Best Examples of Biophilic commercial developments
Examples of biophilic design in architecture are gaining prominence in high-profile commercial buildings around the world, here we examine the best concepts that combine elements of nature, wellbeing and sustainability
LaMercedes, Barcelona / Developers: Conren Tramway / Architects: BatlleRoig
Roots In The Sky, London / Developers: Fabrix / Concept Architects: Studio RHE / Project Architects: Sheppard Robson
CapitaSpring building, Singapore / Developers: CapitaSpring / Architects: BIG
Yorkville - The Ring, Hong Kong / Developers: Hong Kong Land / Architects: PHA
NION, Frankfurt / Developers: Groß & Partners / Architects: Unstudio
Holbein Gardens / Developer: Grosvenor Property UK / Architects: Barr Gazetas
LaMercedes Barcelona - a biophilic mixed-use development
LaMercedes, Barcelona by Conren Tramway (architects Batlleiroig)
Conren Tramway are a Spanish investor, developer group based in Barcelona and Madrid with an expansive portfolio covering office, residential and mixed-use development and investment projects.
In addition to the iconic Three Towers, ‘Les Tres Xemeneies del Parallel', in Barcelona and various mixed-use developments in the new business distric @22 in Poblenou, this group have taken on what is perhaps their most ambitious urban regeneration project yet - LaMercedes, set to the first ‘eco-district' in Spain integrating a variety of sustainable green building concepts, healthy building wellbeing strategies real estate ESG criteria.
What was once a car factory in an industrial area of the city is to be transformed by local architects Batlleiroig into an 185,000 sqm development that is “carbon and car-free”, a “sustainable island'“ in the city. Public services will include a museum, community center and an educational facility.
A total of 15,000m2 of retail space and 1300 residential units combined with 46,000m2 of creative offices and a ‘talent campus' for 2000 students will make this a truly unique new addition to Barcelona's urban landscape.
Another key feature of this ‘eco-illa' will be the intelligent mobility system that pushes the infrastructure underground including a traffic system to leave the ground floor vehicle-free, meaning a pedestrianized and cycle-friendly experience for residents and visitors.
Expect to see an abundance of green space in the built environment, plenty of outdoor space to enhance wellbeing, an architectural design that integrates biophilic design principles and natural materials for human connection with the outside world.
Roots in the Sky, London - biophilic design in office real estate
Roots in the Sky by Fabrix
Already attracting attention for its headline-grabbing 1.4-acre urban forest rooftop accessible by the local community, Roots in the Sky is a statement of intent by the developers Fabrix, showing their focus on - biodiversity and sustainability in real estate.
What was once a 1960s era building housing Blackfriars Crown Court will undergo an urban regeneration facelift into an all-electric 385,000 sq ft mixed-use development containing offices, community spaces and retail.
Based around a hybrid steel and CLT (cross laminate timber) frame that reduces embodied carbon content, the concept architects are Studio RHE led by Richard Hywel Evans and project architects are Sheppard Robson with environmental consulting support by Atelier Ten.
A passive ventilation strategy, operable windows for natural ventilation on warmer days, a feature atrium for waste heat extraction, and 1300 tonnes of soil on the roof to attract nature back into the city while protecting against the risk of flash flooding, all make this one of the most sustainable real estate developments to take shape in London in recent years, and there has been no shortage of them due to the increasingly strict planning regulations coming into place via the Mayor's office.
That rooftop will accommodate a restaurant, landscaping by Harris Bugg, an estimated 10,000 plants and a passive water capture system for irrigation on-site reducing the building's water demands.
This is an example of how to enhance well being in office buildings through a combination of natural lighting, natural landscapes and green walls as key biophilic design principles.
CapitaSpring, Singapore - biophilic architecture in mixed-use real estate
CapitaSpring office building
Combine BIG Architects, a ‘city in a garden location' and the backing of a giant developer and out comes this 51-floor, 280m high building of Grade A office space, serviced apartments and a four-story garden dubbed the ‘green oasis'.
Transforming the site of a former car park complex built in the 1980s this new example of biophilic design in architecture aims for icon status with its eye-catching exterior facade complete with vertical elements that appear to be prized apart to reveal flashes of nature emerging through the cracks, at a giant scale.
This interplay between building and nature is more common at an interiors scale but doing it here takes the concept in a completely new direction.
This is also, as we would expect, a 'smart building' full of IOT tech and sensors to facilitate customization of the building occupant experience.
Eight floors of serviced residences with a long list of lifestyle amenities such as a mini indoor jogging track, pool, gym, residents lounge and BBQ pits are topped by offices and the open-air garden space large enough for work breaks, lunchtime walks and more.
Natural features such as biophilic design in the interior environment, show how the developer, architects and interior designers have integrated natural systems and organic materials, natural forms and consideration for mental health.
To create spaces like this in modern society takes a bold vision of the health benefits of introducing an element of natural habitat back into dense urban areas.
hongkong land’s yorkville the ring - botanical architecture in real estate
hong kong land’s yorkville the ring
Located in Chongqing, China this 420,000m2 mixed-use retail-led development called Yorkville - The Ring is split between 170,000m2 of retail mall, 110,000m2 of offices and… wait for it, 70,000m2 of indoor botanical garden.
