Green Building Interior Design: Biophilic Design in Sustainable Interiors and Buildings — Biofilico Wellness Interiors

sustainable interiors or biophilic interiors? esports gaming room concept A.I. image BIOFILICO

What contribution can biophilic design and its natural elements make to a sustainable building strategy?

Biophilic design emphasizes the connection between humans and nature. It seeks to create a harmonious relationship between people and their environment by incorporating natural elements into green building strategies.

By doing so, it can help reduce energy consumption, lower the carbon footprint, improve air quality, and create a healthier indoor environment. Through its ability to improve the overall sustainability of a building, biophilic design can be an effective component of any sustainable building strategy.

Biophilic design can help reduce stress levels in occupants by providing calming visual cues and promoting well-being through increased contact with nature.

What is the difference between biophilia and sustainable design?

I see biophilic design as a bridge between the worlds of healthy buildings and wellness, real estate and sustainable interiors.

So biophilic design sits neatly between those two worlds. So nature effectively becomes a bridge between people and planet so it's then both a healthy environment for us as people in an indoor space or within a building or even within a city but also a space that is not negatively impacting the environment around us, so good for us and good for the planet.

I think biophilic design is really one of the very few interior design concepts that can do that. You know, the sustainability piece has now started looping back around to incorporate a more people centric or human centric wellbeing oriented approach.

Healthy interiors have some element of considering the environment too of course but in between lives this fascinating concept that we call biophilic design.

I think it is about interior design that is intended to reconnect us with where we came from, and create a more harmonious relationship between living systems our urban, dense built environments and our evolutionary past.

How does biophilic design contribute to a healthy building design?

When we’re thinking about how biophilic design impacts or contributes to the creation of a healthy interior and healthy building you could divide it schematically into two halves. Selecting products with no or low volatile organic compounds to preserve air quality and respiratory health is crucial.

We have mental wellbeing and our physical wellbeing - the latter is slightly more tangible, for example there are things we can do with technology to improve the indoor air quality, removing dust particles and other PM.25 or PM10 particulate matter from indoor air, upgrading HVAC filter systems to MERV13 or better, introducing air-purifying plants in abundance, and so on.

What is the difference between sustainable interior design and biophilic interior design?

Sustainable interior design focuses on reducing the environmental impact of an interior space by using materials and resources that are environmentally friendly and have minimal waste and environmental impact.

This means looking for products made from recycled or sustainable materials, such as bamboo, cork, and organic cotton. It also involves promoting energy efficiency by reducing energy consumption through the use of efficient lighting and appliances, as well as incorporating natural ventilation.

On the other hand, biophilic interior design is more focused on bringing nature into an interior space to create a healthier environment for occupants.

This could involve adding natural elements like plants, wood accents, and stone features to an interior space to mimic nature in some way.

Additionally, biophilic design emphasizes creating a connection between the indoors and outdoors by incorporating large windows or skylights that get fresh air and offer views of the outside environment.

So while the two concepts are inherently linked they are perhaps like brother and sister rather than twins.

sustainable interiors or biophilic interiors? esports gaming room concept A.I. image BIOFILICO

What are the scientifically proven benefits of biophilic design based on the latest research studies?

One of the most significant benefits of biophilic design is the improvement in mental health and wellbeing. Energy and environmental design principles contribute to these benefits by promoting energy efficiency, sustainable sourcing of materials, and integrating environmental impact considerations into interior design.

Studies have found that biophilic design can reduce stress levels, improve mood, and increase cognitive performance. It has also been shown to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Additionally, biophilic design has been linked to improved physical health, such as lower blood pressure, improved sleep quality, and increased immune system function.

Furthermore, research suggests that people who work in environments with biophilic design are more productive and creative than those who don’t.

Finally, biophilic design can help to create a sense of connection with nature which can lead to a greater appreciation for direct nature of the environment and its inhabitants.

Healthy natural materials in biophilic design strategies

If you look at the different types of healthy materials for interior spaces on the market today, the vast majority of them are in fact natural materials, and as they are not man-made they will likely show some visual trace of their natural source.

They're 'imperfect' in other words, at least compared to synthetic, industrial materials that often have no texture or unique patterns to them. This wabi-sabi concept of beauty is where biophilic design can have most fun.

So there's a huge overlap between healthy materials and natural materials that we might look to deploy in a biophilic interior design project.

That's really the game here, it's about how can we integrate as many of these natural components into an interior space whilst also ticking as many boxes as we can from a wellbeing design perspective.

Mental wellbeing and biophilic design features

Then there's a whole other segment around mental wellbeing. So the tangible data-driven stuff is more to do with what materials we're putting in and how we're impacting the air quality while mental wellbeing is about reducing levels of stress and anxiety, while promoting feelings of positivity and boosting mood.

Studies show that you can improve productivity and concentration levels by being exposed to nature, for example a half hour during a lunch break, for example, and then going back in to work is a healthier alternative to having another coffee or sugary drink to pick you up.

Patient recovery rates in hospitals even improve when there are views out onto nature instead of staring at the inside of a windowless room - no surprises there perhaps but combining these physical wellbeing features with the mental wellness angle is what it's all about.

What industries or sectors are successfully using biophilic design?

sustainable interiors or biophilic interiors? esports gaming room concept A.I. image BIOFILICO

Offices

sustainable interiors or biophilic interiors? esports gaming room concept A.I. image BIOFILICO

If it's an office development, then it is all about improving staff wellbeing and creating a space that is desirable for corporations to spend their days (and sometimes nights) in.

Marijuana dispensaries

In a biophilic marijuana dispensary in North America, you can play on both the mental and physical wellbeing aspects but it's less to do with creating a sense of wellbeing right there and then as it's essentially a transitory space, clients are only there a short while.

So it's more to do with connecting the product and brand image with an interior design that reflects their values as accurately as possible.

Hotels & hospitality

Any hospitality business that has a connection to say sourcing local ingredients, or zero waste kitchen policies has a direct connection with nature and sustainability, making it a perfect opportunity for an interior design concept aligned with that positioning.

In eco-luxury hotels we’re seeing a number of brands who are bringing biophilic design in but also still playing in that five star luxury space, especially but not exclusively in resorts, it’s just a natural fit for that type of environment. Additionally, many eco-luxury hotels are using solar panels to generate electricity for powering lights, appliances, and building systems, enhancing their commitment to sustainability. a resort environments for them to be a kind of synergistic approach between inside and out.

Residential

Wellness real estate is focused on creating energy-efficient spaces in which we spend most of our time - where we live and work, then there are ‘secondary spaces’ such as your gym, cafes, restaurants, hotels and so on.

What are the the challenges of implementing biophilic design and its natural processes?

Definitely one of the big questions is always around maintenance because it does come up and clearly there is an element of ongoing operational responsibility when you when you create something like this because it isn't like putting up a sculpture on the wall and then leaving it there for five years and not worrying about it. living plants do need a little bit of love and care.

But there are always options and so there's a discussion with with the client at some point which is which plants are going to require this and and it just may not be possible in some instances to put plants hanging from the ceiling if there's also wiring and electrics and HVAC systems up there and plants don't want to be right near an air vent, etc, etc.

So you know, the realities are both operational and maintenance base, but also just the practicalities of installing this stuff in certain locations where space is limited, natural light is limited, or there's just other things that are taking priorities and so there's always a crunch time in any project where right Okay, well that's the that's the aesthetic that we're going for.

You end up with the MEP consultants or the mechanical electrical engineer with the cost consultants slash project manager, the architects and interior designers and me around the table trying to hash it out and it's a lot of give and take and that's just the messy reality.

But it's not that far off from any other project. If I'm honest, it's just that there's an extra there's an extra head around the table pushing for as much live natural direct by affiliate as possible.

And my second option, My Plan B is indirect biophilia, the things that represent nature that do a lot of the same things aesthetically without actually being alive. And that's where you can get into all kinds of other stuff.

Direct biophilia vs indirect biophilia - what's the difference?

Obviously there are elements of the natural world and natural processes that we'll never be able to recreate without actually being out in nature, but it seems that we can get pretty close in terms of the brain's reaction to those stimuli, whether that be from certain scents, sounds, visual prompts or textures..

What we have to avoid is any kind of dissonance, we have to make the natural spaces in a biophilic interior as cohesive as possible.

Biomimicry in biophilic design elements

Biomimicry is a relatively new field of study that draws inspiration from nature to create sustainable solutions for humans.

It focuses on studying and emulating natural processes and systems, such as the way a beaver builds its dams or how a spider weaves its web. By doing so, biomimicry can help us develop innovative solutions to human problems.

Biophilic design, on the other hand, is an approach to design which takes into consideration the human connection to nature.

It seeks to bring nature into our built environment in order to create more comfortable and enjoyable spaces that are conducive to better health and wellbeing.

Biophilic design can also be used as a tool for sustainability by creating green spaces that help reduce energy consumption and conserve resources.

sustainable interiors or biophilic interiors? esports gaming room concept A.I. image BIOFILICO

Where does biophilic design go from here? What does the future look like for this design trend?

I think biophilic design is now undergoing a subtle but important shift towards a version 2.0. It's no longer enough just to bring inside elements of the natural world, creating an interior that's inspired by the natural environment, likely full of plants and living green walls. That's version 1.0 right there.

Nowadays there's a new wave coming that is closer to a concept called 'organic design', this is how the trend moves on to its next life phase, opening up a wider palette of colours and materials for itself as well as taking inspiration from a far wider range of other natural elements, in the quest for improved human health benefits.

How did you first begin your career in biophilic design?

I came in via the world of real estate development. So I was initially in the Creative Director role in-house with a mixed-use real estate development in Montenegro called Porto Montenegro.

We had construction , design, operations and project management teams building out a small multifamily residential and superyacht marina destination.

I was in the thick of all of this and started to see how teams could literally pull entire buildings out of the ground for 300 units in two years or build an entire Marina and I thought, well, 'this is this is my industry, for sure'.

I enjoy working in the world of interiors and real estate and started to really understand how that process worked from the initial business case right through design, launch and operational phase.

What first inspired you to work in biophilic design and sustainability?

During an early chapter in my career I was placed in South Africa, Cape Town, an amazingly natural location where the big city kid me was taken out of the urban environment and dropped into this low key, nature-centric location and something awoke inside me while I was living there.

Later I found myself working for this real estate development project in a very small town called Tivat in Montenegro on the Adriatic coast, again completely immersed by nature.

So I've got this these two things happening, which was this combination of real estate interiors, architecture, construction industry, all while diving into the world of living in very natural , environments, having previously grown up in cities my whole life.

There was just this strong internal reaction, I stopped training in indoor gyms and started training outdoors, just connecting in a way that I'd never done with nature.

I started reading into this subject, at first it even took me a little while to come across the term 'biophilia' but I knew that something was happening and that perhaps this space of real estate and interiors, that was already my world, could be integrated with my nascent passion for sustainability and nature....the rest is history!

Green Building Barcelona: Best Sustainable and Healthy Office Interiors — Biofilico Wellness Interiors

entegra office building barcelona

The six best green and healthy office real estate developments in Barcelona are all located in the PobleNou district. This ex-industrial area, the avant-garde centre of the city, is rapidly evolving into the hub for sustainable construction.

Barcelona is a model for sustainable urban development through its implementation of superblocks and sustainable architecture, creating pedestrian-friendly spaces, reducing traffic congestion, and improving air quality.

Each one of the buildings reviewed, is built with its own ESG approach and priorities such as energy efficiency or environmental and public health first, often achieving renowned certifications like LEED and WELL.

The office developments covered below are:

• Badajoz 97

• Entegra building

• Green Business District

• T3 Diagonal Mar

• Wittywood

• Lumen Offices

what is a sustainable office interior?

A sustainable office is part of the broader concept of sustainable architecture, which encompasses eco-friendly and energy-efficient workspaces designed to reduce the carbon footprint and promote sustainability.

The concept of sustainable office interior design has gained popularity in recent years, especially in the real estate industry, as businesses are increasingly becoming aware of the impact of their operations on the environment.

Sustainable office interiors are designed to conserve energy, minimize waste, and use environmentally friendly materials throughout the space.

what is sustainable office interior design in sustainable architecture?

The design of a sustainable office interior includes various sustainable practices such as natural lighting, energy-efficient systems, and the use of sustainable materials. These features encompass energy-efficient lighting systems, water-saving plumbing fixtures, and HVAC systems that consume less energy. The use of sustainable materials such as recycled wood, bamboo, and other renewable resources is also a key aspect of sustainable office interiors.

The workplace design should also incorporate green spaces, such as plants and green walls, which not only enhance the aesthetic appeal of the workspace but also contribute to air purification.

benefits of sustainable office interiors with energy efficiency

Sustainable office interiors have several benefits, including reduced energy costs, improved indoor air quality, increased employee productivity, and enhanced brand reputation.

These benefits are driving more businesses to adopt sustainable office interiors as part of their corporate social responsibility initiatives.

what is a healthy office interior with natural light?

A healthy office interior is an essential aspect of any modern workplace focused on improving the mental and physical wellbeing of employees. The interior design of an office can have a significant impact on employee health, meaning an office space will affect their productivity, creativity, and to some extent overall job satisfaction.

On this basis, a healthy workplace should be designed with the aim of creating a comfortable and stimulating work environment that supports the physical and mental health and emotional needs of employees while they are in the office building - how they deal with their home office environment is a subject for another blog post!

how to create a healthy office?

The interior design of an office should provide ample natural light, fresh air, and comfortable temperature levels to promote a healthy environment. The use of natural materials, such as wood and stone, can create a soothing atmosphere that reduces stress and anxiety levels.

Additionally, incorporating plants into the office decor can improve indoor air quality, promote health, and create a calming effect on employees.

Ergonomic furniture is a crucial aspect of a more healthy office design and interior. Chairs, desks, and other office furniture should be adjustable to accommodate different body types and promote good posture. This can help prevent back pain, neck pain, and other musculoskeletal issues that can arise from prolonged sitting.

The color scheme of an office interior can also impact employee wellbeing. Bright, bold colors can be energizing, while muted tones can be calming. It is important to strike a balance between these two extremes to encourage employees and create an environment that is both stimulating and relaxing.

In conclusion, a healthy office interior is essential for promoting the wellbeing of employees. The design should prioritize natural light, fresh air, and comfortable temperature levels, incorporate natural materials and plants, feature ergonomic furniture, and use a color scheme that balances stimulation and relaxation.

By creating a comfortable, productive and stimulating work environment, employers can improve employee productivity, creativity, and job satisfaction.

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green business district, barcelona

Green Business District healthy office development Barcelona

The Green Business District is a 15,507 sqm project developed by Glenwell Group that offers a sustainable balance between life and work. The four office buildings comprising the complex are connected through an extensive natural environment that highly improves the quality of life of those working in the District.

This innovative complex designed by the architectural firm BCA offers a unique combination of historical heritage and highly innovative contemporary buildings, as the existing modernist architecture is beautifully restored and included as part of the project.

The different buildings are harmoniously merged together into one stimulating environment through the natural landscapes.

The interiors are designed as state-of-the-art flexible office spaces ready to meet the unique needs of each of their users. Still, despite the versatility, each space provides thermal and acoustic comfort as well as the highest standards of quality, sustainability and health. The use of innovative air conditioning systems, such as free-cooling units and sensor-regulated systems, achieves energy efficiency and reduces CO2 emissions.

The different biophilic and environmental design features have contributed to acquiring a LEED Platinum Certificate and a WELL Gold Certificate.

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entegra office building barcelona

Entegra sustainable office building Barcelona

Entegra is an eight-story, sustainable office building of 4,138 sqm designed by the architectural studio Batlleiroig and developed by Urban Input. The singular look of its facade is granted by a charred wood cladding as the project enhances a connection with nature.

The offices aim to enhance the well-being of the users by providing space to breathe. Each storey offers a spacious open floor plan interior that expands into a large wooden deck offering a  limitless perception.

The expansion provided by this experience, as well as the presence of vegetation, inspires the users to take a breath and rest which positively influences their physical and mental health and well-being.

The different sustainability features included in the Entegra design contribute to the LEED Gold Certification. Additionally, the application of different bioclimatic strategies such as thorough insulation and smart automated natural ventilation highly reduces the energy demand.

This energy efficiency is supported by a solar power installation, including photovoltaic solar panels, enabling it to achieve a near Net Zero Energy Building (NZEB).

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Wittywood, Barcelona

Wittywood sustainable office design Barcelona

This 3,600 sqm project developed by Colonial is the first Spanish office building built entirely of wood. Betarq, the architecture studio in charge of Wittywood‘s design, chose to raise this construction with a wooden structure as a solution to lower its environmental impact as well as to contribute to a healthier work environment.

Using wood as a construction material reduces the carbon footprint by as much as 50% but also provides a good thermal resistance which helps improve the energy efficiency of the building. Additionally, the project produces its own renewable energy with solar panels, cutting down the energy demand considerably.

Such green building strategies contributed to obtaining a LEED Platinum Certification, though given the commitment to prioritise the user’s well-being, Wittywood has obtained a Well Platinum Certification as well.

The interior spaces are thought to create a natural work environment and offer spacious open floor plan designs, finished with prime natural materials and floor-to-ceiling windows to maximise daylight indoors.

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Badajoz 97, Barcelona

Badajoz 97 real estate development Barcelona

As part of the 2019 Urban Improvement Plan, this 14,000 sqm building developed by Conren Tramway and designed by Batlleiroig architects harmoniously integrates past and future.

Located in a rapidly evolving neighbourhood, Badajoz 97 embraces its industrial heritage with a black ceramic facade while opting for a highly innovative structural solution that enables modern-looking large open floor indoor spaces.

This sense of openness is enhanced by the addition of a wide terrace at the end of every floor. These exterior spaces are designed as gardens and aim to enhance the connection to nature, contributing to a healthier environment with improved air quality.

The different strategies utilised to improve the well-being of the users have granted this building a WELL Certification.

https://www.batlleiroig.com/es/projectes/oficines-badajoz-97-a-barcelona/

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Edifico Lumen, Barcelona

Lumen Offices office real estate Barcelona

The presence of extensive vegetation contributes to the environment as well as promoting biodiversity and helps maintain stable temperature and humidity levels.

Other sustainable strategies such as passive design features and the installation of photovoltaic panels help reduce the energy demand and grant the building with a LEED Gold Certificate.

This unique office building is conceived out of the sustainable idea of repurposing an existing structure. Designed by Batlleiroig and developed by Heptaprim-Odiseus, the Lumen Offices maintains an early 90's garage structure and turns it into an example of sustainability and efficiency. 

Aimed to improve the well-being of its users, this office building enhances an indoor-outdoor relationship and uses different biophilic strategies to integrate nature into its design.

The terraces and exterior spaces are essential to this project as having been designed as gardens, contribute to an improved air quality.  

The broad extension of plants surrounding the building provides a filter protecting the direct, hot sun rays from overheating the interiors.

As a result, vegetation helps maintain a temperature of comfort cutting down energy consumption. The energy efficiency of the Lummen Offices is further supported as it produces its own renewable energy with photovoltaic panels.

https://edificiolumen.com/equipo/

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T3 Diagonal Mar, BArcelona

T3 Diagonal Mar green and healthy offices Barcelona

This innovative project developed by Hines and Hendersons Park is designed to meet the highest standards of sustainability and well-being. A combination of wood, vegetation and avant-garde technologies has led the team behind this building to receive three distinguished certifications: LEED Platinum, WELL and WiredScore.

Designed by Batlleiroig this 3,610 sqm project is divided into four open floor plan stories. With the intention and focus of providing a healthy building, the interiors are finished with warm wood, equipped with ventilation systems, and flooded with natural light.

The floor-to-ceiling windows and terraces contribute as well to creating an indoor-outdoor transparency offering a sense of connection to the city. 

