guide to sustainable hotel resort standards, certification ecolabels — biofilico wellness interiors

Understanding Sustainable Hotel Resort Standards and Certifications

Hotels and resorts are linked to air and water pollution, consume considerable amounts of energy that may well be from fossil fuels, emit carbon, consume water, and create various forms of waste. A hospitality business now needs to consider its environmental and social impact as well as its economic performance to be considered truly sustainable.

This applies to the planning, construction, design, and fit-out phases in a hotel’s lifecycle, as well as during the operational phase. Food services play a crucial role in maintaining sustainability standards, with food services managers ensuring top-quality food ingredients and preparation. Additionally, higher quality facilities and expanded facilities that meet sustainability criteria contribute to an overall better service quality.

Below, we outline our views as hospitality sustainability professionals on the most prominent sustainability standards, certifications, eco-friendly practices, and ecolabels that provide structure and guidance in minimizing a hotel or resort’s environmental impact.

As hotel sustainability consultants, we work with all of the below to some extent, and can align a hotel sustainability plan with one or more of these solutions, upon request, whether a formal sustainability certificate or annual ESG sustainability reporting is required or not. Increasingly, being on top of this topic is about risk management and reputation, in addition to the climate-related imperative!

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Aligning with UN Sustainable Development Goals

The 17 macro goals outlined by the United Nations in their SDGs are a global framework for tackling climate change and embracing sustainable development until 2030. These goals are vital for achieving a sustainable future and ensuring that economic development does not come at the cost of environmental degradation.

Not all of these goals relate directly to hotels and resorts, but most do, and many of the goals are interconnected. For instance, reducing energy consumption and improving energy efficiency are crucial aspects that align with these goals.

SDG 12, for example, is Responsible Consumption & Production, which has direct implications for hotel operations in the materials and finishes used in the interiors, operational equipment such as cleaning products, and in-room amenities. This connects us to sustainable agriculture and SDG 15 Life On Land.

By aligning hotel operations with these goals, hotels can significantly reduce their environmental impact while promoting social and economic sustainability. This alignment helps in achieving a balance between economic growth, environmental care, and social wellbeing.

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Achieving B Corporation Certification for Sustainability

As with the UN SDGs, a B Corp certification is not specifically tailored to the hotel and resort industry but it represents a valuable addition to sustainability credentials. It thoroughly evaluates the social and environmental impact of a hotel business, encouraging higher standards of transparency and accountability.

During the Impact Assessment process, a hotel business will need to report on governance issues such as stakeholder engagement, ethical practices, health and safety of workers, career development, DEI policy, community engagement, supply chain management, health and wellness of guests, and environmental impact issues from renewable energy to toxin reduction and environmental education. This process helps ensure that business practices are aligned with sustainable development principles.

Achieving B Corporation certification demonstrates a hotel's commitment to sustainable business practices and can significantly enhance its reputation among eco-conscious travelers. It also encourages continuous improvement in sustainability performance, driving better practices across the industry.

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Embracing World Travel & Tourism Council WTTC Sustainability Basics

In 2022, the WTTC introduced their own set of ‘sustainability basics’ for hotels and resorts—12 basic criteria split into three segments of four criteria each. Hotels need to sign up for eight criteria initially, with the other four to follow in due course.

The hotel sustainability efficiency section covers energy use, water use, waste, and carbon emissions. By implementing these measures, hotels can reduce their overall energy consumption and minimize their carbon footprint. The Planet section focuses on a hotel linen reuse program, green cleaning products, vegetarian F&B options, removal of plastic straws/stirrers, no single-use plastic water bottles, and bulk amenity dispensers. The third section is socially oriented, addressing community impact and reducing inequalities.

These basics serve as a foundation for hotels aiming to improve their sustainability practices. They provide a clear framework for action, helping hotels to make meaningful progress toward sustainability goals and meet guest expectations for eco-friendly accommodations.

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Adopting Global Sustainable Tourism Council Standards

The GSTC is an accreditation body responsible for the widely used baseline standards that influence and guide various hotel and tourism sustainability certification standards. It is an umbrella organization that focuses on sustainability management, social and economic issues, environmental conservation, and protecting cultural heritage.

The GSTC standards are comprehensive, covering all aspects of hotel operations from energy and water use to waste management and community engagement. By adopting these standards, hotels can ensure that they are meeting the highest benchmarks for sustainability.

These standards help hotels to systematically reduce their environmental impact, enhance social equity, and promote economic sustainability. They also provide a clear pathway for hotels to achieve certification and recognition for their sustainability efforts.

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Implementing Green Globe Certification Criteria

Green Globe has 25 years of history and covers 44 criteria in four groups: environmental impact, socio-economic impact, sustainable management, and cultural heritage. Green Globe's criteria relate to the UN SDGs, particularly Goals 8, 12, and 14, emphasizing worker rights, ethical business practices, supporting local enterprises, and reducing plastic waste production.

Implementing Green Globe criteria involves a thorough assessment of a hotel's operations and practices. This certification encourages hotels to adopt best practices in sustainability and to continuously improve their performance.

By achieving Green Globe certification, hotels can demonstrate their commitment to sustainability, enhance their marketability, and attract eco-conscious travelers. This certification also provides a framework for ongoing improvement, helping hotels to stay at the forefront of sustainability.

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Leveraging EarthCheck Certification for Comprehensive Sustainability

EarthCheck is a certification system for hotels, resorts, and destinations, also providing consulting, training, and sustainability software. Their segmentation includes categories for hotels, convention centers, tours, wineries, destinations, tourism precincts, local municipalities, developers, project managers, ESD consultants, small-to-medium size businesses, restaurants, eco-tourism operators, event organizers, festivals, and councils.

EarthCheck promotes guest well-being through health-focused activities, spa services, and recreational opportunities, enhancing guest expectations and overall service quality. This is crucial for ensuring facility quality and meeting guest expectations.

The EarthCheck certification process involves benchmarking and continuous improvement, ensuring that hotels are consistently reducing their environmental impact and enhancing their sustainability performance. This certification helps hotels to achieve higher standards of sustainability and to differentiate themselves in a competitive market.

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Pursuing Green Tourism Certification

Green Tourism is based in Edinburgh, Scotland and has a strong presence around the UK.

It promotes sustainability in hotels and tourism via a system based on three main pillars: People, Places and Planet.

Essentially, the emphasis here lies on the following criteria:

• Reducing energy use 

• Saving water 

• Efficient waste disposal 

• Ethical buying 

• Staying local and seasonal 

• Minimizing food miles 

• Promoting biodiversity 

• Adopting a smart sustainable outlook

The PEOPLE sustainability category covers support for local communities and staff engagement, PLACES is about buying local and ethically while protecting biodiversity and promoting local culture to guests; finally PLANET zeroes in on reducing carbon emissions, limited the use of natural resources and engaging with Circular Economy principles.

