental value compared to a normal workspace! The research was carried out at PLP Offices over the course of 8 weeks. The researchers monitored the participants daily work during three distinct environment scenarios: a controlled space (with no plants), a second space with some planting, and a third space with lots of plants. They monitored participants through qualitative (questionnaires, interviews, journaling with diaries) and quantitative means (air quality, VOC, CO2, temperature, humidity, light, heart rate, steps, sleep quality, noise level, brainwaves). The results are further proof that introducing plants into an office space really makes a difference to employee wellbeing, healthy, productivity, and a businessโ bottom line.
In this podcast, we speak with Adrian Byne, MD of Benholm Group who supported the research, providing plants and also who will be hosting an event in their Falkirk offices for designers to explore the results with the researchers and network and discuss what makes a good biophilically designed workplace. The link to the research here: https://www.benholm.com/research-study-the-value-of-biophilic-design-follow-up-interview/
Register your interest in the LIVE event 28th September 2023 here: https://www.benholm.com/reap-what-you-sow-live-event-form/
EVENT - Reap what you Sow 28th September 2023
At the in person event in Scotland later in the year, we will be sitting down with PLP, Benholm and the researchers Professor Derek Clements-Croome and Joyce Chan-Schoof with a live audience drilling down into the process and the further application of the research. If you are a designer or specifier and would like to come along let us know, register your interest here: https://www.benholm.com/reap-what-you-sow-live-event-form/ ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ง๐ข๐ด๐ค๐ช๐ฏ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ซ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ต๐ข๐ช๐ญ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ค๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ถ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ต๐ช๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ท๐ช๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ญ ๐ท๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฃ๐ช๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ข ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ข๐ณ๐ค๐ฉ๐ช๐ต๐ฆ๐ค๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ด๐ช๐จ๐ฏ. ๐๐ต ๐ฆ๐น๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ด๐ช๐จ๐ฏ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ค๐ช๐ด๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ข ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ต๐ข๐ณ๐บ ๐ท๐ข๐ญ๐ถ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ค๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ง๐ข๐ช๐ณ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ข๐ญ๐ถ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ข๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ๐ด๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ซ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต ๐ค๐ฐ๐ด๐ต๐ด.
Adrian in this podcast makes an impassioned plea: โPlants in an office should be for everybody. They shouldnโt be seen as a luxury or optional extra.โ
Adrian also gives us some advice on retrofitting plants and Biophilic Design into a workplace. For instance, natural light is really important, look at what is already in the space, can you expose the timber, can you bring in natural wood furniture? He also says that it is important to call on an expert, especially when bringing in planting, for example you need to make sure containers are big enough for the root-space, that they need to be water-tight, where to position plants in terms of lighting etc.
If you are a designer listening to this, try and introduce your client to the benefits of bringing Biophilic Design right at the beginning of a new building design, right from the ground up as it were. If you can build planting into the fabric of the building, it makes everything easier, from the water supply to aligning natural light and so on. If you are retrofitting Biophilic Design, of course, there is so much you can do too. Just looking at this research project, they created a fully immersive experience in that space as a retro-fit.
We also talk about Dr Wolvertonโs report from NASA https://spinoff.nasa.gov/Spinoff2019/cg_7.html , and how air cleaning takes place in the root space of the plants, toxins in the air are cleaned in the root-space of plants.
Adrian encourages designers not to go down the artificial route, but to use real plants where they can. โLive plants are the best for us. Use them if you possibly can, they have all these added benefits, if you have to use artificial, make sure they look really real, people should be wanting to water artificial plants.โ
Live planting really does something for you which this research shows.
A few notes on the research: Collaborators in the study are Sustainability Lead at House of Commons and PhD Researcher, Joyce Chan-Schoof, PLP Architecture and their in-house research and development team PLP Labs, Biophilic Design Consultant Alexander Bond, and lecturer, author and expert in multisensory design, Professor Derek Clements-Croome. Together we will measure indoor environmental quality objective data throughout the testing period, and participants will complete questionnaires after each scenario change.
For more information on Benholm visit https://www.benholm.com
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE EVENT:
This open discussion will provide a golden opportunity put your questions to the authors and gain valuable insights on how biophilic design can enhance your projects from a wellbeing, sustainability and financial perspective.
In addition to the invaluable insights youโll gain from our experts, youโll also have the opportunity to:
๐คExpand Your Network: Connect with like-minded professionals and industry leaders who share a curiosity for biophilic design, fostering collaboration and opening doors to new opportunities.
๐ฑDelve into BENHOLMโS lush greenhouse: See where our remarkable biophilic creations come to life and witness the craftsmanship and artistry behind our awe-inspiring designs.
๐พEnjoy some TLC: To keep your creative energy flowing, theyโll be providing a complimentary lunch, nibbles, and drinks throughout the event, followed by a champagne reception at the end of the day.
Reap What You Sow LIVE will take place at Benholmโs picturesque headquarters on the ๐ฎ๐ด๐๐ต ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ฌ๐ต:๐ฏ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐บ ๐๐ป๐๐ถ๐น ๐ฑ:๐ฏ๐ฌ๐ฝ๐บ. To ensure easy and convenient access for all attendees, they will be running a shuttle service to and from Polmont train station.
Would you like to attend? This exclusive event is free, but spaces are extremely limited. If you or a member of your team would like the chance to secure a spot on the guest list, register your interest here: https://lnkd.in/dFdgxH7s
For the research visit: https://www.benholm.com/research-study-the-value-of-biophilic-design-follow-up-interview/
Also before you go, do check out this case study - https://www.benholm.com/rose-street-garden-edinburgh/ which shows how you could use flowers and planting to support your business branding too.
Have you got a copy of the The Journal of Biophilic Design (you can purchase a copy directly from us at the journalofbiophilicdesign.com or Amazon. To buy a copy of The Journal of Biophilic Design visit our website www.journalofbiophilicdesign.com or from Amazon. If you like our podcast and would like to support us in some way, you can buy us a coffee if youโd like to, thank you x
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