To increase productivity and minimise energy consumption T3 Office building is designed using passive strategies. Yet, the self-production of solar energy and the usage of the latest industrialised systems contribute to a reduced energy demand.

sustainable building rooftop activations

how can rooftop activations contribute to a sustainable green building plan? From apiaries to gardens, solar panels and more, here are some inspiring examples

CookFox offices Bee hive apiary, NYC, usa - sustainable building rooftop apiary

CookFox is one of the world's leading sustainable architecture and biophilic design specialists working at scale. Based out of New York City, they are on the cutting edge of environmentally responsible architecture and aim to design healthier urban landscapes.

Starting with their own rooftops, they have increasingly begun to introduce apiaries - bee hives - where conditions and space allow.

Bees are an example of what’s referred to as a ‘keystone species’ as they are massive pollinators providing an essential cog in local ecosystems, even in dense urban environments.

By dispersing pollen for plant reproduction they help to maintain biodiversity and counteract the risk of habitat fragmentation - as agriculture and urban planning tend towards the destruction of species rather than their protection.

As a way to lead by example, CookFox houses two large hives on the terrace of their corporate office. They also introduce apiaries to their development locations such as the Solaire residential apartment building located in New York City.

https://cookfox.com/projects/250-west-57th-street/

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La Pista500 rooftop garden, turin, italy - example of green building design

Fiat's former car factory located in Turin, Italy was recently crowned with a new rooftop garden designed by Camerana&Partners, completing tis transition from a historic car factory to a hub for the local community. Originally this was where Fiat cars would be tested on the rooftop track before being sent out to their customers.

Today, this 42-acre rooftop has a very different purpose as much of the asphalt track has been sowed with a meadow of 40 different local plant species. A smaller, less prominent car track still exists however, albeit for test driving electric cars only.

The space is occasionally used as an art installation space or venue for yoga classes, a perfect example of green buildings giving back to the local community through culture and wellness.

https://www.camerana.com/en/portfolio-items/la-pista-500/

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Thammasat University Urban Rooftop Farm (TURF), Thailand

Thammasat University in Thailand implemented a rooftop green building solution to improve their climate resiliency in the face of rising impacts of climate change. As urban sprawl consumes territory that previously played an active role in a complex local ecosystem, they are no longer able to absorb stormwater runoff for example.

This example (shown above) is the largest urban rooftop farm in Asia, with over 22,000 m2 of modern landscape architecture brilliantly combined with traditional agricultural knowledge. Combined, it becomes a green roof with elements of urban farming, solar panels for green energy and plenty of green public space for nature connection and an opportunity for biophilia.

Inspired by traditional rice terraces, we see a cascade of different levels to the rooftop that form a detention lawn to slow down, absorb and store rainwater while simultaneously putting it to good use as irrigation for plants that produce food.

Stormwater runoff is filtered through each layer of soil (removing harmful pollutants) and later saved up in four retention ponds, for rooftop irrigation and future use, meaning nothing goes to waste. This makes it up to 20 times more efficient than a normal concrete rooftop whilst also helping to mitigate the urban heat island effect. Finally,. solar energy is used to pump the irrigation system and additionally contribute to the building’s electricity needs.

The self-sufficient structure acts as a space for the public to enjoy nature, a food source, a water management system, an energy source, and an outdoor classroom.

https://tueng.tu.ac.th/

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Fifth & Tillery, Austin Texas - green rooftop architecture

This example by Gensler Architecture of using photovoltaic panels as a functional rooftop structure shows where green architecture can go in the future.

Owned by the CIM group, this three-story mass timber office development located on an ex-industrial estate required additional shade for the plaza below, by introducing a canopy of photovoltaic panels, the benefits were therefore two-fold - integrating a source of renewable energy and improving occupant wellbeing.

A tree-lined central courtyard "rain garden" is intended to resemble the "native ravine microhabitats of Central Texas" while louvres with integrated fans were positioned around the courtyard to improve airflow and ventilation in the outdoor spaces. Effectively, this begins to ‘turn the traditional office building inside out’.

The solar panels on stilts are a fundamental piece of the arrival experience above the entrance. This canopy combined with the additional panels on the building's rooftop can provide up to 600 kilowatt-hours (kW) of power for the sustainable building.

https://www.5thandtillery.com/

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Culpeper restaurant, London - green rooftop garden

Responding to the largely under-used rooftop spaces that populate the centre of London’s dense urban landscape, The Culpeper pub team decided to convert their space into one for food production as a way to contribute back to the local community.

Far from trying to replace the work of farmers in the rural areas around the capital, the 500 sq ft space is more about improving the quality of urban life, just a touch. Rooftop produce may appear in the form of a garnish, something in a pickle or as part of a dish, rather than dominating the ingredient list.

Typically it is smaller, younger plants such as herbs, salad leaves and vegetables growing in mushroom compost reused from mushroom farms mixed with horse manure and top soil. Kitchen leftovers are combined with soil in a wormary to keep the soil fertility alive.

Although the produce is not certified organic, the growing methodology follows organic standards, with no chemicals on the soil or plants.

This is an example of how a hotel, restaurant or pub can use a garden area to reduce organic waste, produce on-site ingredients (with a little extra effort) and provide guests with a direct connection to nature - biophilia.

https://www.theculpeper.com/rooftop/

Sustainable Boutique Hotel Brands UK

our hotel sustainability consultant perspective on the eco friendly hotel chains and boutique hotels leading the way in their sustainability efforts - from social responsibility, to environmental awareness and a focus on guest wellness

good hotels - a socially responsible hotel in london

The Good Hotels are a people-oriented brand of boutique hotels on what looks to be a genuine, founder-led mission to do good and make the world a better place through the medium of real estate, hospitality and social uplift.

The mini group currently just about fits into the ‘hotel chains UK’ category although they have three hotel locations, of which two are in Guatemala (Guatemala City and Antigua), the third is a floating platform hotel located in London that was previously a pop-up in Amsterdam before being shipped across to the Royal Victoria dock in East London.

As a social business, 100% of profits are pumped into community projects, from kids education to training locals who might otherwise not find a way into the hospitality industry. Their Good Training program involves working with local authorities to identify individuals who have been in long-term unemployment and providing them with several months of hospitality training leading to potential job opportunities at a network of partner hotels.

By repurposing derelict buildings they minimize their environmental impact, as new build construction has far higher embodied carbon that a refurb, provided the refurb. takes into consideration long-term energy saving measures such as Passive design to ensure a tight building envelope.

In Guatemala, the properties feature locally crafted textiles, joinery an organic amenities while in London there is a clear Dutch design influence - clean, crisp, unfussy but with plenty of personality too.

The focus is on natural, durable, and repurposed materials, meaning all kitchen ingredients are locally sourced for example. Clearly in Guatemala the two properties are surrounded by worthy causes, artisanal crafts and traditional makers. The transition to a premium London hotel concept from that starting point was always going to be interesting to watch.

Bedrooms in London do not offer a mini-bar or TV instead focusing on communal social areas, this reduced both their initial Capex costs on the IT and ongoing operational energy consumption. By way of ‘compensation’, each night spent in the property helps fun a week of education for a child in Guatemala via their Good Global Foundation (GGF), which supports social causes all around the world such as Niños de Guatemala, a foundation co-founded in 2007 by Marten Dresen, the founder of the Good Hotel.

This raises an interesting question around guest expectations in terms of the in-room facilities, their hotel pricing strategy and the role of pre-arrival, check-in and in-room communications to ensure guests are aware of the ‘give & take’ scenario on offer here. We imagine these three elements have to be closely coordinated right from the start, even from the marketing strategy that needs to tap into a certain target audience of travellers with a social conscience.

https://goodhotel.co/london/do-good

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room2 hometels - a truly sustainable hotel in london

Room2 is a relative newcomer to the UK boutique hotel scene with locations in Chiswick, Hammersmith, and Southampton on the south coast with a stated expansion strategy of 5,000 keys under lease or management by 2030. The first of these new properties will include Belfast (2022), Liverpool (2023) and Fulham (2024) making them one of the sustainable hotel chains to watch in the UK over the next few years.

The brand is part of the Lamington Group, a family owned business with over 50 years of history as a real estate investor, developer and operator with over 14,000m2 of real estate across its portfolio.

This background information is crucial to understanding what comes next in terms of their extensive hotel sustainability strategy efforts - Room2 is part of a wider organization that includes residential development, residential letting, a serviced apartment operations business and a Coworking concept. 

Having committed to achieving Net Zero by 2030 for Scope 1 & 2 emissions, the Lamington Group began their sustainability strategy by establishing a baseline of their Greenhouse Gas emissions (GHG), switching to renewable energy sources, integrating sustainability into operational decisions, implementing energy efficiency programs in existing properties and committing to Net Zero whole life carbon - net zero in terms of operations and embodied carbon. 

A lot of resources and expertise has clearly gone into this to align with London Energy Transformation Initiative (LETI) and the UK Green Building Council Net Zero Carbon Buildings Framework, making the effort all the more admirable. A dedicated 2-woman sustainability team is supported by a Green Team including the Managing Director and Finance Director (the brothers Godwin at the helm of the company), with external consultants including Elements on Net Zero Building standards, Climate Partner on carbon offsets and Verco on assessment and reduction of embodied carbon in their development projects.

At property level, we see a rarity in the boutique hotel chains - a brand that has a sustainability strategy covering an impressive range of key concepts from energy, to water, food waste, biophilia / biodiversity, support for local communities and a local procurement policy.

Energy demand for example is met by renewables such as solar, wind and hydro, while ‘lab rooms’ in each property monitor energy use, air quality and water usage in detail to provide data on possible untapped efficiencies. Carbon offsets come from a bamboo project in Nicaragua while low carbon and circular materials are given priority in the build and fit-out of each property. 

Locally sourced, plant-based food options are always on offer and Biophilic design brings the outside world in to connect guests to nature while improving the indoor air quality at the same time. This is boosted by a green roof, herb garden and an apiary at Room2 Chiswick for example.

Perhaps the only component missing from the Room2 hotel sustainability strategy at present is a piece addressing health and wellbeing of guests and staff but kudos to their team for this level of commitment nonetheless, they are leading from the front.

https://room2.com/sustainability/

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Zetter group - sustainable design hotels london

The Zetter Group are London based boutique hotel mini-group with three properties in the portfolio made up of a five-floor hotel in London’s Clerkenwell district, an additional townhouse in the same area and a third property in the more sedate Marylebone.

Interiors are unashamedly eclectic, verging on the maximalist at times, with wallpaper, artworks, carpets and textiles combining to create visually dramatic spaces. Underneath all of this though, lies a group that has made real headway on its sustainability policies.

An internal ‘green team’ meets regularly to drive the hotel sustainability agenda forward. Past wins include the roll-out of a energy loop system that reduces overall energy usage; natural light and passive ventilation via one hotels’ central atrium with a skylight'; occupancy detection in-room to reduce waste energy expenditure while not in use; paper and glass recycling; eco-friendly bathroom amenities;a reduction in packaging in their supply chain (food deliveries); a local procurement policy (food, amenities, textiles).

In terms of certifications, the Zetter Group is a member of the Sustainable Restaurant Association and Green Tourism.

At least according to their website, they are also making conscious efforts to foster staff wellbeing as part of their hotel sustainability strategy and continue to explore new opportunities to improve, reducing their environmental impact along the way.

No sustainability report available online.

https://thezetter.com/sustainability/

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Inhabit - health and wellness hotels london

Inhabit Hotels is a self-proclaimed ‘wellness oriented’ and environmentally conscious hotel group in London with properties in Paddington and Bayswater. The brand is working towards B Corp certification and clearly identified a gap in the market for boutique size hotels for the mindfulness generation of plant-based, yoga-practicing, spa-loving self-caring guest profile… and anyone who even vaguely identifies with that lifestyle presumably!

The Paddington site occupies six townhouses with 88 guest rooms while the larger Bayswater property has 158 rooms and suites. Their stated aim is to optimize the mental and physical wellness of their guests via a combination of sustainable interior design one the one hand and health-oriented guest experiences on the other.

Interiors have furniture made by locally based social enterprise Goldfinger and a soft, calming colour palette with British textiles and a loosely Scandi aesthetic using plenty of natural wood. This is essentially a mid-market product in the £150-£250 average price per night range.

Features such as a ‘peaceful library’ are a combination of clever communications and a concept-led approach looking for any and every opportunity to enhance the guest experience, even if most guests will likely not have the time or inclination to. browse through the bookshelves for reading material during their stay.

Other features of note include a pet-friendly policy, the option to choose the type of aromatherapy scent in-room and on-site fitness / yoga rooms combined with a comprehensive activity schedule covering various forms of yoga and meditation.

Plant-based, meat-free and seasonal cuisine comes courtesy of a partnership with Yeotown, a health and wellness retreat in Devon, ensuring an F&B concept fully in line with the hotel’s stance on sustainability and wellbeing.

No sustainability strategy or annual sustainability report available online.

https://www.inhabithotels.com/

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The Pig group - sustainable hotels and restaurants uk

The Pig Hotel and Restaurant Group currently has eight countryside ‘restaurants with rooms’ in locations across England in Somerset, Dorset, Devon, Kent, Cornwall, West Sussex and two locations in Hampshire, each united by their concept of ‘gardener, forager and chef’.

Just like the roadside inns of old, the foundation stone of hospitality at each Pig site is essentially the “simple and honest” philosophy behind their F&B offer, with an organic kitchen garden providing as much of the reared or grown ingredients as possible, with everything else sourced from within a 25-mile radius to create their ‘25 Mile Menu’ concept.

In total, these gardens produce around 17 tons of food each year that would otherwise have arrived by road, increasing their transport related environmental footprint considerably. Fish is from sources approved by the Marine Conservation Society and foragers help bring in other local, harder to find wild ingredients. Several of the restaurants are members of the Sustainable Restaurant Association.

All garden waste is composted, while glass, paper, plastic, and cooking oil are dutifully recycled. Glass bottled water is supplied by BELU, a social enterprise, and all single-use plastics have been removed from their bars. Bedroom soaps are wrapped in paper and used aluminium coffee capsules are recycled.

These small details cumulatively reflect a conscious approach to sustainability that may not follow any strict set of guidelines or certification system but is meaningful and important work nonetheless.

Interior hotel furnishings are mostly antique and upcycled,while lightbulbs have been updated to LED to reduce energy consumption.

No sustainability strategy or annual sustainability report available online.

https://www.thepighotel.com/about-us/

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Treehouse - biophilic design hotels uk

Treehouse hotels are (for now at least) a UK-centric sustainable hotel brand within Barry Sternlicht’s SH Hotels & Resorts Group, after his massive success with the 1 Hotels eco-luxury hotel concept this looks to be a smaller scale concept that shares many of the same sustainability values, albeit with more of a nostalgic twist towards traditional values, coziness and craftsmanship. The launch location was a 95-room property in London’s Marylebone with Manchester and Miami opening in 2023.

Sustainability is subtly interwoven into the fabric of the guest experience, from biophilic design in the restaurants to collaborations with meditation teachers and vegetarian chefs, eco-friendly homeware companies and advice on eco picnics in the park.

Treehouse Hotels have adopted a ‘soft’ sustainability stance in other words, one that takes it as a given that ‘this is how things should simply be done’ and assuming their guests will have an affinity with this lifestyle, rather than it being a defining part of the brand’s identity that needs to be driven home with communications.

That said, there is on-site composting, a recycling program, triple filtered water taps in the corridors and a reduction in single use plastics in evidence as well as an abundance of air-purifying plants, natural materials such as wood and organic cotton sheets in the bedrooms.

This does leave some questions unanswered from a sustainability strategy perspective of course (energy efficiency? carbon emissions? wellness initiatives?) but all of that can come with time as the group expands and matures.

No sustainability strategy or annual sustainability report available online.

https://www.treehousehotels.com/london

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Further Reading

• Visit Us

• Know More About Us

• Becoming A Biophilic Design And Healthy Building Consultant

• ESG Real Estate Consultancy In London, UK

• Mental Wellbeing Clinic Design - The Soke, London

• Sustainable Hotels In The Uk - Independently Owned

• The Aficionados On Sustainability At Independent Hotels

• Wellbeing Strategy & Wellness Interior Design

• Sustainable Building Data - 2050 Materials

• Biophilic Design Consultant & Interior Designers

• Wellness Interior Design Consultants

Sustainable Rooftop: A Key Element in Green Healthy Building Design — Biofilico Wellness Interiors

Why Green & Healthy building Rooftops?

Roofs can take up to 15-35% of the total land area of a city, making them a vital surface in urban settings (“Urban”). This often underutilized area of a building envelope can provide smart, healthy, and environmentally friendly design options that are increasingly being executed across cities.

The implementation of green roofs within a sustainable building strategy, for example, can provide benefits such as:

• a reduction of Urban Heat Islands

• increased energy efficiency

• improved rainwater management

• improved biodiversity

• the provision of amenity spaces

Compared to conventional roofs, green roofs have lower burning heat load and lower temperatures. They also include materials not found on conventional roofs, which contribute to their environmental benefits. Additionally, the installation of green roofs requires experienced roofing contractors to ensure proper setup and maintenance.

Green roofs are the most holistic and multifaceted design strategy for these surfaces, but other considerations such as cool roofs, the incorporation of rooftop gyms or exercise areas, and solar panels are a few examples of smart rooftop design that contribute to a healthy building or sustainable building strategy.

Sustainable building rooftops Reduce the Urban Heat Island Effect

One of the most important influences that rooftops can have is a reduction of Urban Heat Islands (UHI). This phenomenon describes the prevalence of higher temperatures that arise in dense, urban regions, due to the presence of man-made surfaces with higher heat retaining properties than those in natural environments.

Out of the entire building envelope, roofs are subject to the highest amount of solar irradiance, making their albedo properties the most important to curb the effects of UHI (Costanzo).

With the rise of temperatures across the globe comes the rise of heat related deaths. Increased respiratory disease, heat stress, reduced productivity, discomfort, and mental health challenges can all also occur due to increased warming (Swain).

With UHI compounded with the rising temperatures, the physical health and wellness of those residing in cities becomes more dire—making it an essential problem to address.

The most common strategies to reduce UHI on roofs is to implement cool or green roof strategies. Cool roofs use highly reflective coating such as white paint to reduce heat absorption, while green roofs implement plants and other vegetation, which acts as insulation and a cooling mechanism for the building and surrounding microclimate.

Additionally, green roofs and cool roofs can reduce the energy demand for air conditioning by keeping the interior temperature cooler and lowering energy bills.

Increase Energy Efficiency via green roofs

The implementation of smart roof design has the potential to greatly increase building energy efficiency. For one, green roofs can reduce building cooling loads and therefore increase HVAC efficiency. Also, Solar panels can be implemented on roofs to grow renewable energy use.

When used in tandem, green roofs and solar panels can be implemented on the same roof and provide dual benefits. Reducing energy consumption through green roofs can also help in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Generally, roofs are dark, heat absorbing surfaces that have the potential to raise building temperatures and increase cooling demands. Plants and greenery naturally reduce the temperature of roofs and add an insulation layer, diminishing the amount of hot and cold air affecting the building’s temperature, further regulating it.

In addition, the cooler microclimate created by rooftop greenery can increase the efficiency of rooftop HVAC systems (“Green Roof Benefits”).

In addition, solar panels can be placed on rooftops to act as a renewable energy source for a building. Although usually thought of separately, if a green roof and solar panels are used together, known as a biosolar roof, the benefits increase.

Like rooftop HVAC systems, solar panels work more efficiently in cooler climates, making the combination of vegetative cooling and solar panel energy creation a beneficial, symbiotic relationship (“Green Roofs-Solar”).