Fees for the first year of registration are GB £75+VAT to cover admin costs, annual fees are specific to business type and size, ranging from a ‘micro’ hotel, B&B or guesthouse with 1-6 bedrooms (GB £150 per annum) up to ‘Extra Large with 91+ rooms (priced at GB £650 annually).

Other categories cover visitor attractions, hostels, self-catering accommodation and holiday parks. Collectively this gives a sense of the target audience for this particular certification

https://www.green-tourism.com/about-us 

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Green Key Certification 

Green Key is one of the oldest certifications, especially strong in Europe. It is recognized by the GSTC and aligns with the UN SDGs. The certification involves monitoring water, energy, waste records, and carbon footprint data. It offers a structured 5-step application process managed by the relevant national representative, including an audit and third-party verification.

Green Key certification helps hotels to systematically improve their sustainability performance and to demonstrate their commitment to environmental stewardship. This certification provides a clear pathway for hotels to achieve their sustainability goals and to gain recognition for their efforts.

By securing Green Key certification, hotels can enhance their marketability, attract eco-conscious travelers, and improve their overall service quality. This certification also provides a framework for ongoing improvement, helping hotels to stay at the forefront of sustainability.

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Engaging with Travelife for Sustainable Hotels

Travelife offers sustainability certification for travel agents, tour operators, and accommodations. Their standards, recognized by the GTSC, involve a full onsite audit every two years. The certification covers environmental, social, and community criteria, focusing on energy, waste, water, wastewater, hazardous substances, biodiversity, human rights, fair wages, staff training, and supporting local communities.

Travelife ensures higher quality facilities and expanded facilities to meet the diverse needs of guests, including business practices that support sustainable tourism.

Travelife certification helps hotels to systematically improve their sustainability performance and to demonstrate their commitment to social and environmental responsibility. This certification provides a clear pathway for hotels to achieve their sustainability goals and to gain recognition for their efforts.

By engaging with Travelife, hotels can enhance their marketability, attract eco-conscious travelers, and improve their overall service quality. This certification also provides a framework for ongoing improvement, helping hotels to stay at the forefront of sustainability.

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Utilizing WAYAJ Hotel Sustainability Rating

The WAYAJ Hotel Sustainability Rating evaluates and promotes environmentally responsible practices within the hospitality industry. It encompasses hotel energy and water efficiency, waste management and recycling, sustainable sourcing and procurement, environmentally friendly construction and design, and promoting local culture and biodiversity.

WAYAJ emphasizes a holistic approach, assessing various aspects of hotel operations, fostering continuous improvement, and enhancing guest experience and satisfaction through unique, eco-conscious offerings. This includes ensuring facility quality to meet and exceed guest expectations.

The WAYAJ Hotel Sustainability Rating helps hotels to systematically improve their sustainability performance and to demonstrate their commitment to environmental stewardship. This rating provides a clear pathway for hotels to achieve their sustainability goals and to gain recognition for their efforts.

By utilizing the WAYAJ rating, hotels can enhance their marketability, attract eco-conscious travelers, and improve their overall service quality. This rating also provides a framework for ongoing improvement, helping hotels to stay at the forefront of sustainability.

Elevating Service Quality with a Star Grading System

A star grading system is essential for evaluating the quality of hotel facilities and services. It helps in setting clear guest expectations and maintaining high standards. This system also encourages hotels to invest in higher quality facilities, ensuring a superior experience for guests. By adopting sustainable practices, hotels can improve their star ratings while also contributing to environmental conservation and social responsibility.

The star grading system provides a clear and objective way to measure and compare the quality of different hotels. It considers various factors, including facility quality, service quality, guest satisfaction, and overall experience. By achieving higher star ratings, hotels can enhance their reputation, attract more guests, and achieve better business outcomes.

Enhancing Facility Quality in Apartment Hotels

Apartment hotels offer a unique blend of home-like comfort and hotel services, catering to long-term guests. Ensuring higher facility quality in these establishments is crucial for guest satisfaction and loyalty. Sustainable practices, such as energy efficiency measures and waste reduction, play a significant role in maintaining high standards in apartment hotels.

By implementing sustainable practices, apartment hotels can reduce their environmental impact while providing a comfortable and high-quality experience for guests. This approach helps in meeting guest expectations, enhancing service quality, and improving overall business performance.

Promoting Sustainable Business Practices

Sustainable business practices are essential for achieving long-term success in the hospitality industry. These practices include energy efficiency measures, waste reduction strategies, ethical sourcing, and community engagement. By adopting sustainable business practices, hotels can reduce their environmental impact, enhance their reputation, and improve their financial performance.

Sustainable business practices also contribute to the well-being of employees and guests, creating a positive and supportive environment. By focusing on sustainability, hotels can attract eco-conscious travelers, meet regulatory requirements, and achieve better business outcomes.

Meeting Guest Expectations with Sustainable Practices

Guest expectations are evolving, with more travelers seeking eco-friendly and sustainable accommodations. By meeting these expectations, hotels can enhance guest satisfaction and loyalty. Sustainable practices, such as reducing energy consumption, minimizing waste, and promoting local culture, play a crucial role in meeting guest expectations.

By focusing on sustainability, hotels can differentiate themselves in a competitive market, attract more guests, and achieve better business outcomes. Sustainable practices also contribute to the overall guest experience, creating a positive and memorable stay.

Expanding Facilities to Enhance Guest Experience

Expanding facilities to include sustainable features can significantly enhance the guest experience. These features may include green spaces, energy-efficient systems, waste reduction programs, and eco-friendly amenities. By expanding facilities to include sustainable features, hotels can improve their environmental performance, enhance guest satisfaction, and achieve better business outcomes.

Expanding facilities also provides opportunities for innovation and creativity, allowing hotels to differentiate themselves in a competitive market. By focusing on sustainability, hotels can create unique and memorable experiences for guests, attract eco-conscious travelers, and achieve better business outcomes.

Achieving Comprehensive Sustainability

Achieving comprehensive sustainability requires a holistic approach that considers all aspects of hotel operations. This approach includes energy efficiency measures, waste reduction strategies, ethical sourcing, community engagement, and continuous improvement. By adopting a holistic approach to sustainability, hotels can achieve better environmental, social, and economic outcomes.

Comprehensive sustainability also requires collaboration and partnership with stakeholders, including employees, guests, suppliers, and the local community. By working together, hotels can achieve their sustainability goals, enhance their reputation, and achieve better business outcomes.