PHA Architects are behind the masterplan and design of this new lifestyle destination that has an enclosed landscaped commercial street embraced by two office towers.
This opens up the possibility of visual dialogue between the verdant, stepped terrace balconies of the towers above and the indoor botanical garden space.
In an attempt to blend a highly urban retail concept with a nature-centric, or biophilic design approach, the retail circulation spaces have been interwoven with the indoor botanical garden at various levels, inviting visitors to engage with the botanical experience as they navigate from one retail store to another.
Parametric modeling of the building facade allowed for a modular design, combining curved ceramic tiles with aluminium panels and LED lighting for an understated yet elegant aesthetic perfectly pitched for the expectations of both the local clientele and the all-important retail brand tenants.
Biophilic design principles such as respect for the natural environment in the interior space as well as natural ventilation, a strong visual connection with the natural world in respect of human evolution, even natural geometries evoking nature. There is so much goodness for human health in this building!
NION by Unstudio Frankfurt am Main - biophilic design in real estate
Unstudio NION office building
Designed with the deliberate intention to become one of Frankfurt's if not Germany's most sustainable office building, NION is located in the city's Europaviertel West district where big things are happening in urban regeneration over the past two decades.
Unstudio have integrated ESG criteria and resource-efficient tech to deliver a sustainable building that considers its environmental impact as well as a social angle via the wellbeing of its regular occupants and of the community around it.
Abundant landscaping is nothing new nowadays in real estate developments such as this yet when combined with a low-carbon, modular and circular economy principles it takes on renewed meaning, becoming almost like the external signal of what is going on inside the building's facade and daily operational energy use.
When biophilia and greenery are purely superficial, this chain link falls apart; for us it a fundamental component of a biophilic design concept to combine elements of sustainability and wellbeing as in this example.
The planting serves to encourage biodiversity, contributing to an emerging urban green corridor in the district and giving insects, birds and wildlife an opportunity to return to this corner of the city.
Rainwater management systems improve water efficiency, geothermal heating and cooling reduce energy demands, smart building management ensure daily operations are fine tuned with the demand-based air conditioning (especially relevant now in the post-Covid, remote work era when areas of an office may be in greater or lesser demand at certain days or times of day).
Biophilic design focuses on well being for occupants while respecting the environment, so often there is a need for landscape architects to create multi sensory interactions via water features, naturalistic shapes, organic forms in the landscaping and so on.
Here we see a material connection between the indoor and outdoor environment by the seamless integration of biophilic principles thanks to the vision of UN Studio.
Holbein Gardens, London - biophilia in real estate
Sitting prime real estate near London’s Sloane Square station this 26,524 sq ft development by Grosvenor Property UK and Barr Gazetas architects dials in the sustainable building credentials to create what will be a highly efficient, low-emission building set to be Net Zero by 2025.
Holbein Gardens by Grosvenor Property UK
Sitting prime real estate near London's Sloane Square station this 26,524 sq ft development by Grosvenor Property UK and Barr Gazetas architects dials in the sustainable building credentials to create what will be a highly efficient, low-emission building set to be Net Zero by 2025.
Barr Gazetas retained the existing structure rather than opting for demolition (equivalent to 59 tonnes of concrete / a 39% embodied carbon saving), reusing 13.5 tonnes of steelworks to reduce embodied carbon emissions, used a CLT structure, used reclaimed brickwork with lime based mortar for improved disassembly (Circular Economy principle). In total, 99.95% of all strip out waste was successfully diverted from landfill.
This all-electric, eight-story block powered by 100% renewable energy procured from the UK grid combined with photovoltaic panels on the roof generating around 17% of the projected maximum demand. As such, it is scheduled to save 50% operational energy consumption compared to benchmarks in the London, according to the developer.
Improved fenestration allows for enhanced access to natural daylight, reducing the need for artificial lighting at certain times of day.
Rainwater capture and reuse on the rooftop reduces water demand while a 714 sq ft communal roof garden with outdoor kitchen provides both biodiversity opportunities (135% net biodiversity gain) and access to biophilia for building occupants during their work days. That is in addition to the four green walls on the exterior facade.
Active travel features include 79 cycle spaces, 68 lockers and nine showers for those using active transportation methods to get to or from work each day.
Such passive strategies have obvious psychological benefits while also ensuring some ecological attachment at the start and end of a work day for example.
Cognitive function is enhanced via a connection to nature which can be both through direct experience and representations of nature, public spaces with potted plants, natural colours and local timber, outdoor areas with biomorphic forms in the garden design, if all urban environments looked like Holbein Gardens we have no doubt the foot traffic would explode as we all have this inherent need for a strong connection to nature.
A total of four different green building certifications are targeted, namely: BREEAM Outstanding, WELL Enabled, Nabers 4.5 and EPC A rating.
https://holbeingardens.london/