Improve Rainwater Management on green rooftops

Rainwater management and collection is a commonly mentioned concept in many building certification and rating systems, and can be improved through the implementation of green roofs. Impervious surfaces and hardscapes cause excess water runoff, which can disrupt natural hydrology and ecosystems, as well as contaminating water bodies with pollutants.

Green roofs reduce the amount of stormwater runoff and delay the time at which runoff occurs, resulting in decreased stress on sewer systems at peak flow periods. Pervious surfaces that allow for water absorption, capture, and reuse can be implemented through green roofs and through the incorporation of surfaces such as porous pavement or grid pavers.

Green roofs can capture the water as it falls, and filter out its pollutants naturally, reducing the burden on sewer systems and avoiding flooding, as well as preventing toxins from entering water bodies. It has been found that green roofs can hold 70-90% of the rain that falls on them in the summer, and 25-40% in the winter (“About”).

Once captured, this water can be redistributed throughout the building such as in irrigation, toilets, and other non-potable uses.

The use of green roofs and pervious landscaping can greatly impact rainwater management and reduce water demand within buildings.

One study done by researchers at Pennsylvania State University found that green roofs retain around 80% of fallen water, while traditional roofs captured closer to 24% of rainfall (“Green Roof Benefits”). However, when designing roofs for rainwater capture and reuse, it is essential that loads are calculated, and proper sealing of the building envelope is executed to avoid any leaks.

Improve Biodiversity with a green rooftop

Cities are barren compared to the natural world, and therefore provide fewer habitats for flora and fauna. Implementing green roofs within urban regions is a way to use often underutilized spaces to increase the presence and diversity of species within the built environment. Green roofs contribute to creating green space in urban areas, supporting biodiversity and improving the urban environment.

Increasing biodiversity in cities can not only improve the health of those ecosystems themselves, but also the systems that function around them–such as the hydrological or nutrient cycles. In addition, from a mental health standpoint, the visual presence and interaction with a diversity of species can be positive for human well-being (“About”).

Plants, especially native species promote the livelihood of birds, insects, and butterflies and restore the ecological cycles that are often disrupted in cities. In addition to providing an immediate habitat for animals, green pockets can provide places of respite for animals and provide more closely connected habitats for migrating birds and other species that would otherwise be fragmented by cities (“About”).

In addition to greenery, when solar panels are implemented as well on biosolar roofs, they can provide additional landscape diversity. The panels provide shade and protection, as well as a place for water runoff, creating a wetter side and a drier side. The implementation of PV can therefore cause a “habitat mosaic”, attracting a wider variety of flora and fauna and further increasing biodiversity (“Green Roofs-Solar”).

nike rooftop activation barcelona

Provide Amenity Spaces with a healthy building rooftop

In addition to the ecological benefits of green rooftops, they can also provide social and mental health benefits for building users. Strategies such as rooftop gyms and community gathering spaces can provide further benefits. Green walls can also contribute to urban greening by providing additional green infrastructure and improving air quality.

Outdoor exercise has been proven to have additional benefits when compared with traditional exercise, such as greater mood improvements, decreases in anxiety and increases in the desire to be active. Due to the mental and physical health benefits from both nature exposure and exercise, the combination of the two provides even greater gains (Loureiro).

Implementing exercise spaces and gyms on rooftops is an impactful way to improve the health and wellness of building users, while avoiding building footprint increases. Rooftop gardens can provide amenity spaces and enhance the sustainability of urban areas.

In addition, publicly accessible rooftops can provide places of respite and locations to gather as a community. Community gardens can be placed to encourage building users to spend time outside in nature, provide educational opportunities, improve nutrition and food awareness, and reduce the local community’s food footprint (“About”).

Finally, aesthetic roofs with various amenities can encourage occupants to utilize the space for events and social gatherings, further promoting community, connection to the outdoors, and overall wellness.

Sources

“About Green Roofs.” Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, https://greenroofs.org/about-green-roofs

Costanzo, V., et al. “Energy Savings in Buildings or UHI Mitigation? Comparison between Green Roofs and Cool Roofs.” Energy and Buildings, Elsevier, 12 May 2015, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378778815003527.

“Green Roof Benefits.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, https://www.nps.gov/tps/sustainability/new-technology/green-roofs/benefits.htm.

“Green Roofs and Solar Power – Biosolar Roofs Are Smart Green Infrastructure.” Livingroofs, 29 Oct. 2019, https://livingroofs.org/green-roofs-solar-power/.

Loureiro, Ana, and Susana Veloso. “Green Exercise, Health and Well-Being.” ResearchGate, Springer, Aug. 2017, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308099577_Green_Exercise_Health_and_Well-Being

Swain, Sunanda SwainSunanda. “Urban Heat Island Effect: Causes, Impacts and Mitigation.” Blogging Hub, 4 June 2019, www.cleantechloops.com/urban-heat- island-effect/.

“Urban Roofscapes: Using ‘Wasted’ Rooftop Real Estate to an Ecological Advantage.” Scientific American, Scientific American, 25 July 2008, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/urban-roofscapes-ecofriendly-rooftops/.

Sustainable interior materials - NUO wood

Sustainable materials for interior design - NUO wood veneer

What makes a sustainable material?

We specify healthy materials in an interiors fit-out for green buildings, focusing particularly closely on flooring, wall coverings and furniture.

This strategy incorporates elements of sustainability, biophilic design and healthy interiors to ensure that the materials going into a space are non-toxic, do not off-gas over time and will therefore not have a negative impact on Indoor Air Quality.

We specialise in sourcing circular economy, upcycled and marine- or plant-based materials for healthy interiors as well as sustainably sourced natural classics such as bamboo, wood, cork and rubber.

Inevitably, there are often some hard choices to be made, no material in our buildings has zero impact on the environment once we factor in production and transport but there is now a world of options that do far less harm than you might think and indeed some such as upcycled and Circular Economy materials that are genuinely doing good, either for the planet or the people it comes into contact with when in use.

Is leather a sustainable material?

We have covered the debate around leather justifiably being called a sustainable material elsewhere (see our podcast here with Moore & Giles leather), the argument goes that it is a byproduct of the colossal meat industry anyway and no cattle are raised and killed just for their leather.

When tanned in a certain way, for example using a byproduct of the olive industry, rather than the toxic chemicals that are usually involved in this process, we think this is a fine solution for high-end interiors - our problem is the low-end, mass market end of the spectrum, that is where things have gone badly wrong.

It remains a delicate subject and in an ideal world real natural leather would be a prestige fabric coming only from the few pasture reared, grass-fed and chemical-free cattle that had lived long, healthy lives in nature, once the world’s consumers had given up on their addiction to cheap, low quality beef. Therein lies the problem.

The new sustainable materials NUO wood

So. while we wait for scientifically grown meat to develop into a viable alternative, we look to a range of leather-life fabrics and materials that can supplement our creative resource library.

Here we will look at NUO a German made newcomer on the sustainable material scene that uses sustainably sourced wood.

Their timber logs are cross-cut, debarked and steamed, then processed into veneer sheets of 2.5m x 1.5m dimensions,. These sheets then have a fabric glued to the back before the real magic happens when the wood is laser cut with a fine engraving like detail detail to create a soft material with the flexibility and malleability of leather.

What can this sustainable material be used for?

Whenever a fabric has been proven for use in the automobile industry, we know that it can handle hospitality uses, residential or indeed luxury yachts. That is the case with NUO as it has been used in door panels and seat shells as a ‘soft wood’.

As sustainably sourced wood is one of the best natural materials available to us as sustainable interior designers, we are especially pleased to see that NUO appear to be working with the utmost respect for the forests their raw material comes from. This is key. Get that wrong and it is hard to argue in favour of real sustainable material credentials.

NUO also has some interesting acoustic qualities, it is fire protection class B1 and adapts well to upholstery uses in sustainable interior design projects.

Contact us to discuss your sustainable material project with us.

Healthy materials: Moore & Giles sustainable leather

The role of leather in sustainable interior design and healthy buildings

The ‘Green & Healthy Places’ podcast series takes a deep-dive into the role of sustainability, wellbeing and community in real estate and hospitality.

wellbeing & sustainability in real estate and hospitality

In episode 18 of the Green & Healthy Places podcast we take a deep dive into the world of wellbeing and sustainability in real estate & hospitality.

talking sustainable leather

Today I’m chatting with Beverly McAuley, Director of Education & Sustainability for Moore & Giles leather in Virginia in the US, a leading proponent of high quality, sustainable leather with four olive-tanned leather products in their range and many more such innovations in the pipeline.

Circular Economy

We discuss the state of the leather industry today, how Moore & Giles view leather as a waste diversion strategy from the meat industry and how they now use a Cradle 2 Cradle, plant-based die that is a byproduct of the olive industry to create a Circular Economy tanning process.

Quality natural leather has a long life and improves with age unlike so called eco or vegan leather that is basically a completely different material, likely PVC or vinyl layered with chemicals.

Welcome to episode 18 of the Green & Healthy Places podcast in which we take a deep dive into the world of wellbeing and sustainability in real estate & hospitality.

GUEST / BEVERLY MCAULEY , DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION & SUSTAINABILITY FOR MOORE & GILES LEATHER

• http://mooreandgiles.com/

• https://www.mooreandgiles.com/leather

HOSt / MATT MORLEY

• https://biofilico.com/

• https://biofit.io/

• https://sustainableyachtingbioblu.com/

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TRANSCRIPT FOLLOWS COURTESY OF OTTER.AI - excuse the typos!

Welcome to Episode 18 of the green and Healthy Places podcast, in which we take a deep dive into the world of well being and sustainability in real estate and hospitality. I'm your host, Matt Morley, coming to you from the World of Wellness, real estate and interiors.

This time I am chatting with Beverly McCauley, Director of Education and sustainability for moore and Giles leather in the USA, a leading proponent of high quality, sustainable leather. We discussed the state of the leather industry today, how more in jails few leather as a waste diversion strategy from the meat industry, and how they now have developed a cradle to cradle plant based dye that is a byproduct itself of the olive industry to create a truly circular economy, tanning process. Quality natural leather has a long life and improves with age. Unlike so called eco or vegan leather that's basically completely different material, likely PVC or vinyl lead with lots of chemicals. So there's real food for thought in this conversation.

Thank you so much for being with us today. I really appreciate your time. As an intro, I just wanted to take a little step back to set the scene because I know you're you're an ambassador for the ILFI living future Institute, you have your own nature based retreats. And I know that mindfulness meditation is a part of your your, So you've got a number of interests, you're also Director of Education and sustainability for Moore & Giles . So what's the career path that's led you to where you are today? And how do you balance all these different interests?

Balance is a great word and always a challenge. But, you know, it's been interesting, I have a degree in design, interior design. And quickly after college many years ago, I learned that I really enjoyed learning, I just wanted to keep learning and quit quickly moved into being a representative for various natural products throughout my career as a resource to my clients. So that's that's the way I've always liked to be in my job in my career. On the flip side, my personal life, I've been a nature freak, since I was little, that's where I found my peace. That's where I found my inspiration, and always would prefer to be outside versus not. And so through the years, I kept finding that my interests had these different lives. So the nature based retreats, the meditation, you know, it all centered around health and wellness, and then several years ago, really made that connection between nature and health and wellness. And then this position, career wise, has just been that final puzzle piece to really make it all come together. So now all of these experiences and pieces of me are put together in this really great puzzle where I can bring people together through my love of nature, and connect people to it and support it through action. And through educating folks and trying to lead the way as much as possible in this industry to help people make wise decisions when it comes to the environment and our planet.

President that sort of leads us neatly into second question then around the actual more angels business today and and its structure and products. So you've got this passion and interest and an understanding of nature and natural products and who you are today as directors and sustainability and education. So can you just describe to us the various products or services and and the business structure of Moore & Giles today.

And the business structure basically, you know, we are a leather company. We bring leather into the United States from various tanneries around the world is pending on their forte you know their their product. We also have a bag and accessory division as well that we host from our same headquarters in Virginia. Yeah, so we, we have over a Gosh, several 100 different products, colors, we inventory more leather in the US than any other supplier. And we have, you know, when it comes to sustainability, thankfully, and probably have led the way in the industry, and will continue to do so. So just keep trying to push that push that envelope and help the industry to become more and more sustainable.

Okay, and the main, the key point there then is, is that leather is effectively a byproduct of another industry. So be the byproduct of the beef industry, we can see what we like about that what's good or bad about the beef industry. But your main sort of foundation of the argument is that this is happening anyway. And there's leather would presumably just be left to be thrown away.

That's absolutely the case. It's so funny. I found myself you know, I've been selling or working with leather for 16 years, over 16 years. And I, you know, we would continually say it's a byproduct, it's a byproduct. And then I started realizing a lot of people don't really understand what that means. The leather industry is not the meat industry, the leather industry exists to divert the waste from the meat industry. Okay. So if the leather industry didn't exist, the hides that are produced by the weight waist or by the meat industry would go into the landfill, it'd be it would be a huge environmental issue. There are, gosh, 300,000 plus or minus hides annually, that would be added, I mean, added to the landfills around the world. So the leather industry really is an answer to an otherwise hazardous environmental issue. So that, you know, that's that's the first thing that I think people aren't aware of, and don't really realize they still I get clients who will say or people who will say, well, don't you kill, kill the cow for the hide, and I will tell you, no cow is killed for its hide. Same would go for sheep, you know, people eat lamb as well. Everything that we provide is a byproduct. In other words, everything that we provide is diverted waste, and it's tanned to be converted into something useful, and functional, and, and gorgeous and long lasting. So yeah, that's, that's a big a big learning curve for folks. And usually, once they get past that, it's a lot easier to look at, look at and consider leather. And the other thing that is kind of a byproduct of that is, you know, people ask about animal welfare. Again, the people tanning leather are not the farmers raising the cows, or the meat industry, rendering those cows. However, over the years, a lot of the tanneries have been able to come together and help create legislation to better the animal welfare down that supply chain to the farmer. So that's kind of an interesting, you know, they didn't have to do that. But but that has happened. It's been a positive influence from the leather industry backward toward the, the farming

with more drugs and prioritize certain certain suppliers that have, for example, set a certain level of environmental standards over others because it's so big, the industry is so huge for you. How is how is the business selecting those that it chooses to work with, versus those that it perhaps doesn't deem appropriate to work with?

You know, tanning leather is been in industry for 1000s of years. I mean, it's just been around for so long. So there's this huge history behind it right. And within, you know, the last several decades, it has been imperative for tanneries to innovate, or die. I mean, if they don't do the right thing or change, they're not going to last very long. Thankfully, we have long standing relationships with our tanneries. So it's more likely for us to work with a company for a long time and work with them, if need be, to help them move forward and be innovative than to just pick up new tanneries every year and drop the other one. So the tanneries is important to us then, therefore, to work with tanneries that are well respected, good to their community good to their people, doing the right thing. You know being reached compliance and you know chemically and environmentally doing the right thing. So a lot of the tanneries we work with on their own without us having to say anything, or doing some really great things, environmentally. And then when something comes along, but is even better that I'm sure we'll probably talk about, like all of tanning, we go to those tanneries and we feel comfortable saying we'd love for you to try this, let's work together and collaborate to make this happen to to once again, keep pushing that forward.

And so just just for those of us who are perhaps less familiar with the structure of the industry as a whole, then the role of the tannery, and then the ultimate sort of the the brand, the company that turns it into a product, in this case more on trial. So the others, you're then buying the skins, the tannery is sourcing the skins, applying that some energy use in that process. And can you just talk us through the details of how that works, because it's not entirely clear to me at least.

Sure. And, you know, I'm sure there are variations around the world. But in general, the farmer I'm just going to go all the way back, the farmer raises the cow or the cattle for the meat and dairy industries. At the end, if a cow is a dairy cow at the end of its life, they're not going to bury it in the backyard, you know, it's going to go to the meat industry. So ultimately, the meat industry by product is then purchased. And sometimes there's someone in between in between there, I'll tell you, that sells it to the tannery. But, you know, some of our tanneries know the farmer where the cow was raised up the hill, just because they're in such close proximity and these little villages in Europe, and some of them get hides from other places and have them trained in but at any rate, the hides come into the tannery, the tannery is the manufacturing process that takes that hide and tans it so that it's no longer basically no longer decomposing, it converts it into leather. So hide isn't really leather until it's been tanned until it's been tanned it is considered a hide or skin. Once it's tanned, then it goes through those processes at the tannery that to make it you know the product that you wear or you sit on, you know, they do all of the finishing processes. At that point, it's been brought over to the supplier like ourselves, who then you know, inspect stores and sells the product. We are somewhat unique with our tanneries and that you know, like I said before we will collaborate and create products with them, just for us or just for our clients. But they do all the the manufacturing process portion.

So the more jobs would be both in one sense, a middleman that then supplies the finished hides to say interior designers or architects who are doing interior fit towels, what have you. But also, in some instances, you create products yourselves such as the furniture bags.

That's true. And we do we sell we're a wholesale company when it comes to our hot the hides of leather. And we sell to a pollsters we sell to furniture manufacturers, you know, those industries as well.

Okay, and so you mentioned the olive green and it's probably the the product that sort of most leapt out from from the research that I've done online just because it just seems Yeah, sort of a fantastic combination of, of ideas and natural products. So obviously, you're very proud of that. Were you involved in its process? I mean, can you just sort of give a description of exactly how you're using olives as as another byproduct to tan? Right? The leather aim itself is a byproduct, right?

Yeah, so it is so cool. And it this process totally is what re energize me with within the industry got me excited about seeking the role I'm playing now and kind of was that person puzzle piece that connected everything together that I mentioned before. It's the product itself is called a living leader. Okay, that's who makes the product and it's actually it's not the all of itself. It's a byproduct from the olive industry. So it's using a byproduct of Tana byproduct best of both worlds totally plant based. So basically it's the fallen all of leaves from the olive trees or when they prune the olive trees you know for production just like you would prune an apple tree because if you don't, it's not going to render good apples. It's those all have leaves but it also uses I i I'm always learning more and more just the waste from the industry. So when Press the olives to make olive oil, that kind of the more solid waste, you know, that comes from the olive pieces, if you will, that can be used, I mean, all of these different portions of the of the olive industry, the byproducts. And that's an important word when it comes to this process are used to tan leather. So rather than taking something from nature, like tree bark or plant oil or harvesting an actual and growing trees and cutting them down to use, this is just product that would otherwise be burned into the atmosphere, or go to waste in some way. So it's a really great circular model.

And this was one of the one of the products that you then took forward for a healthy material certification, right. And that is all right.

So we took we we have four and growing, I think we might add a couple more this year, all lefthand products within our line and within those several different colors and textures. The beauty of this process is it doesn't you're not really limited. So you can have all these different textures and colors and possibilities really a lot of a lot of really great possibilities. We took our end products and went for declare labels for those on the tanning and to live in leader product that is used for tanning these leathers is Cradle to Cradle gold and material health platinum. Which is also unheard of in the in the tanning industry. So that's it's just really, we feel this process will turn the tanning industry on its ear. There are a lot of great things happening with the typical way people tan leather and have for many years. But this is just kind of that next generation. You know, this is we're seeing into the future here for this product.

For those who are perhaps some familiar, you've dropped quite a few terms. I'm sorry, but I mean, those standards, I mean, the red list is is pretty much the gold standard. It is it's pretty demanding in terms of the chemicals that it does not want to see anywhere near your product, but then to also have or aligned with Cradle to Cradle, which is perhaps more of a sort of a circular economy approach to things would that be right?