Enhancing Guest Satisfaction with Sustainable Practices

Guest satisfaction is a critical factor in the success of any hotel. By adopting sustainable practices, hotels can enhance guest satisfaction and loyalty. Sustainable practices, such as reducing energy consumption, minimizing waste, and promoting local culture, play a crucial role in enhancing guest satisfaction.

By focusing on sustainability, hotels can create a positive and memorable experience for guests, attract more travelers, and achieve better business outcomes. Sustainable practices also contribute to the overall guest experience, creating a positive and supportive environment.

Achieving Long-Term Success with Sustainability

Sustainability is essential for achieving long-term success in the hospitality industry. By adopting sustainable practices, hotels can reduce their environmental impact, enhance their reputation, and improve their financial performance. Sustainable practices also contribute to the well-being of employees and guests, creating a positive and supportive environment.

By focusing on sustainability, hotels can attract eco-conscious travelers, meet regulatory requirements, and achieve better business outcomes. Sustainable practices also provide opportunities for innovation and creativity, allowing hotels to differentiate themselves in a competitive market.

Meeting Regulatory Requirements with Sustainable Practices

Meeting regulatory requirements is essential for the success of any hotel. By adopting sustainable practices, hotels can ensure compliance with environmental regulations, enhance their reputation, and achieve better business outcomes. Sustainable practices, such as energy efficiency measures, waste reduction strategies, and ethical sourcing, play a crucial role in meeting regulatory requirements.

By focusing on sustainability, hotels can create a positive and supportive environment, attract more guests, and achieve better business outcomes. Sustainable practices also contribute to the overall guest experience, creating a positive and memorable stay.

Enhancing Marketability with Sustainable Practices

Sustainable practices enhance the marketability of hotels, attracting eco-conscious travelers and improving overall business performance. By adopting sustainable practices, hotels can differentiate themselves in a competitive market, attract more guests, and achieve better business outcomes.

Sustainable practices also contribute to the overall guest experience, creating a positive and memorable stay. By focusing on sustainability, hotels can enhance their reputation, meet regulatory requirements, and achieve long-term success.

Achieving Financial Success with Sustainability

Sustainability is essential for achieving financial success in the hospitality industry. By adopting sustainable practices, hotels can reduce their environmental impact, enhance their reputation, and improve their financial performance. Sustainable practices also contribute to the well-being of employees and guests, creating a positive and supportive environment.

By focusing on sustainability, hotels can attract eco-conscious travelers, meet regulatory requirements, and achieve better business outcomes. Sustainable practices also provide opportunities for innovation and creativity, allowing hotels to differentiate themselves in a competitive market.

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Further Reading

• Sustainable Building Data - 2050 Materials

• Leed Certification - Learn All About Leed Rating System

• Well Building Standard / A 5-Minute Guide

• Sustainable Design Consultants

• Well Building Standards And Well Consultants - All You Need To Know

• Sustainable Hotels In The UK- Independently Owned

• Best New Hotels Resorts Using Biophilic Design Interiors

• The Aficionados On Sustainability At Independent Hotels

• Sustainable Country Estate Hotels UK

• Sustainable Hotels In The UK - Independently Owned

• Posts in Hospitality

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Leveraging Biophilic Design In The Casino Industry

It’s taking some time, but biophilic design is taking over modern-day architecture with its implementation of it all over the world.

On a grand scale, places like the Bosco Verticale in Italy have taken the design to another level, with shrubs and bushes covering the entire residential estate. Biophilic architecture and design is something all workplaces and even homes should consider, as the positives can’t be denied.

Between elevated productivity, the absorption of noise pollution, and elevated moods in general, the biophilic philosophy is incredibly effective and progressive.

In terms of new buildings, most casinos are known for being brash and bold with poker rooms, table games, slots, and the like. It may not seem like an obvious candidate for biophilic design, but casinos could greatly benefit from taking more of these factors into account.

In this piece, we’ll go over some of the ways casinos can bring forth that philosophy to their establishments.

Increased Productivity from biophilic design interiors

It is not easy to stay focused in the workplace in 2022, as more and more people are looking for a stress-free work environment. Adding biophilic elements to your casino can do a lot to mitigate that and instead create an environment that employees enjoy working in.

This can be done in a number of ways, whether by including a waterfall or even just plants placed throughout the casino. With so many casinos having screens and displays, you can use some of this technology to show nature on those high-quality 4K screens.

Better Customer Experience via biophilia interiors

The casino can be a roller coaster of emotions for customers, whether we’re talking about the high side of winning or the low side of losing. Casinos will see customers at various ranges of emotions, but adding plant life and nature can poise many benefits.

For anyone who has watched the World Series of Poker, the fact playing poker in a casino can be noisy won’t be new to them. That’s something biophilic design can help with, as studies have shown plants to deflect and refract sound waves. This way, it doesn’t matter if customers are frustrated or joyful; the noise level can be kept to a minimum and not negatively affect others playing.

Gorgeous Aesthetic Appeal from biophilia indoors

Casinos are usually known for their extremely bright lights, hard marble floors, and steel appliances and decorations. However, adding plants, waterfalls, natural materials, and even art based on nature can completely change the vibe and essence of your casino.

Some places will have rooftop gardens on their premises to give people a break and step away from the environment. Bring this to the casino and have both employees and customers utilize the space in between hands regardless of whether they win or lose.

Getting Closer To Nature via biophilia

In 2022 especially after the pandemic, many people have spent time inside without getting things like natural sunlight or even being around trees. Implementing biophilic assets to your casino allows us as humans to get into our natural habitat, as we were meant to be among nature, not boxed in between four walls.

Rooftop terraces, rooftop gardens, tv screens with nature backgrounds, plant life throughout the casino, all of these options and more add another dimension to your establishment.

sustainable lighting design with faye robinson of treacle studio

the green & healthy places podcast focuses on wellbeing and sustainability in real estate and hospitality.

in episode 058 i’m in the UK talking to faye robinson from treacle studio, manchester - an independent architectural lighting consultancy providing bespoke lighting designs for interior & exterior spaces.

Topics include circular design, waste management, wellness lighting, recycling, standardization challenges for sustainable lighting fixtures, and more.

https://www.treaclestudio.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/treacle-studio-ltd/

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orluna circular design lighting solutions

waste management in lighting in buildings and interiors

Matt Morley

Let's jump in. I know you've got over a decade or 15 years plus experience in the lighting industry, we've had conversations privately in the past about sustainability within this sector. And I think it's, it's often a neglected corner of the overall real estate sustainability picture within an interior fit out or buildings and architecture.

