What is Biophilic Design?
Humans share an innate connection with nature, as it possesses the profound ability to inspire our minds and rejuvenate our souls. In the urban landscape, dominated by technological advancements and sprawling cities, our lives are primarily spent indoors. According to the National Human Activity Pattern Survey in 2001, we allocate up to 93% of our time inside buildings or vehicles, leading to a detachment from our fundamental connection to nature.
Biophilic Design seeks to bridge this gap by channeling our innate love for nature and infusing it into indoor spaces. Beyond aesthetic appeal, Biophilic Design has proven benefits, including stress reduction, heightened clarity of thought and creativity, improved well-being, and accelerated healing processes.
Biophilic at Work
Biophilic design, often perceived as a luxury reserved for environmentally conscious property owners or those prioritizing an optimal workplace, holds untapped potential for enhancing community well-being and impacting the bottom line. The workplace, where the average Singapore employee spends over 45 hours weekly, becomes the nucleus of societal progress. With an average annual income exceeding $54,000 per worker, the costs associated with 15 employees can surpass $821,000 per year, underscoring the significant financial investment in human capital.
Despite employers aspiring to maximize productivity, various stressors, including absenteeism, presentism, loss of focus, negative moods, and poor health, hinder the achievement of peak efficiency. While the built environment may not always be the cause, a well-designed space can alleviate these challenges. However, the emphasis on worker productivity often remains undervalued compared to more immediately identifiable cost reduction strategies, such as technology upgrades.
Industries across sectors, spending 112 times more on personnel costs than on workplace energy expenses, underscore the economic wisdom of investing in employees, their productivity, and overall satisfaction. Even modest improvements in productivity and reduced absenteeism can yield more significant bottom-line benefits than cost-cutting measures. Traditional design strategies neglecting nature can directly impact profits, making the case for the powerful evidence supporting the profitability of biophilic design.
In essence, biophilic design not only enhances productivity but also becomes a driving force for increased profits.
Biophilic at Retail Space
The average Singaporean allocates $171 per month to retail expenditures. Biophilic design emerges as a strategic avenue to tap into this market, enhancing sales while elevating the overall consumer experience. The psychologically calming impact of nature has proven effective in drawing shoppers into stores, resulting in boosted sales and significantly improved profit margins for establishments integrating biophilic elements.
Evidence suggests that consumers are inclined to make more purchases in stores featuring strategically positioned natural elements. Store and mall layouts deliberately guide shoppers through a curated maze of products, surrounded by thoughtfully placed plants, trees, and skylights—a subtle yet influential strategy that can substantially enhance profits for those embracing biophilic, greening practices.
Research indicates a compelling increase in the hedonic value of goods sold in greener areas compared to retail locations devoid of nature. Respondents viewing images of verdant retail settings expressed a willingness to pay 20% more for items related to convenient shopping, 25% more for general shopping, and 15% more for specialty shopping. The addition of plant life within retail spaces acts as a stimulus, elevating the perceived image and economic viability of stores.
Embracing the concept of greenery not only boosts revenue in the retail industry but also presents developers and storeowners with the opportunity to achieve optimal profit margins that are economically, environmentally, and socially savvy.
For any queries, please email us at info@inoutatelier.com or click the ‘Contact Us’ below.