Yeah. So if you think of, like the things I mentioned, a declare label is like a nutrition label for a product. So that will take into account that the chemicals used, as you mentioned, super strict. So to achieve a declare Red List free label is the highest standard out there right now. And we have that on all of those products. And then when you go to Cradle to Cradle, that's just what it says. So cradle the beginning of your product to the beginning of the next product instead of what used to be termed cradle to grave, which was the beginning of the product to the end of the product. In this case, there is no end so that that tanning product has the Cradle to Cradle award. Once you're finished tanning the leather and you have this leftover residue from the tanning product, you can literally you compost it, it can be used as fertilizer, for those same olive trees, you can call posted in your backyard compost, it is not harmful at all. So it's it's pretty exciting stuff. So that deals with kind of the end of life and material health, environmental health through the whole process, that kind of thing. And then the Platinum material health rating is actually a piece of the cradle to cradle. So you could just go for a material health rating, it could be used to kind of scale up to that Cradle to Cradle award. But it is one of the one of the five factors considered and cradle to cradle. So in the plant and the material health rating that's looking at the chemicals at that stage, so making sure that there's no chemicals involved that are considered hazardous or chemicals of concern

that are Is there anything that's less than and taking that approach may seem quite optimistic that it's real innovation within the industry? Is there anything that you're not able to do or that there's certain things that the more traditional craft based sort of the old way of doing things, only that you can only do that way or you you pretty much able to match it by doing this sort of fully eco approach.

You know, when mineral tanned or chromium tanned leathers came along and that's 80 to 90% of our leather in the world is tanned with, with chemicals, basically minerals. That opened up a huge world of accessibility to options from the vegetable tanned leathers before it. So oftentimes people use a combination of the two, just to have a different hand or you know, product at the end of the day. But vegetable Tam products were very limited. And that tanning process, you know, has its own concerns here or there. The nice thing about this, all of tande products that we have, this process is like the best of both worlds. And even better, really, because with edge 10, you're taking something from nature, versus You know what, what I mentioned before this, but this you can have softness, which you can't have with vegetable tanned leather, it's really more firm, like a shoe soul or something, or belt. You can also have color variation, texture variation, all these possibilities that you would have with the with the mineral tan leather, or the chromium tanned leather. Without the chemicals. So there aren't, we're not seeing a lot of, of issues, I think the main thing is jewel to things, you know, it's new. So every time a tannery will make a new product, it's, you know, about finessing it to get the right and results in that again, aesthetically, really. And then getting people on board to understand why it may be a little bit more expensive sometimes, because it's new. And it's small batch. If you think of the first small batch of brewery, you know, microbrews, or whatever, you know, that was, especially in the United States, you know, there was a handful now they're everywhere, you know. So it's, it's just a matter of gaining popularity and understanding. And I think that's probably the biggest challenge is that at the moment,

you do have these there's obviously some degree of scale. Is it purely on? What would be the factors that you identify them? Because you have for example, you supply to say automotive to Marine, which I presume is sort of high end stuff and aviation events like private jet? What are the what are the differences between say that and something that's going into, say, residential, commercial interior usage? How do you? How do you distinguish between those levels of quality or refinement?

Right, I think you know, in many cases, it's about the function that you're needing, especially when you when you break out some of those specific types of markets, the function that you're needing and then the preference. So for instance, in aviation, due to a lot of the requirements on the business aviation side of things, I mean, they, you know, beat up those, there's a lot of use, and they were looking for consistency, so patina, that you would get with a natural leather is probably out of the question. So you're needing something with a little more finished with some pigment in it, it's got to meet some strict testing typically for you know, abrasion or flame retardants or whatever. So there are certain types of products that that are better for that however, I have used on private aviation, as an individual's private aircraft all of the things that we've used in the residential market before again, it was their personal preference and what they were okay with so we can crossover with with any of these markets just fine. It's just really a matter of what is the function you're looking for? What is the look that you're looking for?

durability is an interesting word because it strikes me that leather is perhaps one of the products that rather like wine, ages well and with time almost it develops that path no develops more character in a way so how do you can contrast that with say, the arguments for what's loosely termed eco leather or vegan leathers which as I understand it, without having dug too deeply into it, they are not in fact leathers at all, is that right?

Correct. Oh my gosh, I could talk to you for hours about that, but I won't I promise. vegan leather is not possible. I this is maybe important taste but you cannot be pregnant and not pregnant at the same time. I kind of say the same thing. So in order to be a leather you have to be from an animal. So you can't be vegan and leather at the same time. Most the majority of the products that are out there that are you Using that terminology, it's such a shame, to me, it's just a marketing technique to make people feel like they're making this really great decision, you know, when in actuality they're choosing PVC or polyurethane products. So most, the majority of the products that are out there claiming to be vegan leather are fo products in the past called fo leather, we've also you can also refer to it as vinyl. These products are persistent in the environment, by using something like that it's not going away, you're creating this process, chemicals that are on the red lists that are chemicals of concern. So it's, it's just so not the better decision when it comes to environment and health. Also, what you get with a product like that is you have to replace it more often. So it's not going to wear it over time. So you know, to your point, with a leather lasting so long, and being this heirloom quality product, how often have you heard someone say, Man, I can't wait until I can inherit my grandmother's vinyl couch? Not many, not often do you say? Well, I want that that plastic chair, I can't wait to I have that handed down to me, that will likely never be handed down to you, it will be in a landfill somewhere forever and ever. You know. So as I said, I could speak to that for a long time. But leather lasted Outlast and out wears and it's just so beautiful for a longer period of time, so not only do you get a nice product in the beginning, but as you replace this other product, you're multiple times you're building up this landfill waste again, and causing more chemical processes to happen because you're you know, continue to buy it you continue to have it made all these other products while the leather still sits and the leather has not needed to be replaced. And it's just overall in the life cycle of the of the product. It's really important to look is it a circle or a line? That's the simple way I like to say to my clients, are you looking at a like a timeline? Like here's the beginning here's the end, then what happens at the end? Or are you looking at a circle can this thing be reused? Can it be used for a longer period of time and cutting down the waist.

And in terms of maintenance and and looking after one's leather I noticed that you recently bought out as an anti microbial spray that I guess is is a sort of reaction to or response to what's happening around COVID but in terms of what one could or should be doing to look after one's leather in let's call it in sort of home or or commercial environment in furniture to make sure that it is able to do that to make sure that it can live that nice long life and in the ages. Well Are there any tips? I mean, you guys are experts in this what do you normally recommend?

Sure it the number one thing you can do with your leather is best it just that's the main thing. Yeah. Oh my gosh, I need to dust my plants. But you're right it it will absorb and collect that dust after a period of time and that can kind of cause it to to dry out just like our skin. You know if we never loo foot or use a washcloth or did something in a shower to clean ourselves. Our own skin doesn't look that great after a while so just dusting you know people are we're seeing people get a lot better with patina and natural leathers which is great that's you know, you're speaking our language because we love the natural leathers and the way they patina and age and they become part of your story they become part of your character. You know, if you have a natural leather chair and you spill something on it, yes, you'll see it immediately and just don't just be call and take a deep breath because in a few days you know blot it up and that's great. But it will work its way through the fibers and it will will release its it will mellow and then what you have after that is either you won't even notice it was ever there or it becomes part of the patina but it's so much more mellowed out. I like to use this as an example. I have a client who was we were kind of talking about the same subject one day and maintenance and how people get all worked up over patina. Just live just live in your leather. And he said I have this chair and he has three kids. And he said and I was just my chair. He said you know you can see kind of a spot on the back where I sit from just the oils from his head. You You know, the arms were his hand said that, you know, over the years, he's had it for a long time. He said in one day, my kids were talking. And these are kids that are like college late high school age. And they were kind of fighting over who gets the chair. And he, he asked, Why in the world are you guys fighting over this chairs, just my chair. And the daughter said, Dad, when I see this chair, I see you. And I want this because I want you in my life, you know. And so it was a very touching moment during that unexpectedly during that presentation. But it really says so much about how leather is inherently part of us and can become part of our story. So when you do find that you need to clean a product, there are products that we carry that that you can use, typically a damp rag, mild, soapy water, something simple, it doesn't have to be anything else, that the Eco shield that we've brought on, you're right COVID threw us off for a loop last year. And what we saw was a reaction of like, bleach everywhere, people spraying harmful chemicals, and alcohol based solvent based products that not only are they not good for the leather or anything you're using it on, but they're also not good to be inhaling. I mean, we're all inhaling this stuff. So we took our time and tried to find a safe alternative, a safe product. So the way that eco shield works is it kills mechanically, not chemically, so there are no toxic chemicals within it. It's been deemed rewarded safe for food contact surfaces, it's been used in school districts, it's been used in airports, it's continued continues to work for up to 90 days. So you know, that antibacterial stuff we've been putting on our hands for the last year, like every five minutes, it only works when it's wet. And that's true of so many other things. So that's why I have to reapply it all the time. Because, okay, I touched this thing, let me put this stuff on, okay, that killed that now I go touch another thing, oh, guess what, I gotta use it again, this product, actually, you just apply it once. And then you just reapply it after about 90 days, because over time it will wear off, scratch off, you know, that sort of thing. But it doesn't, it keeps working at the same heightened level by just killing on contact any of these microbes. In fact, it draws it down. So if I were to put it, spray it lightly on my desk, it would draw down the microbes from the air and atmosphere, kill it on contact is pretty cool stuff.

Looking ahead, then to your your projects for for sustainability and education of the next year or two. What do you have in the pipeline? what's coming next?

Well, you know, we're looking at every aspect of what we do internally at our headquarters from and we've created a conservation team at the headquarters to get all of the departments involved and looking at what are we doing and how can we be doing it better. And so that's, that's kind of fun, we do have an onsite garden at our headquarters and we grow food, it's all employee driven. We grow grow food and supply, you know, not only the people within the office as they need it, but if people within the community are you know, in trouble and they need they need some little extra help we have we have that availability there. We're also looking at Malta several several different things with within our headquarters that I'm excited about. We're also always looking at reducing waste, we don't have a lot of waste at our headquarters, even when we cut samples and there's a little waste or trim or hide. We we sell that for pennies on the dollar to people who will make something from it. But we're you know, we're kind of looking at that process. And hopefully we'll have something maybe exciting to share before the end of the year, hopefully sooner rather than later. We also are working with all of our tanneries again to understand the certifications and awards and the measures that they're taking because there's a lot and there's they should be proud of them. It's pretty cool. So we're gathering that information. And I know that we are having like I said before a couple of new products made through the olive tanning process and also looking at what other you know, how can we continue to grow and push that envelope to lead the way within the tanning industry and also within our you know the building industry. History in general design architecture, how can we make decisions that will make a larger impact more quickly than just me having my little compost here at home? I mean, that's great, right? But if we can detect this on a larger scale, we could we could really create the difference that needs to happen.

Well, it's great stuff. I look forward to seeing developments over the next few years, no doubt. So to follow along, obviously, Oren giles.com will link in the show notes, in terms of putting out publications, people getting in touch, what's the best route in?

Well, I would say, if you're interested, you know, if you're interested in our bags, and accessories, by all means, go to mooreandgiles.com. If you're looking for more information about our leather hides, in general, as a designer, you can go there and go to the top of the screen and click leather for designers, or you can go to more and styles.com forward slash leather. And, you know, people are more than welcome to reach out to me just like you did, Matt and ask any questions you like, about leather in general or, you know, sustainability, what, what we're doing, what we're aware of, and then I can also put people in touch with the representative for their area if they're, if they're within the industry.

Good on you. Well, I mean, thank you so much. It's been a real pleasure.

sustainable interior material - maize veneer

Turning heirloom maize into a sustainable interiors material - TOTOMOXTLE

What makes a sustainable fabric or material?

Specifying healthy materials in an interiors fit-out is an essential component of creation of green buildings, with special focus on flooring, wall coverings and furniture.

For us, a sustainable materials or ‘green’ procurement strategy incorporates thinking from the fields of sustainability, biophilic design and healthy interiors to ensure that the materials going into a space are non-toxic, do not off-gas over time and will therefore not have a negative impact on Indoor Air Quality (a human angle) whilst also minimizing damage to the planet in the process.

Considerations include ‘circularity’ (where does it come from and where does it go at the end of its life), ‘upcycling’ (for example yarn made of ocean plastics), and ‘bio-based’ options such as ‘marine-based’ or ‘plant-based’ materials. There are then sustainably sourced classics such as bamboo, wood, cork and rubber that remain central components of this philosophy.

Inevitably, there are often some hard choices to be made in any discussion around sustainable fabrics and materials. Humans always have a tangible impact on our environment with buildings, there is no way around that, we can however aim to do less harm in the process, at the very least!

In this regard, we council factoring in extraction, production and transportation in any true analysis of a healthy building material to get to a true Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).

A sustainable interiors material made of Mexican corn

Totomoxtle is a project by London-based Mexican designer Fernando Laposse using the husks of heirloom Mexican corn.

Laposse is known for experimenting with the loofah fruit and cochineal insects so is clearly pushing the boundaries of what is possible in sustainable interiors materials!

His maize husk project caught our eye with its purples, reds and cream colour palette, a far cry from the now dominant beige corn used in industrial tortillas, this is all about heirloom corn at the base of Mexico’s gastronomic heritage.

In this sense, industrial corn production, especially that destined for corn syrup, has a lot to answer for. Heirloom maize is in fact a heterogeneous product!

How sustainable is this innovative material?

Laposse goes deep into the sustainability theme here as there is a regenerative agriculture angle at play restoring traditional farming practices as a way to drive revenues to struggling farming communities.

The merciless pressures of big agriculture have driven standardized uniformity via pesticide use and imported GMO corn seeds that have left artisanal maize varieties neglected. Profits for local indigenous farmers growing heritage crops has dropped at the same time.

Since 2016, Tototmoxtle has operated in partnership with the community of Tonahuixtla, a small village of Mixtec farmers and herders in the state of Puebla, reintroducing native seeds as a first step towards restoring some semblance of traditional agriculture crops.

The veneer remains a niche product that has not yet found large-scale distribution so is more of a statement of intent showing what is possible.

Having a social mission behind a material that is inherently sustainable looks to be the Holy Grail for the coming years, we hope to see many more such products coming to market that help support communities while giving back to the land, not just taking from it.

Contact us to discuss your sustainable interiors project.

vertical farming for the workplace

The ‘Green & Healthy Places’ podcast series takes a deep-dive into the role of sustainability, wellbeing and community in real estate, offices, hotels and educational facilities.

This episode is with Square Mile Farms - providing biophilia in the shape of vertical farming for the workplace.

In this episode we talk to Johnathan Ransom, Co-Founder and CEO of Square Mile Farms, a business bringing vertical farming to the home and workplace with the aim of promoting healthier, more sustainable lifestyles. I first came across them a couple of years ago and have kept an eye on their steady progress.

Biophilia with vertical farming

In this episode we talk to Johnathan Ransom, Co-Founder and CEO of Square Mile Farms, a business bringing vertical farming to the home and workplace with the aim of promoting healthier, more sustainable lifestyles. I first came across them a couple of years ago and have kept an eye on their steady progress.

These mini vertical gardens are about more than just quirky wall decor, they represent a tangible connection with nature in urban environments, have a practical function in terms of producing a respectable quantity of edible leaves each month and go one better than a largely passive garden wall in a corporate office reception.

An indoor office garden, or vertical farm, like these help promote engagement amongst staff, adding intrigue and even a little fun into the office experience, right when it needs it most post-Covid.

GUEST: JOHNATHAN RANSOM, SQUARE MILE FARMS

• https://www.squaremilefarms.com/

• https://www.instagram.com/squaremilefarms/

• https://www.facebook.com/squaremilefarms

• https://www.linkedin.com/company/square-mile-farms/

• https://twitter.com/SM_Farms

FULL Transcript follows courtesy of Otter.ai

Matt Morley 0:14

Welcome to Episode 12 of the Green and Healthy Places podcast, in which we take a deep dive into the world of sustainability, wellness and community in the real estate and hospitality sectors. I'm your host, Matt Morley, founder of BioBlu yacht sustainability, Biofilico wellness interiors, and Biofit nature gyms. If you see value in this type of content, please hit LIKE, SHARE, or consider subscribing.

In this episode, we talk to Jonathan Ransom, Co-founder and CEO of Square Mile Farms in London, UK, a business that's bringing vertical farming to the home and workplace with the aim of promoting healthier, more sustainable lifestyles.

Healthy Buildings and ESG

I first came across Jonathan and square mile farms a couple of years ago, and I've kept an eye on their steady progress since then, as I look after the ESG and placemaking for a commercial real estate development fund in London, I'm aware that their product aligns neatly with both LEED, BREEAM green building certifications on one side, and WELL + FITWEL healthy building certifications on the other, which in turn has the knock on effect of helping with the property funds annual ESG assessment score means you get two or even three hits for the price of one.

Beyond the box ticking though these mini vertical gardens are genuinely about more than just quirky wall decorations. They represent a tangible connection with nature in urban environments, they have a practical function in terms of producing a respectable quantity of edible leaves and hubs each month, and frankly, just go one better than what is often a largely passive, vertical plant wall in a corporate office reception. A garden like this helps promote engagement among staff. It adds intrigue, and even why not a little fun into the office experience. Right when offices need it most in the post COVID era….

Jonathan, thanks for joining us. Great to have you here on the green and Healthy Places podcast. Perhaps you could give a quick introduction to who you are and what you do as co founder and CEO of square mile farms in London.

Jonathan Ransom 2:40

Yeah, okay. So my professional backgrounds in in property. I'm a chartered surveyor by training. I spent a lot of my career working in financial services, though, but with a with a property slant to it most recently was the CIO or the FinTech business in the UK called lend invest. And I think, what what what got me into doing what I'm doing today, and we'll come on to perhaps a bit more description of what that is, but is that I got a little bit disenfranchised by the world of finance, and I guess, you know, you you, there's an obvious career route in in financial services. But ultimately, it can be a little bit unsatisfying, and I was looking for a career in in a sector that is more personally rewarding and fulfilling. And my now business partner, Patrick, and I got talking about this prospect of growing fresh, healthy vegetables in the built environment, which played nicely to my professional experience with the built environment. And I guess the backdrop to all of that is a both of us having a pretty, you know, they say be being a little bit conscious or even worried about the state of our agri food sector and the impact that that has on our on the environment, but also on our personal health.

Matt Morley 4:13

And so the name square mile farms for anyone who's not familiar with it, square mile is London's financial district of CBD. And so essentially you're you're proposing or you're proposing you deliver urban vertical farms specifically to London but what's your geographic focus now?

Jonathan Ransom 4:36

Yeah, at the moment with we're focused on London and the the genesis of that that name was really that the original business model was to look at putting controlled environment farms within a square mile of the end consumer which naturally then cuts down on food miles but also re engages the, the consumer with the with the food system and the food they eat also has benefits on the nutritional content of Food as well, because food tends to lose some of its nutritional qualities, the further it travels. So that was really the genesis of square mile farms, obviously also because we're based in London and it was going to be a very urban model. So you know, that's that's why that name came about

Matt Morley 5:20

and the business model then focusing specifically on homes and offices, you're not in the game as yet of, of sort of agriculture itself a growing food for for sale and distribution. It's more about a provision of the this piece of, of hardware effectively, that produces greenery in a home or in an office environment.