So I'd love to hear your perspective, particularly on one area. Let's start with that around waste in lighting. So what are the main sources of waste during the fit-out process as it relates to lighting?

Faye Robinson

Yeah, I'd say definitely, kind of across the board, it's that whole kind of strip out process. Because it's all been based around a very linear approach. There's kind of a disconnect there.

So I see probably more in the office world with an entire lighting scheme removed from a building, it's stripping it right back to the core, the shell, and then effectively, putting everything new that goes in there. It's those missed opportunities, really, in terms of reusing, furniture, wall finishes, floor finishes, and then of course, luminaires.

So invariably, in most cases, I'd say, luminaires are removed. And that's it, you don't really get to hear about what happens beyond that.

recycling of lighting in real estate and interiors

Matt Morley

So we talk often about the idea of putting in LED lights as an initial step towards having a greener approach to lighting, but what opportunities do you see around recycling those luminaires, we've discussed the idea of waste being an issue, reuse one option, is there a recycling solution? Or what could be done in terms of creating luminaires that can be recycled?

Faye Robinson

Well, there's lots of ways that you can address it and the whole process. So you know, we've had since 2005, the WEEE directive (see here) - waste electrical and electronic equipment, recycling, the directive that basically reduces landfill, caused by those products.

So essentially, this kind of two levels of how this is approached, and the onus is generally on the manufacturer, to apply an amount to the product when you purchase it to cost in the recycling afterlife of that product.

Now, as with most kind of directives, it can get quite bureaucratic in terms of designating, you know, the process when you inherit the space who's responsible from that product if you've not necessarily selected yourself, but there are two bodies, in particular in the UK that I know of, that are working on making that process simpler.

So there's a bench called Lumi, calm, and there's also a bunch called Rico lights. Now, these are nonprofit organizations that basically help smooth that process out.

That's something that on a B2B or a B2C scenario, there's options there to help the process of recycling luminaires, when you have them on site, and you can't reuse them.

upcycling of lighting in real estate and interiors

And then there's also the next level, which is the remanufacturing approach. So it's a little crossover there, I think with the Luma con and Rico light, but also, there's kind of a collection of organizations that are popping up and to deal with or help solve that problem.

I know of there's a few things I think Rico do fall into that category, but then there's also a bunch called EGCG and lighting that also look at that and then several other manufacturers are offering a remanufacturing process.

I've done some stuff with TRICARE before and you know I can rattle quite a few off for you. But there's there are options there.

Orluna circualr design lighting

Circular economy design in real estate lighting and interiors

Matt Morley

Just to dig into that a little bit about the idea of re-manufacturing. So, then we can get into circular design, that was going to be my next question. But re manufacturing, that does imply that somehow we need to get that luminaire and those light fixtures all the way back to the manufacturer, from the time of the strip out, do you see that happening?

Faye Robinson

The lack of awareness is there but often the smaller companies have more agility, that are honing in on this. There are companies that will actually buy back the luminaires. So if you wanted to completely refit your space that will buy back the luminaire. And then they will, you know, update the the led the light source element and then resell that. So that's that's one option.

And then, of course, there is the full 360, where it goes back to the manufacturer. But obviously, what's inherent with that is that the labeling system has always been there on that luminaire, it could have been there for goodness knows how many years. So you need these companies and resources that fill in the gaps that would be missing otherwise.

Matt Morley

So in other words, said I had a target of 50 room, boutique hotel, and we're creating a hotel sustainability plan for them, half of the rooms are fitted out with LEDs, but there's some that clearly aren't. And so we start looking into this and we think okay, well, first of all, we need to take out some of these luminaires.

And they might be there for a decade or so who knows that rather than just putting that into a random white electrical goods recycling bin, there may be the opportunity to re manufacture those but how would we find out?

It's about identifying, first of all those those middlemen potentially those companies that can buy and refurbish essentially and resell, that will be something that wasn't on my radar.

Anticipating recycling needs in advance in a sustainability plan

Faye Robinson

Totally. I mean, it's kind of a whole mind shift, isn't it? Really, you're almost relying on a stocktake of what you've already got in the spaces to kind of preemptively lineup, you know, who you go to, what your options are.

And it's it gets that shift, isn't it from that kind of linear approach, we need to kind of, you know, these these all these different kind of elements that we now need to consider. And there are people now arriving on the scene that can that can kind of help out with that whole process.

Matt Morley

I think that's a really interesting idea. And I'm literally going through it at the moment whereby Facilities Management in a hotel team, there's a bunch of electrical goods that just somehow break down ended up possibly on the on the rubbish tip, we don't quite know, but the idea of working with and advising and providing those solutions to the FM team, so that they don't have that headache, because it can clearly see it's okay, what do we do or housekeeping sees a luminaire breaks Facilities Management come in, they take it away, it just ends up in the bin might just about end up in a recycling bin if we're lucky.

But if, for example, I or someone helping that team to think about these things, or to say, look, here are the solutions, X, Y and Z go into X bin or y bin or they can be called upon to come and take these things away. And therefore you think sometimes it's about making it as easy as possible, right?

So finding those companies, presented them to the client and in hoping that that then leads to you know, as as little waste as possible. So that's sort of almost a zero waste approach when it comes to, for example, the light fittings and luminaires.

interoperability of lighting fixtures in real estate interiors

How standardized and interoperable are most light fixtures and component parts? Because obviously, that circular idea, you know, one thing that is becoming increasingly apparent is around plastics. For example, when you know, on a plastics mix, if you have more than one type of plastic, there is no way that's ever getting recycled.

So single types of plastic like pet PE tea, that's actually not too bad in the sense that we can do something with it. We know it's just made of one type of plastic, it can go into that bin, it's it can be recycled, and it can be given a new life, it can at least stay in the circle.

Faye Robninson

There are bodies that have popped up, I think the main issue for the lighting industry at the moment, it's the speed, the LEDs have kind of progressed, in terms of the technology of the meno. It's smaller, brighter, you know, everybody's kind of plowed ahead.

As we've tried to shoehorn this technology into existing luminaires I'm saving time on an r&d element that maybe should have been considered a little bit more.

But people seized upon this, and I think really the cleanest way it's been done is potentially if you think of like domestic lamps, LED lamps that we've all now starting to use, that's the cleanest transition that's happened.

So it's quite good in terms of the more kind of architectural side of luminaires, because of that kind of speed that the LED technology has happened. And the fact we've shoehorned in this technology into existing shapes of luminaires, there's been a bit of a disconnect there, where you come to recycle, and you can't just pop the light source. So you've got to remove the whole luminaire because one isn't detachable from the other.

So, in particular, there's an organization called Saga, which is trying to standardize that kind of connectivity within luminaires, but also along the chain, there as well, in terms of how, you know, drivers then connect to the light source, and how that driver then connects to the controls side of things. So that kind of standardization and making the whole light and installation serviceable is what they're trying to work towards.

So there's a group of manufacturers and specialists involved in that. I'm keeping an eye on that and just seeing how that pans. pans out, really. And so I'd say that's the more prominent kind of a group that's dealing with this at the moment. And then obviously, what we've we've talked about before, in terms of the recycling side of things, the remanufacture is near the road,

standardization of sustainable lighting products

Matt Morley

I think you introduced quite a big idea there, it’s like what happened in the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, right? Where at some point, someone had to standardize screws, first of all, invent a screw, and then standardize them, just like they did with with railroad tracks across Europe in fact.

And we're still having issues with railroad tracks a day where the tracks themselves aren't. I think it's something between how the Chinese do it and how they do it in the Middle East or something they're trying to create a railroad between the two and it's almost as if there is a need to go through a second transformation for a greener economy, not along just standardization lines for its own sake to make building these products easier, but in terms of that circular design components, they need to be standardized almost for a different end not to make everyone's lives easier but interoperable and inter recyclable. That's a big idea to get one's head around as an industry.

Faye Robinson

Yeah, totally, you can understand it from a manufacturers point of view. You know, how do you define your product - it's a complete shift in mindset, and you can understand that it's going to be maybe smaller steps to start, but we need to pick up the pace a little bit, I think.

EU legislation to reduce waste from real estate and interiors

Matt Morley

I think they've just passed the new legislation around USB-C charging cables, really standardizing that from, I think it's 2025 onwards around how we're all what cables we are to buy and be allowed to use with our mobile phones. So that there's, there's less waste, because of all this, not just convenience, but also a huge amount of waste.

Apparently, when you look at the figures, they're small steps, as you say, there's perhaps an industry wide problem in your case.

Anyway, digging into some of your work and what you do around a case study or two that you can think of from your history of where you've been able to integrate a more circular approach, are there any examples from your past that you could describe to give us a sense of how it can be an opportunity within reach for lighting designers to use a bit more circular design principles?

Circular design principles in lighting examples

Faye Robinson

Totally, I mean, we're very fortunate at the moment within the industry, we've modeled it, it's actually launched in 2021. We've got the TM 66, circular economy, document technical memorandum. And, essentially, that's been written by people within the the lighting industry. And it's got some very useful kind of crib sheets that run alongside that.

So we have the questions, or we have prompts, basically, both on the manufacturing and design side to apply. And that's something that I will be or have been applying to projects. And not it's not just case. So I've done quite a bit of light art recently, and even with that kind of element, something that's a temporary installation, I'm thinking about how, once those luminaires have been used in that installation, what happens to them afterwards, is that thinking beyond your initial handover, you know, that you've got responsibility beyond that.

So one in particular, was when I worked on the Havelock woven scheme, which was a light art installation, and that basically used a lot of LED tape, effectively. And what's happened is I've worked with the integrator team on that, and we have basically donated that led to a scheme within Manchester, which is helping to rehome you know, what people without homes effectively the homeless, there's a scheme there. And that led is going into the that installation, you know, to light the spaces. So it's got a life beyond that initial installation.

I worked with them a team, they're a manufacturer effectively, who helped install this creation. And then we work together to try and find another route forward. You know, for the luminary, we examined whether we could reuse it in the fit outs of the actual space.

And then we also had a backup scenario as well, where it may not work necessarily with the interior scheme, because as you know, you have so many different people involved in that kind of process. It's generally a different team that you work with on a color scheme than it is on the fitout. side.

So we basically needed a plan B in case it didn't work with a scheme that was intended for the fit out. So yeah, we, we worked with various charities, and in Manchester, just to see what was you know, if anybody would be interested in taking up that and yet, they they are hand off.

sustainability in temporary lighting installations

Matt Morley

So there's one particularly on small scale, or rather short term projects, has to do with the scale more than the duration of a project. It's an almost, it's more acute, because clearly the end, the end of that at least, the first sort of circle of its life, is within sight. And so there's more of an onus on you to think about what happens afterwards, but you can see how it also connects with the idea of within a building, beginning to plan ahead for the end of the life of those luminaires. For when it comes to that you have a plan in place already.

So whether it's a short term or mid term, you know, where it's gonna go, you have a plan, of course, that might, it might not work out that way. You might need a plan B or Plan C, but you have at least a Plan A lined up for what happens when? Yeah, I like that. And are there particular brands that you favor, at the moment in terms of brands that are really on board with the idea of circular economy, circular design, and reducing waste?

lighting brands with a sustainable circular design concept

Faye Robinson

Yeah, totally. So I'm doing a lot of work at the moment with Orluna who I think really have set the standard in terms of the whole Circular Economy approach within luminaires. You know, they've got the whole, the labeling system ready, the return system set up and ready to go and boxes ticked, in terms of assessing them alongside that, that tm 66 document that I mentioned previously. But I'm also looking at, like smaller, more agile companies.

Another one called LumiAdd who are a small team actually using 3d printing to produce luminaires. Now, but at the core of that, you know, the material they're using is the, the corn or the sugar cane, is it PLA material that they use, which is can effectively, it's an industrial process, but it can be broken down and recycled effectively. So they were an interesting bunch now, but keep in mind those sugar, the cornstarch, it's effectively a plastic alternative, right?

And they are using mycelium for packaging. And there's a core theme running throughout this where they have, you know, a set number of components and each one's interchangeable. So you don't have to, completely change the whole luminaire, you can pop one part off and change it with another.

what is wellness lighting?

Matt Morley

I wanted to switch gears thinking more in terms of the people aspect, so the impact that lighting can have on us as occupants of a space, we've been doing some work together on a medical wellness spa in Knightsbridge in London, and that raised the question with our team around wellness lighting, and what exactly that entails.

Circadian lighting might be something that's already on people's radar, that 24 hour cycle. But you know, I'll be honest, I'll often go as far as suggesting that it needs to be a blue and white light spectrum during the day to energize and provide a space that is adapted for work and productivity, and then clearly after dark or in the evenings, you need something of a more amber color so that you're not disrupting sleep. But beyond that, I don't think there's much more I could talk to you about on that subject. So as an expert on this, I'm going to use the opportunity to, first of all dispel any myths and also to understand really what's going on here.

Faye Robinson

Yeah, totally, I think you've kind of hit the nail on the head there. For me, at the moment, the the technology that's been labeled circadian rhythm, and lighting is effectively tunable, dynamic, white light, and the research into its effects and applying it within a space and its effects on humans, you know, the use of the space is still relatively recent.