Jonathan Ransom 5:42

Yeah, well, maybe I'll just take a quick moment to take you back over some of the history of the business. So we've been around for a couple of years now. And the original model was a grow to sell model. And we set up our first self built control environment farm in in Bermondsey back in towards the beginning, beginning of 2019. And we tested that market, you know, growing within the built environment to sell to local restaurants, and local chefs and local consumers ultimately, as well. And so we build what we call a flat pack farm, which and the idea was that it's something that can easily be easily assembled or disassembled within tight urban spaces. And it became quite apparent quite quickly that that model of growing to sell is very hard to make work economically, particularly if you're not doing it at large scale. And most of the controller work environment farms that you see are doing it on massive scale, but even even they I think, would be struggling to kind of turn a profit based on their operational overheads as of today. But what that meant was the we we quickly turned to what we knew a bit more and that what we knew was more about corporate big corporates and, and the built environment and go talking to big property company called British land over here in the UK, and they invited us to build one of our flatpak Farms on the roof of their a building in Paddington Central, and actually just so happens that Microsoft occupy the building that that we have that farm and the roof off. But whilst we were there, we were then able to, you know, talk to a lot of the big local occupiers such as Vodafone, these, you know, Microsoft Richland, and it became quite apparent that what they really wanted was something that helped them engage with their employees to create an experience for their employees, but also help to address some of their kind of sustainability and, and, say, community responsibilities. And so we came up with this idea of office farming. And the idea with Office farming is that we put a hydroponic farm up inside the office and run, basically an engagement model around it. So we get the employees involved in the running of the farms, they get to take home the fresh produce, but we also educate them on sustainability and, and personal health, both physical and mental health with a focus on the food you eat, where it's coming from, how it's been produced, how you consume it, what it does to body, those sorts of things. So it's going beyond the kind of this the sustainability of the building that we're located on has some benefits for that also, but also helps a company say educate their workforce and how they can live healthier, low impact lifestyles.

Matt Morley 8:58

So I was going to ask you for a clarification on the or distinction between what's commonly referred to as say, like a vertical garden wall, or a green, a green wall, which obviously in one sense plays to biophilia, a place to reconnect with nature in an urban environment, possibly it can play into productivity and potentially an air purifying benefit. But clearly, once you open the door to this being in a consumable natural leaves you open a whole discussion around the food system and relationship to food and urban farming, which is clearly where you sort of make a big right turn away from just being a decorative object right?

Jonathan Ransom 9:45

Yeah, exactly. Yeah. I mean, there's there's a lot of benefits of having plants in buildings as he touched on and and there's this this phrase or word by failures is bandied around quite a lot of them. But ultimately, what it boils down to two things, one is, how does it improve the environment in which you are. So whether that's within the Office or at home, and that environment is both about, you know, air quality. Air Quality can be around acoustics, it can be around, you know, just having greenery in the office as an on may benefit to the office. But it but on the on the flip side, this is biophilia benefit, which is that that kind of goodness that humanity gets from being with nature and interacting with nature, and that's a very, can be can be a psychological thing, but it's also a physiological thing. So it's, you feel better for reason for, for reasons of, you know, 1000s of years of evolution alongside nature, the benefit of having edible plants in the office is that that interaction becomes enhanced. So if you've just got a green wall, that looks great, you know, there's a novelty there, it does look great. And it does have some benefits in terms of the quality of the air etc, in the office, but you're not interacting with it, you don't, you don't have that same interaction that naturally we might have with with nature. Whereas if it's an edible farm wall, you do interact with it, you're you're harvesting it, you're eating the produce from it, you're you're helping to plant it up. So every time you walk past it, you see the fruits of your labour, and you get some satisfaction from that. So it goes further than just sort of urban greening that say it brings in that element of engagement and an experience and, you know, it's a physical activity as well. So it does, it has some fiscal benefits as well.

Matt Morley 11:49

So when you think about the problem that you're solving, or the the unmet need that you were trying to address when you when you got started on this, what what if you like would be your competitors in that sense, or what else is in is typically in an office or a corporate office environment, such as a Microsoft or wherever it may be that is doing something similar? Because, you know, obviously, the walls have more of a passive element, whereas you're talking much more about an experiential piece, right?

Jonathan Ransom 12:17

Yeah. So I guess, what might be worth just just dwelling quickly on who the buyers of the service that services are so so one of the buyers would be someone that's responsible for fitting out the office space and making it look good and making it work well, for the employees, the other buyer is, and sort of competitors and might fall into that space might be your typical kind of office, or interior, landscaping companies. On the on the other side, the buyers are the, you know, the HR team is responsible for employee wellbeing and engagement and even recruitment and retention. And they're more interested in the kind of engagement and the experience element of it. So on that side, the people that that I guess we might come across in terms of competition for budgets that say spoil it down to that would be your people like, you know, Nuffield health, for instance, the thing about the the, and they're providing a well being service around this focused on, let's say, fitness and exercise. The thing about someone like Nuffield health is, of course, they're taking you out of the office. to to to get that experience, what we're doing is keeping you in the office, which really plays to the kind of the future of the future vision of the people have or the office post COVID. We're keeping you in the office and creating an experience for you in the office, which can get you away from your desk, create some physical activity, create some mental activity takes you away from the kind of day to day thinking about, you know, what's on your computer screen. But then alongside that we do also provide other services, such as workshops might be, you know, nutritional consultations, and we do supper clubs and things like that, which is, again, some of those things you'd expect enough field health type business to offer alongside the gym membership. So there is some similarities that say, but but we feel that our model combined so many different of the different, let's say needs of a of a big corporate.

Matt Morley 14:28

I think the activation pieces is really strong component to what you're doing to the sort of overall service offer. You mentioned. COVID and how have things been? I'm guessing budgets are being reduced, offices are being closed, therefore it's had a direct impact on perhaps new orders, or perhaps, yeah, your your pipeline of potential clients, but how are you seeing the next 12 to 24 months in a in a post COVID world and how do you think you're Duck will, will emerge from the ashes of this current crisis that the workplace is going through.

Jonathan Ransom 15:08

So, I think that the world is looking for the type of services that we offer, fortunately, admittedly, the last say nine months have been challenging, mainly because the types of the people that hold the budgets for this, this type of service are really need to have some visibility on when people come back to the office. But they're also going through, you know, a pretty involved process of trying to think about what they want that office to be for in the future. And I think even before COVID, there was a shift towards, you know, more experiential office, places that are less about places where people come and sit behind the computer screen, like a battery and, and churn out work, because you can do that at home. Frankly, it's more about engaging and say, growing your workforce, and about experiences and about interactions. And so consequently, you know, the office, the Office of tomorrow will be full of things that help foster those type of activities. They won't they won't be crammed full of desks where people perch with their laptop cell belt, they'll be more loungy in, in, in appearance. And so, you know, one thing we've been working on with Vodafone in Paddington is this idea of a Zen Garden, which is, you know, their, their idea where they create create a kind of area for people to relax and chill out. And what better kind of place to put a allotment wall, then in a, in a Zen Garden, within when the off within the Office. So it's, you know, it's very, it's very topical. And a lot of a lot of companies that we talk to now have task forces put together that are tasked with making the office suitable for the post COVID world. And so so it seems that there's there's quite a lot of activity going on in terms of reconfiguring refitting spaces to make to make it appropriate for that post COVID world, and that's where we fit in, because they want something normal, you know, lots of offices of the past might have ping pong tables, or table football or computer consoles, or whatever. But you know, an office farming model brings both the experience but also the educational side. And, and, and it takes a lot of boxes from a kind of office sustainability perspective as well. Yep,

Matt Morley 17:59

I get it. I mean, it's fun, it's engaging, it's a talking point, it's, it's a water cooler moment, in a way. So just to dig into to that process, then the idea of, you might have HR on one side, perhaps sort of brand director or marketing guys on the other, perhaps the facilities manager, or management team, around the table, who else is is involved in that process, when you go from identifying a suitable location, and perhaps you might be able to comment on what would would make up a suitable location within an office environment. And and describe that process of going from initial introduction through to actually opening one of your, your vertical farms, presumably, a few months later.

Jonathan Ransom 18:45

Yeah, I mean, it varies depending on where the kind of entry point was to the conversation, but just take one, one example. So that say, the offices, the company is looking to refurbish their space, and in light of changes that are needed post COVID. They might they, the likelihood is, then we're talking to the person responsible for the fit out, so maybe a, you know, workplace strategy person or, you know, the, in the old world, we call them kind of corporate real estate managers or something along those lines. So they then obviously, we'll be engaging with their interior designers. And at some point, they, you know, once they've got an idea of the sorts of things that they can get from us, they then introduce us to the interior designers, and we have a chat about where it can go, whether whether we, we sort of integrate it into the building services such as the plumbing or whether we have it as a standalone unit that has its own water source. We find the location and we then talk to the contractor about, you know, what services, we do need and And, you know, often if it's a wall hung unit, then we might need a some reinforcing on the wall. And then just sort of bet into that project management as the fitout goes along. And normally where they're kind of lost people in and just mounted on the wall at the end. And off it goes planted up, and people can then start engaging with it.

Matt Morley 20:23

So irrigation, the load that goes on to the wall, if it is a wall loaded piece of preferably sort of a structural wall, and some component of light, I'm guessing, or does the vertical farm come with its own lighting system integrated into the hardware?

Jonathan Ransom 20:43

Yeah, so actually, the loading isn't isn't so much of an issue, we've just mounted one in sort of double thickness plaster board. So I it's a consideration, but isn't, often doesn't become a limitation. But what it needs is a either a water source that we can plummet into for the irrigation, or relatively near to a water source so that it's quite easy to get water to the to the wall itself. But it but it's recirculating, so it doesn't need to be continually topped up. And yes, it does need a light source. But because we're talking about edible plants, they require higher intensity light than then some of the kind of conventional office plants would need. Because it you know, the light intensity does affect the growth rate, and also the flavour of the plants as well. The system has a integrate integrated lighting, which needs a little bit of thought because it does come off the face of the wall. We also use what we call hydroponic towers, which are sort of standalone units, which is literally a tower with plants growing out the side of it which have lights integrated again in like a halo effect, which we can put anywhere in the office. It doesn't doesn't need to be mounted on the wall.

Matt Morley 22:15

What are the options that in terms of the actual type of foliage that the farm is producing? And the sort of nuts and bolts of all of this at the end of the day? Is it a bag of lettuce leaves the flowers woody would typically you do? Or would you recommend growing for sort of maximum productivity and limited amount of maintenance required and so on?

Jonathan Ransom 22:38

Yeah, so you touched on a couple of good points. I wanted one. Yep. productivity is important. plants that are the kind of give you the opportunity for engagement are important. But also from an operational perspective. We don't want to be going there too frequently to replant things that you know, in the case of a lettuce, for instance, you read the entire lettuce head, so you end up having to replant the entire plant. So we do focus on leafy greens and Herbes. You can grow fruiting crops, so tomatoes, strawberries, that sort of thing in in these types of systems, but they do require a higher intensity of light. So if for instance, we're putting we have some outside space, we might use outside space to to put up put up a farm wall, an exterior farm wall or one of our hydroponic towers outside and in the summer, you could then grow things like strawberries and tomatoes, but in the office, we're growing things like lettuce, but that also like kale, chard, both of which you cut the leaves and you can leave the plant and they they grow back so you can get multiple harvests of them. And they look great as well. So you know, Rainbow rainbow chard, lots of different colours on your wall so they look fantastic and they're relatively quick growing as well. We also then Basil's as a is a very popular one. And again, you can cut the leaves and come back and it smells fantastic. So particularly when you're harvesting it creates a lovely fragrance around the office, you know, rosemary, thyme, all the all the stuff that you might grow in a English garden, the difference being that you're growing in the office, and you can do it all year round, because the office environments a lot more stable than, you know, the seasonal environment outside in the UK. So yeah, in a in a kind of nutshell. It's leafy greens and Herbes.

Matt Morley 24:38

But then you do also have now a home farm alternative, which would be presumably on a smaller scale that's more manageable. That would be more of a residential product.

Jonathan Ransom 24:50

Yeah, correct. Yeah. And, and it's worth saying that one of the main challenges with growing indoors is the lighting And, and so with with the home farms that there is much about, you know, making the most of limited outdoor space that you have as they are about indoor space. So in some homes where you have a lot of light, you can, you know, put put one indoors, and we have a lighting solution that supplements the light, which means that you're not relying on natural light. But if you're growing outdoors on a terrorist for instance, then, you know, the world's your oyster really, and it doesn't, you know, if you're growing outdoors, you might be just as inclined to grow flowers, flat flowering plants as you are edible plants. And if it's sort of overwinter, then you might put some evergreens in and our systems modular, which means that the plants each have an individual pot that you hang on to a frame that sits behind it, but it means that you can easily take that port out and replant it with different plants, or indeed create patterns on the wall of different colours. So whatever takes your fancy, really, and I think I think just touching on the this concept of a pollinator pod and a productive productive pod and those sort of things. What we're trying to do there is just in simple terms, demonstrate that, you know, each plant plants have different functions. And both in the environment, but also in terms of what you humans get out of them. Some of them are about, they look great, which are the flowering ones, and also they produce flowers. So they're great for insects as well. So the pollinator pods are great for attracting insects into your garden, which has the knock on effect of pollinating other plants that you have in the garden, so you can start creating, you know, fantastic biodiversity. And then the producer pods are, you know, edible plants. So stuff that that you can cut and eat in your kitchen and replant and off you go again. So that's that's the idea really there. We just thought that was quite a fun a fun idea of bringing bringing to life though different sort of plants that you can, you can grow.

Matt Morley 27:17

Yeah, it's exciting. It is really, yeah, sort of makes you want to grab one and get started. And there's no excuses. Once you've sorted the lightest you rent man, one can always complain about how hard it is to grow plants or wants to terrorist. But in a way, this is a different approach. You've also gone through a crowdfunding process recently. So you've raised some capital, what are your What are your plans in terms of rollout expansion or growing over the next few years?

Jonathan Ransom 27:42

So yeah, we did the crowdfunding last year, which was a fantastic success. And I think it was well timed in that a lot of the people that get involved in a lot of the investors or get involved in crowdfunding campaigns were, you know, spending a lot of time at home during lockdown, but also we're reflecting on the sorts of things that are important. And obviously, health and well being. are, you know, they're they're important, increasingly important to people. And I think our model resonated with with the crown. So we we raise half a million pounds through that process and can had nearly 900 in investors contribute, which was a fantastic, fantastic to see. So the idea is that now what we want to do is really focus on getting these farms into offices, but also into we've got a new push recently into getting farms into co living spaces. So working with the operators of the sort of apartment buildings, and putting farms here, sort of communal farms in apartment buildings and helping people then also get some production going within their apartments themselves. So we're the this year is all about kind of rolling that out, and really demonstrating how it can work and then sort of scaling off off the back of that. So I think we'll have you know, we're optimistic about getting about 15 Farms in over the next nine months or so. And you know, that that for us would be a good achievement start with,

Matt Morley 29:20

it does feel like the whole sort of biophilia movement biophilic design, made its name with with office environments, and now does seem to be being adopted, probably, I'd say both at the very, very high end of the residential market, but also with the sort of more millennial focused co living spaces. So I think I think you're onto something there. I think we really interesting to see how you, you get on with the with the CO living new business strategy. One final question, if I may, if you were to send one message out to the real estate hospitality sector in a post COVID world if you could see one change in this industry of ours over the next few years. What would you ask for?

Jonathan Ransom 30:04

I guess I'd encourage them to listen to their customers, particularly in in the sort of residential space because the the sort of types of accommodation that that people have been living in, up to now it can be pretty, you know that the urban world is a pretty cramped world, and in a world where we're spending a lot more time at home, we have to be a little more focused on people's, you know, what they need to live healthy lifestyles. And, you know, it doesn't mean you have to give them huge amounts of space, but it does mean you need to give them amenities. And and those amenities have to be beyond the kind of normal stuff of maybe having a gym in the basement, or, or what have you, it needs to be broader than that. And from from kind of combining those two, you know, the residential space and the office spaces, it shouldn't really be thinking about them independently. Because as we're seeing now, the concept of an office isn't so much about the the kind of physical manifestation of a building that you go and work it's about. It's about where you work and the the kind of immediate amenities that are provided to to be able to work in that environment. So is joining those, the kind of living environment and the working environment together and how we balance those, those two things. So I'd just encourage some kind of novel thinking around that space.

Matt Morley 31:32

Very cool. I think you are uniquely positioned to have to make your contribution to that whole process over the next few years. Good on you. So if people want to connect, what's the best way for them to reach out square mile farms?

Jonathan Ransom 31:46

The numbers on phone numbers on the website, there's an email address on there as well. We're also very active on social so if your thing is his Instagram, then follow us there you can see see what we're doing. We tend to put videos and pictures of what we're up to on there. And by all means, ping us a message. And we'll get back to you ASAP.

building wellness & sustainability with evalore spain

Talking green buildings & healthy buildings with Pablo Munoz, CEO of Evalore, Building Wellness & Sustainability

The ‘Green & Healthy Places’ podcast series takes a deep-dive into the role of sustainability, wellbeing and community in real estate, offices, hotels and educational facilities.

evalore building wellness & sustainability

In this episode we talk to Pablo Munoz, Co-Founder and CEO of Evalore, Building Wellness & Sustainability with offices in Barcelona and Madrid. Founded three years ago, it’s a team of engineers, architects and energy modelers with an entrepreneurial spirit that immediately caught my attention.

indoor air quality, wellness villas ands more

We discuss air quality strategies for indoor environments such as corporate offices, the integration of both green building and healthy building strategies in each project, their first timber office building in Spain called WittyWood that is currently under construction, active design strategies to promote movement in an office building, their healthy home strategies for a WELL Villa at PGA Catalunya residential golf resort in Spain, their own in-house Air First air purification certification and their Evalore Method intended to push the green & healthy building movement forward with a focus on Spain and accessible price points.

healthy & well become commoditized

We also look ahead to the next 12 months in our industry and Pablo highlights the risks of well-washing, whereby an increasing array of products and services are branded as being ‘healthy’, meaning a dose of skepticism is going to become increasingly important for those on the inside of the healthy building movement in order to protect its reputation.

air first rating system

One of the topics we touch on in the podcast is Evalore’s Air First air quality management system that sets out to offer a more accessible alternative to the more extensive and capital intensive certifications such as WELL and LEED.

For me, this looks like the first in what may be an entire new generation of such accreditation systems that adapt what works for corporate America to a more local context, in this case Spain and its commercial real estate sector.

The protocols cover Purification, Disinfection, Monitoring & Training tin protocols to enhance Indoor Air Quality.

GUEST / PABLO MUNOZ

• https://evalore.es/

• https://airfirst.es/

• https://www.facebook.com/EspaciosEvalore/

• https://twitter.com/Evalorewell

• https://www.linkedin.com/company/espaciosevalore/

In this episode we talk to Pablo Munoz, Co-Founder and CEO of Evalore, Building Wellness & Sustainability with offices in Barcelona and Madrid. Founded three years ago, it's a team of engineers, architects and energy modelers with an entrepreneurial spirit that immediately caught my attention.

Full transcript below…

===============

Matt Morley 0:14

Pablo, to get things going perhaps you could just give us a really quick introduction to who you are, and also to the business Evalore that you're CEO of here in Spain?

Pablo Munoz 3:05

Hi, Matt and thank you so much. It is a pleasure for me to be here with you today. My name is Paolo Munoz. I'm an architect. I was licensed here in Spain but I have worked for most of my career abroad. I first worked in London for a couple years where I worked for a small architecture company then I went in Europe for a Masters of Science in Sustainability in the urban environment. I worked for a pretty big consultancy firm in sustainability then at some point I had the opportunity to come back to Spain. I founded Evalore with two co-founders And this has been going on for three and a half years almost now.

Matt Morley 4:02

You've been up and running now with the business for about three years, as you mentioned, what does your team look like today? And I guess I have to ask this one - how how has your team had to adapt with your offices over the last 10 or 11 months during the COVID-19 crisis?

Pablo Munoz 4:36

Yes, we have a team made out of consultants, architects, engineers, and also energy modelers. For the type of services that we provide, we need to have to have a pretty diverse backgrounds for our company and for sure COVID has been a challenge for us, as well as for everyone. And we are right now working remotely for most of the time. But we also come to the office, there's a part of our work that's difficult to conduct when we are not connected. There's a piece of commitment that is renovated every time we see each other and we talk about our projects, so even though we're trying our best to not be at the office, there is part of our work that has to be conducted in person.