Interestingly, I was sat in a talk a couple of weeks ago, with a neuro-scientist who actually specializes in the circadian process and the effect of artificial lights on that process. And the kind of levels that were mentioned in terms of light output that actually trigger the circadian process are way higher than anything that we're producing with the technology that we currently have, that we're currently labeling as circadian lighting, so I think just take a step back on that.

Anything that is inside, you know, we're trying to mimic the natural world and make it more comfortable for us to be in. And I think it's, it is exactly that kind of mapping the natural progression and changes of the color appearance of light through the day, to enhance the the interior environment that we're in, rather than it's having a more immediate effect on our mood or energy levels per se.

But it definitely, you know, it does help that idea that things are changing around you, rather than it being a static color - that gives you a pleasant sense of time passing. I'd say more than anything else.

Interior Lighting and biophilic design

Matt Morley

Well, the idea of biophilic design, really is what you just described the idea of bringing the outside world in recreating a natural environment in our dense urban world and just trying to align it based on the principle of our lives and nature being a model upon which to sort of try to stick to as best we can, despite the fact that we might be for example, working long hours in a dense urban environment in a huge skyscraper building rather than outdoors in our back garden or what have you.

I think that's the way through rather than throwing it away and saying, Well, there's actually nothing to it or no real evidence behind it, if we can accept that daylight is such a powerful force on our sense of wellbeing, and all the goodness that can come from that, such as providing energy for photosynthesis in plants. In the same way, it clearly has an impact on how we feel in an indoor space. And so perhaps circadian lighting is really, if anything, just trying to align with that when there is limited natural light indoors.

energy efficient lighting in real estate and interiors

Now the other topic to touch on is energy efficiency - the idea that office buildings might have tunable lights, they might be adjusting their light intensity during the day, or frankly, not in 99% of the cases, I think most offices pretty much have an on and off. But what can be done in terms of the lighting system, perhaps not just the luminaire, but other sensors and controls, monitors and switches? What would a perfect case study looked like in terms of setting things up so that we're using energy in an efficient, optimal manner within, let's say, a large office building?

smart lighting technology

Faye Robinson

Yeah, I'd definitely say it's embracing smart tech, essentially, we were just talking about earlier that the idea that we're mimicking the outside inside, that wealth of technology it's adaptable, it learns, you can pretty much personalize the space that you have, for how you are using it. And doing that with multi sensors, monitoring carbon dioxide alongside, the natural light in the space relative to artificial lights, balancing things out, and really monitoring how spaces are used then allowing it to adapt, for example, of an evening when maybe the space isn't as full.

I mean, the whole kind of work space scenario is changing, or has changed. And, you know, officers aren't as busy as they used to be, why is the lighting always on when there's no one in there? It's trusting that tech to adjust and make those changes for you.

Matt Morley

So embracing the technology that's available to create lighting conditions that via an ongoing monitoring process can automatically adjust to usage. So I have the kind of density of how many people are in there and where they are, possibly at given times of day, you might imagine certain lighting at lunchtime, for example, being slightly different during the lunch break to, you know, mid morning and adapting to outside conditions If it's a dark, gloomy day, then no matter how much glazing you have in your building frontage, you're going to be in gray flat light inside. So on those days, it might need to compensate a bit more?

Faye Robinson

Oh, yeah, totally. And I think also, it's embracing the idea of having, you know, some further personalization where I think we've all know realize that we all like being in at different times of the day, we might all like working in slightly different locations or having a different feel in the environment that we're in.

combining overhead and task lighting for wellness

Matt Morley

That could presumably also be something as simple as a desk lamp or a task lamp so you adjust that to your personal settings is assuming that the overhead lighting isn't completely dominating everything if that was set slightly lower than you could also adjust your own immediate environment with a task lamp or a desk lamp.

Faye Robinson

Yeah, that's exactly what we need. And it what's very strange as we're a step behind how it was made may be approached in mainland Europe where you see much lower kind of ambient levels in the background and it's tough lighting everywhere. Yeah, it's been a bit of a bugbear for lighting designers for some time.

Matt Morley

Not a problem here in Barcelona. They have particular tastes in leaving lobby buildings, residential buildings, pretty much dark apart from one or two well chosen lamps in the reception entrance areas and it creates ambiance and mood that just speaks homeliness and comfort and, and it's incredibly inviting walking into a space that isn't lit with intense white overhead lighting.

health benefits of forest bathing aromatherapy terpenes

What is forest bathing?

Forest Bathing or shinrin-yoku is a term that has been gaining almost cult-like recognition amongst nature-centric readers since it emerged from Japan in the 1980s. This technique involves taking meditative walks in forest settings and emerging oneself in nature with the purpose of reconnecting with Mother Nature for its mental and physical wellness benefits.

The act of “forest-bathing” can be as simple as walking in the forest or as complex as meditation or other aspects of connection to the surrounding environment. As. a concept, forest bathing has been inspirational in pushing biophilic design to the top of the agenda for real estate developers with an eye on sustainability and wellbeing in buildings and interiors.

What are the health benefits of immersion in nature?

Forest Bathing can produce many positive effects for humans but some of the most important have been seen within the immune system. The main benefit has to do with the quality of air people are exposed to in comparison with industrialized smog that accompanies most city air.

All plants produce phytoncides which are organic compounds that have antimicrobial, antibacterial and antifungal qualities that create a protective microclimate surrounding plants that fend off insects, animals, diseases and other decomposition.

what research studies have been done into benefits of shinrin yoku?

In relation to the human immune system, these properties significantly increased the cytolytic activity of NK-92MI cells. These natural killer cells (NKs) have been shown to kill tumors/viruses and are thought to be derived from the phytoncides emitted by plants (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17903349/ ).

In contrast, the city tourist visit did not increase human NK activity, numbers of NK cells, or the expression of the selected intracellular perforin, GRN, and GrA/B (all important in immune responses). (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2793341/#CR37 )

Along with the boost in immune responses, forest-bathing has also been shown to reduce stress level in humans by significantly decreasing urine adrenaline and noradrenaline concentrations in both male and females. Noradrenaline is the predominant neurotransmitter released by the sympathetic system; the level of noradrenaline increases during increased physical activity while adrenaline levels increase under circumstances of novelty, anticipation, unpredictability, and general emotional arousal (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16749410/ ).

Other studies have reported that forest bathing trips reduce saliva cortisol levels, prefrontal cerebral activity, and blood pressure in humans, as well as stabilize autonomic nervous activity (Park BJ, Tsunetsugu Y, Ishii H, Furuhashi S, Hirano H, Kagawa T, et al. Physiological effects of Shinrin-yoku (taking in the atmosphere of the forest) in a mixed forest in Shinano Town, Japan. Scand J For Res. 2008;23:278–83. )

What are the benefits of aromatherapy in retail products like monq?

MONQ currently offers seven different blends of “therapeutic air” - aromatherapy-inspired wellness diffusers with zero tobacco, nicotine, or artificial flavors based on 100% pure essential oil blends. Made in the USA and launched by former Orthopedic Surgeon, Dr. Eric Fishman, the concept is basically that of inhaling the bio-hacked air via the mouth or nose.

The best way to use this product is by breathing in through your mouth and out directly through the nose, not having to inhale in the lungs. By exhaling out the nose, olfactory receptors are stimulated to allow for faster action. There are also other ways the diffuser can be used (outlined on their website) but this is the fastest acting way.

With them being an ethical and sustainable company, they are in compliance with Environmental safety requirements required by Environmental Protection Agency and are FCC Electromagnetic Compatibility which means, diffusers do not cause electromagnetic interference nor vice versa.

what are the health claims of forest aromatherapy?

Aromatherapy has been an enduring wellness method increasing in popularity during the last few decades but how legitimate are these claims to wellness benefits really?

Aromatherapy is a type of holistic medicine that focuses on treating the person as a whole and not just the symptoms by utilizing natural plant extracts for health and wellbeing. Also called essential oil therapy this practice makes use of various terpenes and terpenoids found in plants.

What are terpenes in forest bathing wellness?

Terpenes (pinene, myrcene, limonene, terpinene, p-cymene) are characterized as compounds with simple hydrocarbons structures that promote antimicrobial activities and cell rupture/ inhibition of DNA and protein synthesis.

This is beneficial because without protein synthesize, the cells in our body can’t function properly so if the bad cells (such as bacterial and fungal) are prevented from functioning, they cannot do the damage they usually would. Terpenoids (oxygen-containing hydrocarbons) are defined as modified class of terpenes with different functional groups and oxidized methyl groups moved or removed at various positions.

Some of the most common terpenes are as follows: 1. Pinene (mainly comes from pine tree resin and produces an earthy aroma that is anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory) , 2. Humulene (also with a woodsy aroma that is mainly used as an appetite suppressant),3. Limonene (bright and citruses in scent that is seen as uplifting with qualities that help reduce anxiety and depression), and 4. Myrcene (earthy and clove-like scent that produces overall feelings of euphoria and relaxation).

Research on health benefits of Terpenes in cannabis and CBD

A lot of the research being conducted on terpenes has to do with cannabis and what can be found among different strains, but the benefits can be seen similarly in aromatherapy.

(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590157522000153#b0065 )

Terpenes are just a sub-category of the concentration of plant extracts that go into essential oils. Essential oils that are used in aromatherapy are comprised of terpenes and other aspects of plants once their leaves, roots, flowers, etc are extracted. Therefore, you can have a terpene without it being an essential oil but can’t have an essential oil without terpenes.

From all of the different types of terpenes there are different aroma families that essential oils fall into: citrus, floral, herbaceous, camphoraceous, minty, spicy, musky and woody/earthy.

(https://www.newdirectionsaromatics.com/blog/products/categories-of-essential-oils-their- benefits.html#8-Essential-Oil-Aroma-Families )

All of these families have slightly different benefits, but some overlap as well. The citrusy (lemon, orange, etc) and woody/earthy (cypress, pine, etc) are the classes most associated with feeling energized, refreshing and emotionally balancing.

Minty (spearmint, peppermint, etc) and spicy (basil, cinnamon, etc) are most associated with feelings of motivation and mental clarity.

Musky (frankincense, myrrh, etc) and camphoraceous (eucalyptus, etc) and herbaceous (tea tree, fennel, etc) fragrances are most linked to a sense of inner calm, relaxation and grounding properties. Floral smells (chamomile, rose, lavender, etc) have the most variety in terms of effects from sleep-inducing to mood balancing.

All of these effects have been studied and shown to produce desirable results however, it is still important to note all that we don’t know on the subject. First of all, essential oils and other types of aromatherapy are for external use only and typically are taken up by olfactory nerves (receptors in the nose) and then sent to the brain.

Or, when applied topically, are absorbed by the skin and go into the bloodstream. But with the new-ness of this all, there are not a lot of concrete reasons as to why these chemical compounds have all of the effects, they have on our specific microbiomes in our bodies.

So while aromatherapy has been shown to help reduce anxiety/stress and promote sleep, it is important to note that this alone with not alleviate all symptoms and should NOT be used as a primary care agent.

FURTHER READING ON BENEFITS OF NATURE EXPOSURE AND AROMATHERAPY

- Biological Activities of Essential Oils from Selected Aromatic Plants

(actahort.org/books/390/390_28.htm )

- Aromatherapy for Pain Management in Labor

(https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD009215/full )

- The Effects of Aromatherapy on Sleep Improvement: A Systematic Literature Review

and Meta-Analysis (https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/acm.2014.0113 )

- Essential Oils Used in Aromatherapy: A Systematic Review

(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2221169115001033 )

- The Physical Effects of Aromatherapy in Alleviating Work-Related Stress on Elementary

School Teachers in Taiwan

(https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24228065/#:~:text=The%20results%20show%

20that%20only,who%20had%20a%20heavy%20workload. )

Introduction to biophilic design concept best examples — biofilico wellness interiors

What follows is a presentation made by Matt Morley to the team at Turner & Townsend in Scotland in October 2022, introducing the concept of biophilic design as a combination of nature + wellbeing + sustainability.

biofilico Founder MAtt Morley in his biophilic home in Barcelona, Spain

An Introduction to Biophilic Design - Nature, Wellbeing, and Sustainability

Biophilic design is a concept that has gained significant attention in recent years, particularly in the fields of architecture, interior design, and urban planning. The term “biophilic” refers to the innate human tendency to seek connections with nature, and biophilic design aims to incorporate natural elements and patterns into the built environment to promote well-being and sustainability. By integrating natural elements such as plants, water features, and natural light, biophilic design creates spaces that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also enhance mental and physical health. This approach fosters a deeper connection to the natural world, making our living and working environments more harmonious and sustainable.

Presentation by Matt Morley to Turner & Townsend in Scotland, October 2022

In a recent presentation to Turner & Townsend in Scotland, Matt Morley discussed the importance of biophilic design in promoting well-being and sustainability in the built environment. Morley highlighted the benefits of incorporating natural elements, such as natural light, natural materials, and natural patterns, into building design. He emphasized that biophilic design is not just about adding plants to a space but involves a holistic approach that considers the social, economic, and environmental impacts of building design. By thoughtfully integrating these elements, biophilic design can create healthier, more productive, and more sustainable environments.