Matt Morley 5:57

Thinking about the indoor environment within the Office. Are you monitoring air quality For example? Have you had to install plastic privacy panels or desk dividers to break up your office space? What kind of changes have you applied using your knowledge of, for example, the WELL building standard and applying it to your own home office environment or your own corporate office environment?

Pablo Munoz 6:22

Right, so the first thing was the protocols. We had to set the way we use the office, and how often we go to the office, we try to not be all at the same time at the office. How's the schedule, and when people use the office, that was the first thing that we had to think about. But independently from that, we also adapted the office so that when we are using it, we are safe. The first part was ventilation. And this is all related to the importance of the air quality in the office. It is funny, we've been talking about it now for three or four years. That was the that that's sort of how about already started. And we started talking about the importance of taking care of the built environment we live in and the importance of the indoor spaces. And so one of the things that we do at the office is we measure the quality of the air we're breathing. So we try to ventilate and we have a system that ventilation is connected to sensors, we can make sure that ventilation is high, we also have space so that desks have separation from each other. The same thing happens in the main meeting room where we have physical barriers to separate from each other.

Matt Morley 8:34

Are your air purifiers integrated into the air conditioning HVAC system or are they standalone domestic air purifiers, like a Dyson system?

Pablo Munoz 8:49

So in our case, we have purifiers standalone on the floor, because the system we use for the air ventilation air system or a heating system did not allow for incorporating those systems.

Matt Morley 9:13

You mentioned the idea of there being more awareness now and if there is any positive change to come from what we've all been through over the last year it is an increasing awareness amongst a wider portion of the population about what indoor Environmental Quality is. Where are you seeing the growth or increase in interest for your products and services coming from?

Pablo Munoz 9:51

We have certainly seen growth in consultancy, we're seeing that people are finally more aware and more interested in the impact that spending time in buildings has, right, like, over the last year, we spent so many days, stuck in our apartments or in our homes, we all finally realized that it had an impact on our physical and emotional well being. And I think that's working in our favor in the way that finally not only clients that are people who want to buy a house or want to build their home for themselves, but also companies are integrating this thinking their projects. But also, I think we cannot forget that this is, at the end of the day, this is a sustainability crisis. In a way it is an environmental crisis. It's not very clear what the origin of the virus is. But most experts agree that it has to do with pushing too far the limit of where humans meet nature and getting to areas where we were not supposed to be. And so I think in a way, this is also helping us realize that we need to do something, we need to build in a better way, when it comes to my sector to architecture, okay, we need to be building a more efficient way for in a better way for the type for the environment.

Matt Morley 11:58

That relationship with nature can be positive, it can bring health benefits But clearly, as you say it can also bring huge risks if not treating or not respecting nature in the right way. Or we're taking it for granted that it will only bring good because clearly, you know there are certain situations such as certain animals and certain markets in China or wherever, where Yeah, we can put ourselves at risk. But to get into that the idea of of reconnecting with nature in in urban environments... I know that you'd be working on a timber built construction project in Barcelona, that's been getting quite a lot of press attention recently. Can you talk us through what that looks like and describe that project?

Pablo Munoz 12:53

Yes, for sure. This will be the Wittlewood building and it will be the first timber building of offices in Spain, a five storey building in the district of Poblenou where most new offices have been built. And it is a very cool project. We're very, very excited as it is not only going for LEED certification. )LEED is one of the most renowned green building standards in the world together with BREEAM the UK version, and USGBC is the US version). It looks into all aspects of sustainability and not only does it look into making sure that the building doesn't consume too much energy, we are using a district heating system And of course, solar panels for photovoltaic production will be available in the building. The building envelope is very sophisticated so that we can decrease the energy demand of the building for both the winter and the summer. We're looking at using sustainable materials. We're looking at using materials that do not come from very far away, and that are produced in a sustainable manner. And often we're looking into making sure that they are using the circular economy system for production. One of the really cool thing about this project is that there will be a water collection system, the water will be used for both irrigation and also for, for bathroom use. WELL is the most, in this case, the equivalent of LEED but in the health and wellness area, it is based on six years of medical and scientific research. And so the strategies that were proposed are not random, they are based on very, very specific parameters that have been proven to improve the health of the people that spend time in those buildings. And in this case, we're talking about the quality of the lighting, or making sure that the lighting doesn't interfere with the circadian needs of the people that spend time in the building. Once we've looked at in a very holistic way it also has to do with acoustic comfort, with thermal comfort, with biophilia, which is the strategy of integrating nature into the interior side of the building.

Matt Morley 16:57

How did you address the nutrition and fitness components of the WELL certification? There just might not be space for a fitness room or a gym facility or there might not be an on site restaurant facility, how have you have you addressed those chapters of the WELL certification process?

Pablo Munoz 17:23

That's, that's a challenge very often. But it is interesting, because people sometimes think that fitness has also has only to do with being able to integrate a gym facility into building, but sometimes it has to do with the way we move, for example, if we place the staircase, in an area where it can be seen then we are promoting the use of it, instead of using the elevators. Something that's appealing to people, let's say, with art pieces, or music, or with coral reefs, or even nature, we're helping people to be more active. And so that's one of the strategies that WELL addresses. Then the nutrition part is a little more challenging here as well, because there is no restaurant in this building. And in this case, one of the things that we are looking at is the vending machines, we're making sure that the food offered in the vending machine is only healthy food.

Matt Morley 18:59

Then when you're focusing on something like a single family home clearly there are even more restrictions there. However, you do both the commercial and the residential side. So if you when you're applying those WELL building philosophy or design concepts to a residential project that's maybe just made for a family such as the one you did, at the PGA Catalunya resort, what does the process of transferring that same knowledge to a completely different context where it's really more about one one family living together rather than lots of co workers spending eight hours in an office each day.

Pablo Munoz 19:49

Right, I mean the principles are the same. We need to take care of the people who work for us and that makes them more productive. And that's pretty much the main reason companies are integrating WELL into their daily lives, because they know it is profitable for them. But when it comes to us making decisions on where we decide to live, don't we want the same thing for our health? We want our family to live in a place that cannot really compromise their health. And so the same principles have been implemented in a pilot study that was the first time in the PGA Catalunya that the WELL standard was applied to a single family home. We need to make sure that the air quality is optimal, with air monitors, sensors, ventilation, high performance filters , optimal quality water We also looked at all the materials being used in the project and we were very careful to use materials that didn't have any ingredients that could be harmful for human health. People listening to us might be surprised like, oh, are there products that are allowed in our homes or in our interior that are bad for our health? Yes! I could talk for hours about that.

Matt Morley 22:45

One of the really interesting things about what you're doing is not just providing consultancy services, as architects and as experts in LEED and WELL but you seem to be taking quite an entrepreneurial approach to this whole scene. And in a way I think, genuinely making your own contribution to that. I was really interested to read about your Air First air purification certification, which seems to be inspired by the bigger players in the market, but perhaps adapting it for Spanish or local requirements. Where did you come up with that initial idea? And what was the the objective in presumably not just creating something to compete with existing certification systems, but perhaps something better adapted to the local market?

Pablo Munoz 23:51

Yes, we actually realized that there was a hidden demand that was not being satisfied. We know that there's a big demand for big health and wellness projects in Spain, in Europe in general, especially in the office building sector, but what about those smaller projects that cannot really implement those measures, because simply don't have the budget to do so? We thought, okay, how can we make it available to them too? How can we make it more simple for those smaller projects? Why can't we choose those strategies that make the most difference? And that's how Air First came about, it is a certification that looks at one of the things that nowadays is probably the most important topic - air quality. So yes it is based on WELL but while it's an open standard, that said, it has been proven to work. So let's make sure that those authorities are available to everyone right, it is a way to democratize those standards for everyone.

Matt Morley 26:08

So then a separate piece of intellectual property compared to what you describe, is your Evalore Method, is that just your process? Or is there more to it?

Pablo Munoz 26:31

It is a way of working, we have set a very clear way of first communicating with a client, making sure of understanding what would they need and what are the goals of the project. And then working together through the process to make sure they they reach those goals through the strategies that we propose. And then helping them communicate those strategies that they have implemented at the end of project, that's the method or first would sort of be one of the forms that the Evalore method can take. Imagine that could be an office project, or it could be a building project for for a residential project or it could be a school and also a co-working has been one of our projects.

Matt Morley 28:45

It really looks to be about democratizing that knowledge and the scientific backing behind this whole approach to creating healthy buildings. But in a sense, it's almost like the next generation coming through now where the parents will be LEED and WELL, now there's the new generation, taking that knowledge and moving it forward and adapting it to new markets and new demands. I know you mentioned before we started talking today that you're also working on a modular homes project, perhaps you could is that is that also a healthy home concept that you're developing?

Pablo Munoz 29:45

Yes, yes. What you said about the parents being LEED and Well, all those standards in fact, what we've seen over the last few years is that codes created by the administration are little by little catching up and getting closer to our standards. And the main purpose, in my opinion, the main value of those standards, is to set a very high standard for those codes to catch up to, and so this is very, very interesting to me. And those standards are not a goal in itself, they are a tool to take buildings to the next level. And so that's the way we like to work, we don't make projects just to reach those standards, we make projects to reach certain levels of excellence. Right?

Unknown Speaker 31:00

So what about the modular homes project?

Pablo Munoz 31:15

Yes, this is a new project we're working on at the moment, we're working with a partner that create modular homes made out of silver concrete, which is a very, very interesting product, because it has really high benefits, it is a high performance material, because it can be used as a structural material, but same time, it has very high insulation benefits, both on the acoustic side and also on the thermal side. And it allows us to work in a modular way. So this is sort of like a research project we have started recently, but it is one of the new things that we have started to work on and together with this company that usually builds concrete homes, we are integrating all those health and wellness and sustainability measures. We are very excited to see that come to light.

Matt Morley 32:48

It feels like there's just so many different small niche corners of the real estate market that have yet to be touched by this kind of sustainable and healthy building approach. Right? There's just still so much to do. It sounds like you guys are really innovating and pushing the boundaries and hustling hard, which is great to see. If you were to look a year down the line into the future, what do you see as being the key trends?

Pablo Munoz 33:36

Well, I think one of the main trends is that wellness in general is going to be much more integrated in projects all over the world. It happened with sustainability and green building. Actually we reached a point of greenwashing in which everyone and everything and every product was 'green'. And then that was when the standards took on greater importance. I think a similar thing is going to happen with wellness and we need to be careful not everything is going to be labelled 'healthy' in the future. Every product is not going to take care of your health, it's not going to kill Corona.

Matt Morley 34:27

Amazing. Well, best of luck with the next year and I'm sure you have a very bright future with the business! Where can people find you online?

Pablo Munoz 36:02

Well, they can find us in our website, which is Evalore.es and also on social media and on Twitter and LinkedIn. So thank you very much for the time Matt it's been a pleasure for me to be here with you.

sustainable masterplanned community Quinta do Lago

our ‘Green & Healthy Places’ podcast series takes a deep-dive into the role of sustainability, wellbeing and community in real estate and hospitality, for episode 16 we are with Sean Moriarty, CEO of Quinta do Lago in Portugal

For episode 16 of the Green & Healthy Places podcast we are in my old home of Portugal, specifically in the idyllic Algarve region in the south to talk to Sean Moriarty, CEO of Quinta do Lago, a sustainably-minded, masterplanned community development with 50 years of history behind it.

A sustainable masterplanned community

Today we are in my old home of Portugal, specifically in the idyllic Algarve region in the south to talk to Sean Moriarty, CEO of Quinta do Lago, a sustainably-minded, masterplanned community development with 50 years of history behind it.  The residential resort focuses on outdoor living with 2500 acres of land with only 25% can be developed on.

As well as being home to some, it’s also a tourist destination in its own right with water-efficient golf courses, boutique hotels, a sports campus, restaurants and retail as well as its own nature reserve and a white sand beach, even their own on-site farm.

GUEST  / Sean Moriarty, CEO, Quinta do Lago

https://www.quintadolago.com/en/

• Real estate

• The Campus gym

• Golf

• Farm

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Full transcript follows, courtesy of Otter.ai (excuse typos)

Welcome to Episode 16 of the Green and Healthy Places podcast, in which we take a deep dive into the themes of wellness and sustainability in real estate and hospitality. Today, we're in my old home of Portugal, specifically in the idyllic Algarve region to the south. Talking to Sean Moriarty, CEO of Quinta de Lago, a sustainably minded, mixed use development with over 50 years of history behind it.

The residential resort focuses on outdoor living with two and a half 1000 acres of land which only 25% can be developed on, as well as being home to some. It's also a tourist destination in its own right, with golf courses, hotels, sports, campus, restaurants, and retail, as well as its own nature reserve and a white sand beach, even their own on site farm. If you like this type of content, please hit subscribe. You can find my contact details and those of the logo in the show notes. So let's get into it. Here's CEO Sean Moriarty.

Sean, thanks so much for joining me today. It's a real pleasure. There's so much we could talk about, you've got a huge project and a huge remit. Today we're going to focus on more the green, health and wellness aspects but perhaps just for those who aren't familiar with kin to the logo, just a very brief introduction to the project and its various components.

sean 1:41

Yeah, good morning. And thanks. Thank you for inviting me. It's, it's great to be joining you. So Kindred Lago is in the very south of Portugal, it's 12 minutes from from faraway airport. And we really are spoiled with nature here. It's 50 years old. Now Quinta do Lago was first founded. And it's changed a huge amount in in those 50 years. And I suppose in the last number of years, and some game changes for us was the campus. That's one of the latest inventions. We built new homes, but very much focusing on outdoor living, which is a huge part of Quinta do Lago - also safety, nature, outdoor living, a sense of community, and which was a big element of what the campus brought. So it's built on 2500 acres of land, we respect the greenbelt. So you can only build on 25% of the land. So, there's no high rising buildings, all the buildings are all built at the same height. It is an architectural dream world because they can have different styles. But it's, everything's built at the same height. Everybody's got big gardens, you know, it looks, it looks very good.

Matt Morley 3:10

So just to put that in perspective, essentially, it is a residential community, first and foremost. But then you also have the golf and you have the hotel component. So you're open to the public but you also have those who invest by and live on site for at least part of the year.

sean 3:30

Exactly. So it's residential, it is a big part of our resort here. So you've got a number of villas, mainly villas, and then you've got some condominiums which would have mixture of townhouses and apartments. So as over the last number of years, and now in particular, during COVID. We're seeing residents living down here more often, and for longer periods of time. But Quinta do Lago is open for tourism, we get a lot of passing through traffic, but it's, you know, it's from generations of all right now we're seeing some amazing things here of three generations of people that are quarantining at Quinta do Lago. So the age profile is very much changing over the last 18 months or 24 months.

Matt Morley 4:24

Getting younger?

Unknown Speaker 4:25

Younger, younger. So, you know, if you go back maybe six years ago, the average age of our real estate buyer was in the late 60s, late 60s, probably even early 70s. Now it's mid 40s for 85% for buyers.

Matt Morley 4:43

I think that's one of the things that really interests me most is just how, obviously, the project's got 50 years of history behind it, but it does seem to now just be hitting this crest of a wave right which is suddenly a turn to Healthy Living - health has become the new wealth. And it feels like you are neatly positioned to capitalize on that. But clearly, it wasn't the case, necessarily, as I understand it 50 years ago, right? So I mean are you seeing the effects of that yourself?

sean 5:15

you know, you see a lot of marketing throughout the world of trying to get in on the buzz of, you know, it's a healthy place to be and invest in your wellness and this kind of stuff. Quinta do Lago is situated on the national park, which is an amazing place, if you haven't been there, you need to take a walk or cycle along, it really is mind blowing. so Quinta has probably been saying this for a long, long time - it's the kind of environment that it is low density, you know, clean air. And now it's really become more important over the last two years, and in particular, in the past 12 months for, for the reasons that we know, but it really is top of mind, I think for people, it's top of mind for younger generations, I think schools now in most parts of the world, you're in better parts of Europe, in particular, they're really getting behind the whole sustainability piece. My nine year old can have conversations with me about sustainability that I don't fully understand, I have to admit. And that's a great, great place to be.

Matt Morley 6:33

clearly, in one sense, there's wider external factors that are turning in your direction, but how have you, as a team, strategically had to respond to what's going on around over the last two years at what it's been a case of new packages, new facilities, how have you tweaked or adapted the offer?

sean 6:53

You know, we really want to be the leaders, we want to be leaders of change. And that's been a part of our journey for the last number of years. And that's why we invested so much in our resort. Over the last eight years, nine years, we've we've invested over 70 million in just a resort in in revamping it in various different things. And, you know, during this lockdown pandemic, we said, let's now take advantage of this time, and start on our golf courses. Our golf is a huge part of our business. And we've had the number one golf course in Europe for a number of years. But, you know, it's it's no longer about having great greens and clean bunkers, you also have to have really play a huge part in the environment. And we went on a heavy audit on on the machinery we're using on our resorts, in our golf courses, in particular water pumps, and the how accurate these guys were. And it was a surprise to us, to us huge improvements to be made. So that got us then on the movement of investing in our in our golf course, in particular, we're putting in 7 million into that at the moment. But you know, one of the big results out of that is and we've completely changed the water system that we've put in, we've redesigned or got help to redesign our pumps because they weren't efficient enough. And at the end of this we're going to be using 20 to 30% less water consumption per annum, which is massive in an area like this, where water is so important in the warm weather environment. So that you know that's that's one piece with hundreds of pieces I could speak to you about including our farms and everything else...

Matt Morley 8:40

you mentioned the onsite farm and that was going to be one of my questions... Is that more of a soft marketing piece? Or is it literally a functional working farm that contributes to the restaurant?

sean 9:02

Well, to be honest with you, we had that piece of land a number of years ago and we really wanted to get into we want to evolve our restaurants quite a bit. And to buy local is very important for us to buy local is actually harder than it seems even though we've got amazing fresh markets here. You know, I think there's still quite a bit of work to do in local, which I support by the way on local governments and and food safety controls of how they can help the local food market producer and the restaurant owners to get that traceability of food product from A to B, I think there's still quite a bit of work to do not and that will be a game changer for everybody when that happens. So, you know we found it hard to get certain types of vegetables, certain types of products. So we said let's use this piece of ground and grow Our own and it started from there, it then became a wishlist for the chef's, I want this and I need this, I can't get this anywhere. And it evolved from there, then we have another couple of acres land on the road that wasn't being used. We farmed that. And we've turned it into five acres of farm now for vegetables are grown, and we've got greenhouses in it. And it's To be honest, it's only right now, in the past couple of months, two years later, that i'm really seen the impact of this, we do a lot of takeaway food now on home delivery food for customers because of lockdown, and the colors of the different vegetables, the freshness of it. It's really amazing. Now we're going to expand quite a bit, I've got some exciting things happening this year but yeah, it's not something that we're making a lot of money out of. But it's it's bringing a huge change in our footprint, of course, but also the quality of service we're providing.

Matt Morley 11:05

You mentioned, your relationship with the wider community. And obviously, we talk now about community often in the same breath as sustainability and wellness. Just wondering if there are other things that you're doing or how else you're, you're engaging with the community? Has that been a piece of your your CSR plan from the beginning?

sean 11:30

Yeah, we've we've always had a great connection with the community here with the residents and guests that come in, we've got a quite a large database. You know, there's, we've got a lot of golf club members in the campus, you know, games like paddle it brings together people together, you've got various different groups. I think what really stood out very quickly here last year, when the pandemic started off, ourselves and the rest of the residents very quickly, within one week pull together at the very beginning to raise funds for the local hospital. And I think it took nine days, and there was a half a million donated to the local hospital to get some machinery that they really needed. And that how quick that pulled together was amazing. The residents just grabbed it, lead it, I didn't have to be very much involved, and got involved a few times. And it was just completed. And I was just looking at my WhatsApp groups lately, they're still talking on it, there's still pieces going on, that showed a sense of community, you know, whereas at times, it seems it's very transient here, people plugged in very fast. I spoke to seven or eight residents this week about a new restaurant, we're opening up and bounced a few names off them to get their feedback. Funnily enough, all seven of them had different opinions, it didn't make my life any easier. But you know, we do engage quite a bit.

Matt Morley 13:18

There's that interaction then with your key stakeholders, I'm just wondering within the context of sustainability in your efforts there. Because you have been putting out a lot of content recently around your new sort of eco strategy. And there's clearly a lot of thinking that's gone into that. Is that being driven, if you like by those residential stakeholders, or is that come from above, from from sort of the boardroom level?

sean 13:50

the main driver is probably from within, you know, it wasn't pushed upon us to say you should be doing this. the basics of sustainability is a given, you know, it's frowned upon if you're still talking about how are you getting rid of plastic? Like that's, that's like in retail in the 90s when we had some great customer service people going around saying they can really train your staff to be the best trained people ever. Really, how are you going to do that? I'll train them how to say hello, please and thank you. That's a given. You know, that's the basics - if you put out a plastic straw, it's just frowned upon, it can't happen. But we really need to take it way above and beyond that, food is one of the quickest and easiest ways for people to realize that what you're doing and why we're doing it and to do it and eventually we want to have Carbon menus that you understand the carbon footprint of the food that you have on that menu. Where does it come from? And I think it's eventually that's where we'd like to get to in one or two of our locations and explain if we look, you really love figs, figs are out of season now, so I had to get them from Brazil.

Matt Morley 15:20

you mentioned the campus. And that would be perhaps another example of where you really push the boundaries. So the question begs asking, again, did that come from demand from the market? Or did you just say, you know, what, we're not going to do a standard gym, we're gonna completely raise the bar on that and set a new standard for hotel and resort residential gyms.

sean 16:20

I think to be fair, our shareholder no matter what he does, it's not going to be standard, it has to be above that. And I think that's what the demand is, if we're going to maintain this leadership role of resorts , it's expected that it's going to be above and beyond what the norm would be. And, you know, today, we really wanted it to be a game changer when it came to the log of so the campus ideally, in our mindset, when we set it out, we wanted the campus to become a flight to destination, not just Portugal to be a flight to destination. It took two years to build. Our first teams, they came from Beijing, they came from the Premiership in the UK, they traveled from all over the world , PSG, with various different teams here, football teams, and they haven't been in Quinta do Lago before, a lot of those players have never been here. So they came here because of the campus. So and that's really what we wanted to wanted to do. But the important thing about the campuses, it's built to the standard for the elite athletes. our tagline is very clear, be elite, whatever your level. And so it's open for everybody. So you can train with the elite athletes at your side, we don't close off parts of it, you know, unless there's a big football team here, and they need some privacy. We've got all the machinery, all the techniques, and the coaches that will train an elite athlete, and it's open for everybody. So for residents and guests, you know, I use it every day, and I'm elite at my level, I'm not at somebody else's level. And that's what we want it to be. You know, it's it's, it's a we're a big believer in backing the underdog.

Matt Morley 18:29

clearly, the temptation with the gym is to say, Okay, we'll put in some hardwood flooring, with the mirrors on the walls, but some lighting in perhaps a plant in the corner, and then you get Technogym in and and they just kind of do the rest, right? They just fit it out with all that the usual gear and sell you lots of strength machinery. At some point, you said, okay, no, we're gonna do it differently. Did you then have to factor in the additional revenue streams around bringing in and attracting pro teams? Because there's a gap, right? There's a big step to go from your standard investment. Or was it a bit of a leap of faith that there was just demand out there, and that if you, if you build it, they will come?

sean 19:22

You know, we were lucky enough. We met a lot of contacts. And we were able to speak to some football teams and managers and ask them, you know, of places you go to where's the best. And we didn't want to know why it was the best. It's what was missing from it. And we ended up with a list of things that was missing. And that's what we went after is those things that was missing, because the rest of it would pull together. But if you have stuff that nobody else has, that's unique selling point Right. So the pitch was the biggest, probably a big game changer and a big investment, it's 95% natural grass and the rest of it is made up, we're the only one in Europe that you can hire that pitch from. But yet, that's the pitch that PSG will play on, the pitch Man City play on in their stadium, and they, everywhere else, they were going to have their camps didn't have that pitch to train up. And that was a huge investment compared to the normal pitch that we could have put in, a huge difference. But the difference if you've got a big game coming up the Champions League game coming up, you know, you'll get your stats off the pitch of how much water you're going to have on it, what's the role of the ball going to be the distance of it, what's the bounce is going to be, we can replicate that pitch in three days. And that's that was unique. So that's clearly was a decision, the hope that that would be a hugely important week, we believe that would be important. And that was what we were gambling on. And it has turned out that it is quite important for people.

Matt Morley 21:13

So there's in some cases where you make these interventions, and you make a bet on the being demand out there for it. And other times, clearly a large part of your your strategy is just to leave nature where it is and not intervene. You mentioned the low density strategy. How do you plan ahead in terms of leaving certain amounts untouched and encouraging people to connect with nature, because clearly, there's this big shift now towards that spending more time outside in the fresh air? You've obviously got commercial demands on the one side, but then the in the same sense, at the same time protecting your future by allowing enough nature to remain untouched. So how do you how do you juggle those two?

sean 21:56

Well, you know, there's, there's a master plan in place for almost 50 years now, since the since it was founded, of protecting that amount of greenbelt. And we've never moved from that. And in fact, we're extremely strict on it. So when people are building houses, buying plots, here, there's only a limited amount of plots left. And there's a huge demand , the buildability per plot is clearly marked out. that's your maximum. And it won't budge from that. And everybody in these areas, not us, architects, municipalities, designers, they're all clear about that. That will never change, we will never be going back to redesign the master plan to say, Can we have a bit of this greenbelt back or take a bit here, take a bit there.

Matt Morley 23:01

So your role clearly then is to is to steady the ship and guide it on that path because you sort of know where you're going to some extent, but then within that, obviously, there's lots of room to, to experiment and to do what you're doing, which is to innovate and create new products and services. So looking ahead to the next one to three years down the pipeline, what do you have coming up, like, what are your next new launches that you have coming?

sean 23:27

Well, my next immediate one, which is quite exciting, and then in a lot of places that might seem like a small thing for us, it's a big piece, it's expanding, continue to expand the farm we have, but we're going to build a bee farm. And we've got a number of guys that work for us that are very qualified in this field. So they're very excited to get into a new new project and a new role. And that's, I think, gonna be exciting for us. Like I see this as every customer that comes and rents a villa from us or stays in our hotel, we'll get a jar of honey leaving and it will be another unique piece of of Quinta do logo and the Algarve. We're going to continue to evolve the outdoor living, you know, you mentioned that and the whole health and wellness piece of it we're really starting to become comfortable with that and providing a good service on that. You know, we've got good golf, we've got good tennis, we're evolving our cycling routes. Right now we've got since you were here a couple years ago we've got a new nature trails, it's linking up different beaches and you're off the sand dune. It's amazing and you can see everything that's going on around you it's it's great when the tide is in and you've got all the boards around you and flamingos there. We're very much going to push out a lot. And you know, we're it's it's a lot a lot of things now is about packages, I think people like decisions to be made for more at least to be guided into, I'll take care of it. What do you want to do? You know, if you're coming, you're going to travel for the first time. You want clean living open spaces. What kind of foods do you like? What kind of exercise do you like? Right down to we will label the shelves on your fridge that there starts shelf, that's mom's shelf. This is the baby shelf of what you've told us and what feedback you've given us and pack it and plan out your entire week if you want to de stress and relax or you want a fusion and lots of activity. And already, we're getting lots of great feedback on that. So I think we're going to continue to expand on that. We will look at d more real estate. We're just looking at plans on that at the moment. But we're looking forward to getting people back here.

Matt Morley 26:09

You got plenty going on. It's impressive stuff. So thank you very much for your time.

sean 26:13

It's been great. Thank you, Matt.

sustainable interior flooring Zandur

The ‘Green & Healthy Places’ podcast series takes a deep-dive into the role of sustainability, wellbeing and community in real estate and hospitality.

Here we discuss sustainable interior flooring with Robert McKee of Zandur in the USA.

This episode we're with Robert McKee, the dynamic founder of Zandur sustainable flooring based in Virginia, USA that supplies hospitals, offices, gyms and residential spaces around the world. Flooring plays a fundamental part in creating a healthy indoor environment, particularly indoor air quality, now more than ever designers and architects need to be thinking about cleaning and hygiene, which is where Zandur comes in...

Sustainable interiors & healthy flooring material

Welcome to episode 15 of the Green & Healthy Places podcast in which we discuss sustainability and wellness in real estate and hospitality. This episode we’re with Robert McKee, the dynamic founder of Zandur sustainable flooring based in Virginia, USA that supplies hospitals, offices, gyms and residential spaces around the world.

Designing a healthy indoor environment

Flooring plays a fundamental part in creating a healthy indoor environment, particularly indoor air quality, now more than ever designers and architects need to be thinking about cleaning and hygiene, which is where Zandur comes in…

Robert talks us through the world of healthy product certifications, the many benefits of using cork as a raw material, why you do NOT want natural rubber in your floor covering but rather vulcanized rubber, the life cycle of flooring and the role of maintenance over a possible 30 years, as well as Zandur’s innovative approach to design that draws inspiration from craftsmen of the early 1900’s.

If you like this type of content please consider subscribing and you can of course find Zandur USA or a local distributor at zandur.com

GUEST: ROBERT MCKEE / Founder, Zandur / www.zandur.com

HOST: MATT MORLEY / www.biofilico. com / www.biofit.io / www.bioblu.org

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A full transcription follows, courtesy of Otter.ai:

Matt Morley

Welcome to Episode 15 of the Green and Healthy Places podcast, in which we discuss sustainability and wellness in real estate and hospitality. I'm your host, Matt Morley, founder of BioBlu sustainability, Biofilico wellness interiors and Biofit nature gyms.

This episode, we're with Robert McKee, the dynamic founder of Zandur sustainable flooring based in Virginia, USA, supplying hospitals, offices, gyms, and residential spaces around the world. Flooring plays a fundamental part in creating a healthy indoor environment, particularly as it relates to indoor air quality. Now more than ever, designers and architects are thinking about cleaning and hygiene, which is right in Sandur's ballpark.

Robert talks us through the world of healthy product certifications, the many benefits of using cork as a raw material, why you do not want natural rubber in your floor covering but rather vulcanised rubber, the lifecycle of flooring and the role of maintenance over what can be 30 years, as well as Zandur's really innovative approach to design that draws on inspiration often from craftsmen in the early 1900s. If you like this type of content, please consider subscribing. And you can of course find Zandur and the local distributors listed on their website zandur.com

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Robert, thank you so much for joining us today. You founded the company back in 2004. Could you give us quick introduction to what Zandur flooring looks like today as a business, your products and, so on?

Robert McKee

Well, sure, and I appreciate it, thank you for taking the time to speak with me. A little bit about the company, we did start in 2004. The objective from the beginning has always been to focus on sustainable commercial products, the floor covering portion of construction and really with a focus of not selling something sustainable products that really perform or outperformed other products in the industry that weren't necessarily sustainable, and also meeting those same price points.

Our interest has never been to profit off of sustainability. It's always just to be sustainable. Because it's the right thing to do. And my family history goes back into the cork industry - cork flooring in fact. Sustainability was not something that people even talked about, you know, back in my grandfather's era. But it's always been something that we have had in our product line. And everything we've sold has had that sustainability story before it became popular. So it's something we just continue with.

Matt Morley

I think that really comes through in your current communications online that it is a fundamental piece of what you do rather than an afterthought that you've sort of tacked on at the end. It looks like you've built the business around that philosophy or that it's just it's just part of how you see the world, I think that there is a clear difference now in companies that really have a deep value system behind them like yours and that was very much the initial insight that led me to contacting you. I came across you primarily from the sport and fitness flooring and cork flooring, but you do others you do commercial flooring as well. Right?

Robert McKee

Correct. So basically just getting back real quick to what what you've mentioned and kind of where we come from, there's a lot of temptation always for companies to go out and sell products just to sell products, for instance, you know, we have plenty of opportunities to go and sell vinyl based products, things of that nature. And it's something from the beginning we've always made the point of focusing on sustainability. We're not going to enter into having non-sustainable products, competing with the big guys, yes they do have their sustainable lines but also their non sustainable lines. And to me it kind of defeats the whole purpose, either we're all in on sustainability or we're not.

But getting back to the products that we have. The first flagship product is something that we introduced way back when, it's a product made of cork and rubber combined. We've just recently made some significant improvements to that, it has great cleanability, which is obviously really important these days, chemical resistance, slip resistance, all those sorts of things. Then we have our solid rubber product, which is kind of the go-to heavy duty type of floor covering product for hospitals, airports, things of that nature. And then we have our solid cork flooring product, which has certain applications in commercial use, as well as a lot of residential use as well.

Matt Morley

So then, from an architect or an interior designer or design and build team perspective, how do they select one of these different materials and what that sort of pros and cons do they each have? I know you big on healthy product declaration certifications, right? The idea of a Declare label, from the the International Living future Institute and the Red List.

Robert McKee

So we've always been completely transparent about our products. Again, it goes back to the history of my family being involved in this business. It's just kind of how we're wired. And you can see that we participate in is these transparency programmes. The challenge is the cost for a small company, which can be a certain barrier to entry, whether intentional or not, so we try to pick and choose what's going to be most important, what's really going to tell the story about our product to the clients because ultimately, that's what we're trying to do - easily convey the sustainability story of our product in a completely honest way. That's what everyone else is looking for too. It gets pretty challenging, I think both on the supply side, and the specifications side, for people to really understand even what they're looking at. And I find that with designers or architects that have been doing this for a long time, even they get confused sometimes.

Matt Morley

Yeah, I think we end up we were looking for a quick and reliable route through in terms of digesting that information. And often Yeah, I can declare label or a cradle to cradle certificate, it's just but you know, once that's there, because of the integrity behind those systems, when a when a product comes out with that you can just rely on it. 100% I think that's they're going to be increasingly important. I think as, as the green building systems above start to require those individual product, green building products to align with their systems, because then you sort of you need everything to join up quite a bit like a Tetris puzzle. One of the things I wanted to ask you about was, and it's a big theme right now, for obvious reasons - indoor air quality.

Robert McKee

In a basic sense, floor covering can have a negative effect on air quality. What you're looking for, in the floor covering itself as a material would be something that has a neutral effect - that has no negative effect on air quality. However, if you look at certain types of floor covering, if you look at soft surfaces, how cleanable are they because that's when you can start to obviously have a negative effect on air quality. So it's not necessarily the material itself. But it is what can get into the material. You know, dirt, dust, all those sorts of things that you know allergens, things of that nature, which can can be contained in the floor covering itself. Then as I said specifically in soft surfaces. Now if you get into products, PVC products, things of that nature, certainly off gassing is something that is is important to pay attention to. And, again, it's something that, you know, in the formulation of our products, we make sure that there is nothing that is going to cause any unsafe off gassing of any chemicals, allergens. And it's always been one of those things that I've liked about pork in general, as a raw material is that it has a completely neutral effect on environments as far as there's no off gassing with cork, there's no negative implications whatsoever. On the residential side, it's something that oftentimes has been used in the past for people that have certain allergies, and then we can talk about the cleanability of a product. If you look at a solid surface of rubber flooring versus let's say, recycled rubber flooring or something like that, the cleanability level of a solid balkanized surface is extremely important to indoor air quality and just health in general - it is a very cleanable surface.

Matt Morley

That's an interesting one, because that comes up a lot with with my gym designs, where I'll often I'll see these terms banded around quite loosely like eco rubber flooring tiles, and vulcanised rubber tiles. What's the difference there? Is all rubber sustainable? Or is eco rubber more sustainable than recycled rubber? Can you help us unpick those?

Robert McKee

So yeah, this is one of the challenges that a company like ours fights against. Because there's been so much marketing that's not necessarily straightforward. All rubber is vulcanised as vulcanization is the process of curing the rubber through heat and pressure but then you have what a lot of people refer to as recycled rubber flooring, or crumb rubber flooring. And then there is vulcanised rubber flooring. The reason we call it vulcanised is that it is a completely sealed. The vulcanization is the last process in the manufacturing of our material. So it leaves a completely sealed impenetrable surface. If you look at recycled rubber flooring, the rubber chips are vulcanised. But the last process in fact, is actually they grind up those chips, then they put typically a urethane glue with them, and then they cure them. So it's not the final process of recycled rubber flooring, or crumb rubber is not vulcanization, it's actually just glueing those chips back together. And that's why as a result, you end up with a surface that has a lot of pores in it and holes in it, you have to put finishes on top of that. You have off gassing because you have you know some of those components being the recycled rubber sometimes or not. Not great. You don't know what the contents are.

Matt Morley

Then one of your big innovations was combining rubber with cork in flooring. So how does that how does that process work? How do you blend or combine the two into one solid substance for your floors.

Robert McKee

So I can't claim to be the the ultimate inventor of that product that was actually invented way back in the early 1900s. It's a product that I discovered probably 15 or so years ago. It was not being produced. It was not being used. And I thought it was a phenomenal idea to take basically all the great properties of cork - sustainability, great acoustical properties, great comfort properties, and mix those properties with the those of rubber - phenomenal durability, a lot of options for colour too. And as a result, we've Over time develop this product, which takes the best of both worlds.

Matt Morley

When I think of cork, I guess, I think of Spain, Portugal. What about rubber? Where are you sourcing that element from?

Robert McKee

So floor covering in general, is not made from natural rubber. In fact, you really don't want natural rubber in your floorcovering for a variety of reasons. And this is one of the misconceptions that we don't go out and sell that are products made with natural rubber, because it's not. The reason you don't want natural rubber in your product is because you have a very strong odour from natural rubber, which most people have smelled from erasers or whatever the case may be. That odour is from a protein that is active in natural rubber, and can also cause allergies as well. Latex allergies - that's from natural rubber. So you certainly don't want that in the healthcare situation. natural rubber has very inconsistent colouring. So colour consistency is difficult, which is obviously important for design. It also has very poor ageing characteristics. If you've seen a dry, rotted tire in the past on a bike, or something like that, that's from natural rubber. So long and short of it is natural rubber is one of the coolest raw materials out there. But it's not great for using in floorcovering. So what we use, we'll use a small amount of natural rubber, which will add some slip resistance characteristics, things of that nature, but the bulk of rubber is a byproduct of the petroleum industry. Basically, it's a waste that's generated, which we can thankfully use to generate, you know, this resin that has these great properties. And the nice thing about rubber is that it's easily recyclable into a variety of different things after its use. And, you know, it's does not have bad chemical properties, anything of that nature.

Matt Morley

We're seeing more and more attention paid to this concept of circularity, right. So where does your flooring go in 10 years time, or however long a lifecycle of your flooring might be? And then is it safely recycled after that?

Robert McKee

So with lifecycle there's two things that I always look at which is, how long is the product going to last and how much energy has to be put into that product while it is in service meaning what is your maintenance regime going to be. If you have to be constantly painting a finish to keep it looking clean... And you know, we talked about the recycled rubber flooring and that's one of those things maybe the life cycle life time of the floor is similar but the amount of energy that has to be put into maintain that with all the finishes which have to be manufactured which have off gassing as they're applied you know your labour cost there is far more than the material ever will be. As we continue to develop our products and in general with with solid vulcanised rubber flooring, it's a fairly low maintenance product and you know it's it's, it's great for for that you know not having to use finishes not having to use waxes, things of that nature. But getting back to the actual life span of the product. It's it will last for decades. You know if you if you want rubber to last for 30 years, as long as you maintain it properly. It's gonna last that long now the colours will probably fall out of fashion in that period of time. So what can you do with it? Well, you can do a couple things. Number one, you can instal floor on top of it. And the nice thing about rubber, particularly our cork rubber is it has phenomenal acoustical properties. So if you instal something on top of it, you're going to get the benefit of the existing floor covering for the acoustical reasons. Or it can be removed and it can be recycled in the recycling process for that is basically grinding it back up into chips, and we use chips or rubber in our product, to make different different patterns and designs, things of that nature. In fact, all of our factory waste, we use that same process, we grind up the waste, and then we use that as colour chips in our top layer or the back end.

Matt Morley

You mentioned how there's obviously to a degree, certain colours or or looks that might be popular for a number of years, are there any constraints that you come across in terms of balancing aesthetics with your sustainable values?

Robert McKee

Well, so by by nature, I guess I would say I'm more of the designer slash Innovator of products, and I really enjoy the challenges of coming up with different things with new things 90% of which never get out of my lab. But that's kind of the fun of it. And with cork there are huge challenges. There are challenges and how the raw material reacts once it's installed, if people have used style cork flooring in the past, for instance, a lot of people have had issues with it, for dimensional stability reasons, things of that nature, which we've overcome through a variety of different innovations, but also with colours. You know, people want colours, and with cork, you've got brown, brown, and brown, those are your those are your colours. So how do you take those and make changes and you know, through the baking process, we get different tones of brown from basically a light tan to a black, and then go back and start to mix those things used to you know, traditional woodworking techniques to to laminate things together, do cross cuts, re laminate them and really come up with some pretty neat patterns. And you know, a lot of a lot of my development and innovation comes from looking at what was done in the past and going through archives of factories and looking at the materials they made back in the early 1900s and finding some really cool things and kind of bringing things back out. And that's what we did with work flooring was was literally going through, you know, the basements of a factory that we worked with and finding some things that they did in the past and, and bringing those those patterns back out with a modern twist.

Matt Morley

It's it's, it's funny, isn't it, but in so many different aspects of our lives Now it can feel like in a way, rediscovering how things were done, not prior to the Industrial Revolution, but certainly plus or minus 100 years ago or more. There was just a simplicity to how certain things were done back then. And I think there's this appreciation now for for that slightly more natural touch, and I wasn't expecting it to come from you, but I get totally on it, which is just great to see.

Robert McKee

I've always thought we tend to as a society overcomplicate so many things when a lot of times you just stop look back and see what was done in the past and you know you can put put technology apply technology to something that was done but uh you know, you can really really learn some pretty cool things from from past history, which is maybe you've been buried but not not gone forever.

Matt Morley

Okay, so let's let's look at gym design because it's one of my favourite subjects. You've got three sustainable gym flooring ranges - sustain sport, flexsport, and praxis cork, what are the sort of pros and cons or how would would someone go about deciding which might be more applicable? If it's a big bodybuilding gym, you might suggest one material versus if it's a group class Fitness Studio, you might suggest a different material?

Robert McKee

There's two very distinct groups of products, I would say. One would be the Praxis solid cork. And then the other would be the sustain cork rubber or the flex solid rubber. The solid cork product is a great material for light fitness areas where you're doing a lot of floor exercises, yoga studios, things of that nature, that that product has been very well received. You know, anytime you're on the floor doing those exercises, having a product like cork, which is a very good insulator, it's going to feel warm to the touch versus if you put have a vinyl type of a product things that something like that. There's no insulation, so you're going to get the cool temperature of the typically the concrete slab that's underneath of that so cork is really nice for that obviously has great resilience to it, great acoustical properties, cork is not something that you're going to want to put in a place where you're using heavy free weights, it it is not going to resist that type of abuse. So it certainly has its place. And as I said, I would say like fitness areas where gym users are not going to be dropping heavy loads on them, that works. Then you get into the rubber products, the sustain is kind of my go to product for fitness flooring Because it has the 65% cork in it, it has tremendous acoustical properties, it has tremendous sustainability properties, great slip resistance. It has phenomenal durability, the list goes on and on, exciting about these the sustain, and also the flex product is we now have all of our products. In those two lines, all colours are available in two different thicknesses for the sports range being six millimetre or nine millimetre thickness. And what we do is we actually laminate the top layer to a recycled rubber backing, which now we're bringing in more recycled content. The nice thing about the recycled rubber backing is this on the backside so we don't have to worry about the content of that recycled rubber, which is a concern what's on the top side. And it produces a once again a great acoustical and product that's that's, you know it's going to protect yourself for when you're dropping weights, things of that nature. Navigating to heavy, heavy free weights, you can actually instal underlayment underneath of our products, so you can build up to told me 12 millimetres thick, even thicker than that 15 millimetres people have done. But it's also a good idea if you're if you're gonna be dropping heavy things to put a good drop off mat on Because ultimately, the biggest concern with heavy weights is damage to the sub floor not necessarily to the flooring material. So that's something you have to pay attention to. Yeah, I

Matt Morley

often certainly in the sort of my plans run laying out a gym floor, for example, go with the cork underneath, but then or the cork rubber underneath. And then in the strength area, especially now with sort of the trend for sort of CrossFit type stuff where Yeah, they tend to pick up a barbell and not necessarily put it down too delicately having a nice big thick, sort of extra layer, if you like to sitting on top of the of the base layer around that strength, that strength zone within the gym seems that seems to take care of it. So what have you got what's coming up? What's in the pipeline, it sounds like you're you're moving at 100 miles an hour and you've got your full of ideas. I'm guessing you've got more innovations coming what's what's in the future, if you can give us a sense of that? Well, we

Robert McKee

do it we've got a really a product that I'm really excited about coming out at some point in time this year. COVID has not helped us or anyone else as far as advancing innovation particularly. But it's a it's a it's a product made out of solid rubber. It's a roll product, which will be that will be available in titles and roles has more of a terrazzo type of look to it. Much more subtle colour, tone on tone type of a situation with the design of it and a bunch of new colours. A lot more exciting things about it as well, which will be coming out with some point time.

Matt Morley

Very cool. Well listen, I'm a huge fan. It's been it's been great to get some pick up on some of your energy and ideas that I saw I appreciate that zando.com will will link in the in the show notes in terms of someone contacting you, is it better to go via their headquarters in the US? I know you then have sort of local distributors or representatives in each country.

Robert McKee

Yeah, if you look at our website, you can you can email us directly through that and someone will get back to you with their local salesperson or we also list our different international sales people as well.

Interior Design Environment: The Role of Environmental Sustainability

Are you concerned about your home’s environmental impact or the levels of productivity and creativity in your office?

Maybe it’s time to consider a more eco-friendly interior design in real estate, with concepts such as energy and water efficiency, waste reduction, and recyclable materials implementation - not only for reduced environmental impact but for the positive impact on human health and wellbeing.

Biofilico designs for people, the planet, and your profit! Our actions address human health, environmental sustainability, and financial gain.

As the world becomes increasingly urbanized, our lifestyle conveniences and wishes are increased while access to nature and green spaces decreases. As a result, we have a fundamentally disconnected evolutionary flow, with many problems (mainly diseases) tightly connected to it.

In further text, you will find more information concerning the importance of environment and sustainability and its impact on our lives through interior design and the places we live in.

What is Environmental Sustainability?

When we talk about environmental sustainability, meaning to address all aspects of our lives - we need to include everything, from eco-homes, sourcing our supplies, renewable energy, and environmentally conscious communities to low-impact furniture and clothing.

But what is environmental sustainability?

The meaning of environmental sustainability has many definitions used by green groups, businesses, and even politicians and activists, but the concept and principles of sustainable development were first introduced in 1987 in the “Our Common Future” report, prepared for the World Commission on Environment and Development.

This includes sustainable design principles, which emphasize creating concepts and spaces that reduce environmental impact, use sustainable materials, and consider long-term environmental and socioeconomic development.

Significance of Environmental Sustainability

Environmental sustainability is paramount due to the detrimental impacts individuals can inflict on our surroundings. It necessitates collective care for the flora, fauna, air, and water bodies that constitute our planet’s ecosystem. Minimizing energy consumption through sustainable architecture and interior design practices is crucial for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting energy efficiency.

Preservation of Biodiversity

Environmental sustainability safeguards the rich diversity of life forms and ecosystems, ensuring the continued existence of vital species and habitats.

Protection of Natural Resources

By prioritizing sustainability, we conserve essential resources like water, land, and energy, ensuring their availability for future generations and mitigating the risk of resource depletion. Using sustainable materials, such as furniture made from recycled sources like reclaimed wood and recycled products, plays a crucial role in conserving natural resources.

Mitigation of Climate Change

Environmental sustainability efforts are crucial in combatting climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, promoting renewable energy sources, and implementing carbon-neutral practices.

Promotion of Human Health

A sustainable environment fosters human health and well-being by providing clean air, water, and food, reducing exposure to pollutants, and minimizing the risk of environmental hazards. Sustainable design plays a crucial role in improving indoor air quality through factors like passive heating, cooling, ventilation design, and natural light.

Global Collaboration

Environmental sustainability initiatives occur on various scales, from local community projects to international agreements, highlighting the global commitment to preserving our planet for future generations.

How does Environmental Sustainability Affect Social Responsibility?

The relationship between people and spaces is based on psychological and physical parameters and greatly impacts improving life quality. Targeting social welfare and happiness through environmental sustainability is a measure that results in higher levels of employee creativity, motivation, and well-being.

The most important criterion for saving and healing the planet is the selection of materials used in building and decorating. Every material has its function, so materials used in hospitals and shopping malls should differ due to the sterilization needs. However, selecting materials with the maximum potential to reduce waste is crucial.

Creating durable and timeless spaces is also essential, as it promotes longevity and reduces the need for frequent design changes, aligning with social responsibility.

The embodied energy (energy needed to produce some material) is also important when choosing a sustainable material for a home or public space. Concrete, steel, and plastics are higher in embodied energy than some more natural elements like stone or timber.

Recycling potential is an important factor in the field of waste management. Moreover, the level of emission of toxic gases (in production and use) should be considered an important step to go for more traditional but highly sustainable techniques in construction

Decreasing the amount of global waste leads to the creation of new technology to generate electricity from the plantation

Interior environments are places where all human needs are exposed. They are the most intimate spaces where our physical and physical health is affected by many bad factors we have inflicted upon ourselves.

Environmental Sustainability in Business

Taking the initiative to create a more environmentally conscious company culture through eco-friendly policies is a bold move, even if it starts with eliminating plastic straws and paper to reduce plastic waste.

Developing a corporate environmental responsibility begins on the level of your workforce. It is crucial (especially for young) people to believe in the vision and practice of environmental sustainability, changing their habits in the office, for the mission of sustainability to be carried out accordingly.

Environmental Sustainability and Interior Design Elements

Interior design is a profession that is subject to the context of human needs and the many different levels of satisfaction. The interior space is made to satisfy the needs of security, survival, and achieving higher self-esteem

Recent studies have shown the need for environmental health and sustainability within our living spaces and the obligation for the niche to be included and survive. This is why the practice of interior design elements is considered a context of sustainability. Using natural light in interior design is crucial for improving energy efficiency and reducing dependence on artificial lighting. Larger windows, skylights, and light color schemes can help maximize natural light in design projects.

The environmental development and sustainability principles recognized the links between inequality, poverty, and environmental degradation. Thus, the elements of their improvement were needed to support communities and find a way forward for a fairer world with less environmental damage.

So, the environmental development and sustainability concept met the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to live in a better world.

Environmental sustainability in interior design refers to all the systems and materials integrated into one whole purpose (for example, into healthy building spaces for inhabitation), minimizing negative impacts on the environment and occupants while maximizing the positive health, economic, and social life cycle.

Environmental Sustainability in Interior Design and the Planet

Environmental development and sustainability issues include concerns about whether environmental resources will be protected and maintained for future generations. Limiting consumption of nonrenewable resources, naturally shifting to renewable resources, and avoiding excess pollution damage our health and the earth’s atmosphere.

Sustainable interior design plays a crucial role by creating eco-friendly and environmentally conscious spaces, using low-impact materials, reducing waste, and considering long-term environmental and economic impacts.

The biggest problem now is making an economic decision based on the insight of the long-term consequences and making integrational decisions to target economic and social welfare.

Long-term Health of Ecosystems

Principles of sustainable development protect the long-term productivity and health of the resources that will be used in the future, meeting the economic and social needs. 

Making decisions to protect food supplies, farmlands and fishing stocks, species diversity, and ecological structure, we ensure the health of our future generations and the loam of our lands.

Prevention of man-made global warming

Water shortages, extreme weather events, excess temperature, and all the other problems have been predicted for future generations to face because of the deterioration and usage of harmful materials and substances - factors that could make a living in some parts of the world very difficult, if not impossible.

Intergenerational decision making

When making large economic decisions, we should focus on the implications for the future, not just for the present moment. For example, using coal as energy gives a short-term benefit of cheapness, but the pollution weight is immense for future generations.

Renewable resources

Diversifying energy sources from nonrenewable into renewable and sustainable ones that, again, do not rely on non-renewable resources is one of the main concerns that should be met in the future. For example, the most popular solutions are solar and wind power-generating windmills, panels, and skylights.

The willingness to create sustainable environments should be primarily met and fulfilled within workplaces and private home interiors. Improving energy efficiency in interior design is crucial, as it reduces energy consumption related to heating, lighting, and appliances. Interior designers have an essential tool to lead sustainable environments and create a sustainability consciousness.

Interior design elements are major tools in creating long-term environmental sustainability, with elements of natural resources, sustainable fabrication, manufacturing, and installation, all the way up to sustainable use, reuse, recycling, and final disposal

Bio Building: Biophilic Buildings - The Eco-Friendly Concept of the Future — Biofilico Wellness Interiors

The concept of sustainable, eco-friendly, green, and now - biophilic buildings has been around for the past 20 years, helped along by organizations such as the Green Building Council that have dutifully guided developers, architects and corporations with their star certification system and LEED recognition.

The concept of biophilic architecture revolves around the principles associated with human healthcare, aiming to reconnect us with nature again. Biophilic buildings can also improve the general landscape, tipping the scale towards “greener”, more natural scenery, that ultimately benefit every part of our being. Constructing buildings using bio-based materials, such as timber, straw, and clay, offers sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives to petrochemical and mineral-based materials, further enhancing the eco-friendly nature of these structures.

Sustainability movement with suitable rating systems for sustainable construction

Born of the massive recent upswing in urbanization and the resulting high-density cities that then put added strain on our planet, the green, biophilic building movement within the construction industry pushes an earth-friendly agenda onto our built environment by emphasizing sustainable practices and materials.

With over 92,000 projects using LEED in over 165 countries around the world and more than 2.2 million sq ft of built environment certified every single day, this is by far the most prominent rating system out there today.

LEED’s key tenets include energy, water, waste, location & transportation, sustainability of a site’s location and indoor environmental quality.

Moving beyond this green, eco philosophy though, more recently we have seen two concurrent trends that take the sustainability movement in a new direction.

Biophilic buildings & biophilic design in architecture using bio based materials

Like we said, there are a few trends that are currently directing the sustainability movement, including the use of bio based materials.

Firstly there is biophilic, nature-inspired design that adopts a similarly planet-oriented mindset yet zeroes in on how organic and evolution-friendly design principles can have a positive psychological and physiological health impact on humans. Plant based materials, such as timber, straw, reed, hemp, and engineered timber, play a crucial role in this by offering practical and sustainable options for construction. Engineered timber, in particular, stands out for its structural properties and sustainability, making it a key component in bio-based building technologies.

This planet + people mindset instantly gives biophilic design in architecture a more commercial edge, cutting through the externally oriented benefits of doing no harm to the planet with a more human-centric view of the built environment while also opening the door to overtly aesthetic choices that prioritize natural beauty.

When picturing or creating biophilic buildings in your mind - think vertical garden walls; air purifying plants; circadian lighting that follows the body’s daily rhythm; natural colors, patterns, textures and materials, all of which are designed to bring the outside world in, re-uniting city and countryside to create uplifting, restorative green spaces as closely aligned with our deep past as feasibly possible.

A holistic standard that advocates a healthy interrelationship with nature

Living Future is a holistic standard that has so far logged over 330 projects and 14.1 million square feet of built environment since 2008. Key concepts that it addresses include:

• Place: restoring a healthy interrelationship with nature by maximizing the use of natural resources;

• Water: creating developments that operate within the water balance of a given place and climate;

• Energy: relying solely on current solar income;

• Health + Happiness: creating environments that optimize physical and psychological health and wellbeing;

• Materials: endorsing products that are safe for all species through time, including plant-based insulation materials like hemp and wood, which offer benefits such as moisture regulation and sustainability;

• Equity: supporting a just, equitable world;

• Beauty: celebrating design that uplifts the human spirit.

Introducing key proponents of human oriented buildings

The final segment, after eco/green/sustainable and bio/natural/organic comprises explicitly human or people-oriented buildings designed for human health, wellness and fitness, whilst also doing no harm to the planet through sustainable construction. Sustainable materials, such as timber, straw, hemp, and cork, offer numerous benefits in human-oriented building design, including reducing environmental impact, improving indoor air quality, and promoting resource efficiency. The use of local materials in bio-architectural residences further enhances sustainability by reducing transportation emissions and supporting local economies.

Key proponents of this approach are the WELL Building Standard and the US government-backed Centre For Active Design FITWEL standard.

WELL standard - environmentally oriented standard addressing global carbon emissions

WELL focuses on best practices when it comes to biophilic design in architecture and construction, backed by evidence-based medical and scientific research. To date, it has over 700 projects under its belt in 32 countries equating to 139 million sq ft of built environment. The standard covers eight key categories.

An evolution of green building standards such as LEED, the increasingly popular WELL Building Standard from Delos identifies 100 performance metrics, design strategies and policies that can be implemented across a building to have a positive impact on the health and wellness of its occupants, and transform it into something that can be described as a biophilic building. By incorporating bio-based materials, WELL also aims to improve indoor air quality, reducing the presence of harmful chemicals and VOCs, thus creating a healthier environment for the occupants.

WELL is complementary to other, more environmentally-oriented standards and in many instances directly overlaps as a nature-first approach is also inherently healthy for humans; the emphasis however is simply skewed towards the occupants rather than the environment. By using such materials, including plant-based and biocompatible options like plant fibers, timber, and straw, WELL promotes sustainable cultivation practices that integrate with forestry, agriculture, and conservation. The standard is happy to roam far and wide, from homes to offices, healthcare facilities, schools and restaurants.

FITWELL standard with a heavy data approach for indoor air quality

FITWEL, standing for Facility Innovations Toward Wellness Environment Leadership, was launched in March 2017 and has currently impacted over 250,000 building occupants with over 380 projects around the world. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are a significant concern in indoor air quality, and reducing VOCs through the use of green building materials can create a healthier environment for building occupants. They too take a heavily data-focused approach with a database of over 3000 academic studies backing up their efforts to inspire healthier workplaces and residential communities specifically.

Biophilic architecture concept

Biophilic buildings are supposed to represent something more other than sheer connection with nature. Biophilic design in architecture is here to bring necessary transformation in the field that is responsible for the greatest negative environmental impact, including reducing carbon emissions.

If you wish to know more about healthy building or green building certifications, please email us here.