An introduction to biophilic design - nature, wellbeing and sustainability

What follows is a presentation made by Matt Morley to the team at Turner & Townsend in Scotland in October 2022, introducing the concept of biophilic design as a combination of nature + wellbeing + sustainability.

Biophilic design is an innovative approach that seeks to connect building occupants more closely to nature. It incorporates natural elements like plants, water features, and natural light into the built environment. Additionally, it includes natural forms such as trees, flowers, and shells to enhance the connection between built environments and the natural world. This design philosophy is based on the concept of biophilia, which suggests that humans have an inherent affinity for nature. By integrating these natural elements, biophilic design aims to create spaces that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also promote well-being. The health benefits of biophilic design are significant, as it enhances mental and physical well-being through reduced stress, improved mood, and overall greater health and wellness outcomes. This approach is increasingly being recognized for its potential to improve the quality of life in both residential and commercial spaces.

Definition of Biophilia

Biophilia is the innate human tendency to seek connections with nature and living organisms. This concept, coined by biologist Edward O. Wilson, suggests that humans have an instinctual love for nature and that exposure to natural environments can have a positive impact on our physical and mental health. Biophilia is the foundation of biophilic design, which aims to incorporate natural elements and materials into the built environment to promote well-being and sustainability. This includes the use of natural forms, such as trees, flowers, and shells, which have historically been integrated into architectural designs to enhance the connection between built environments and the natural world. By integrating natural elements such as plants, water features, and natural light, biophilic design creates spaces that nurture our inherent connection to the natural world, enhancing both our mental health and overall quality of life.

The Work of a Biophilic Design Consultant in Real Estate and Hotels

Biophilic design consultants play a crucial role in promoting well-being and sustainability in the built environment. Their work involves incorporating natural elements and patterns into building design, as well as ensuring that buildings are designed to promote occupant health and well-being. In the real estate and hotel industries, biophilic design consultants can help to create buildings that are not only sustainable but also promote occupant well-being and productivity. By integrating natural systems and features, such as green walls, water features, and natural lighting, consultants help transform spaces into vibrant, life-affirming environments that support both physical and mental health.

The work of a biophilic design consultant in real estate and hotels incorporating natural elements

As a biophilic design consultant I work across sustainability strategy. I work with real estate developers and hotel groups, and I have a subdivision to Biofilico called Biofit that specialises in gym consultant services, again for real estate developers and hotel groups primarily.

Consultants integrate natural systems into their projects to enhance well-being and sustainability. This involves fostering awareness of ecological processes and incorporating them into architectural design to influence health, productivity, and environmental stewardship. Additionally, they incorporate natural forms, such as trees, flowers, and shells, into their designs to strengthen the connection between built environments and the natural world.

So taking that a level deeper, and now starting to tackle the subject of biophilic design. Any project that comes in could be something like a real estate ESG plan, a sustainable interiors or sustainability for an operational hotel.

what is a biophilic design consultant?

A biophilic design consultant may help architects or interior design teams to define a specific wellness concept, they may play an active part in concept development or concept design but in such cases they cede all creative control to the architects or designers.

What’s really interesting about biophilic design, is that it sits at the intersection of green buildings and healthy buildings. Biophilic design, sort of inter-weaves through both of those worlds, sitting somewhere between the two.

Biophilic design consultants often incorporate natural patterns and natural forms into their projects to create sensory-rich experiences. These patterns reflect nature-inspired colors, shapes, and structures, enhancing aesthetic appeal and promoting wellness by connecting inhabitants with their environment.

So right away from the more strategic piece up top, where I’m working hand in hand with the developer on a building certification project such as LEED, BREEAM or WELL, biophilic design pops up in the credits check list, and recognition is given for incorporating it.

So within the building certifications, that something like GRESB, within a real estate portfolio would expect you’d find biophilic design there.

The same with workplace wellness. And then obviously, within both green buildings and healthy buildings, there are “access to nature” credits, as well as specific “biophilic design” credits.

While I’m not designing for credits or for certifications but these standards do help to push the industry in the right direction a lot of the time, and then demand comes from there.

Why use a biophilic design consultant?

So clients will recognize that this topic is something they need to address as part of their real estate development or hotel development project, then ask how they can bring nature into what they are designing. The architects or designers may not always have the in-house resources for this type of work, in which case a consultant is required to help fill the gap.

Incorporating natural shapes can enhance visual complexity and create a more harmonious environment that resonates with natural patterns, thus improving the overall aesthetic and emotional well-being within a space. Consultants often integrate natural forms, such as trees, flowers, and shells, into architectural designs to strengthen the connection between built environments and the natural world.

For example, there are plenty of options to create biophilic wellness concepts within a healthy building strategy, or if you like ‘set pieces’ - smaller, multi sensory areas or rooms within a far wider project where you’re able to really push the biophilic design angle through.

what is biophilic design?

So what is biophilic design exactly? Well, it’s a design strategy intended to reunite indoor and outdoor worlds through the use of natural materials, forms, textures, colors, patterns, light, sometimes even breezes, we can think of natural ventilation strategies in certain parts of the world, you can also increasingly find the use of specific scents and sounds as part of the mix too. This includes incorporating natural forms such as trees, flowers, and shells into architectural designs to enhance the connection between built environments and the natural world.

We’re introducing or reintroducing the natural world back into our buildings and interiors, with the aim of positively impacting occupant wellbeing, whilst always respecting the environment. Access to views of natural landscapes can enhance human well-being, reduce stress, and contribute positively to the overall design of both interior and exterior spaces. It wouldn’t really make sense for me to do this stuff, if I was then having a negative impact on nature. The whole concept is bringing nature into the built environment so that gives us a cyclical approach whereby I also need to think about how I do that in a sustainable way.

Balancing wellbeing and sustainability in biophilic design

A project could be more wellness oriented, or occupant wellbeing oriented, and it can be sustainable but if there isn’t nature in there, then it wouldn’t be biophilic design. Natural forms, such as trees, flowers, and shells, have historically been incorporated into architectural designs to enhance the connection between built environments and the natural world.

Obviously there’s quite a lot that can happen in the healthy building and green building space that doesn’t involve nature. But when there is that all important element of nature, then that’s our magic sauce for biophilic design.

what are the responsibilities of a biophilic design consultant?

As context, I’m clearly working in this space between developers on the one side, and architects on the other. And then a lot of what I’m doing is, is helping project managers, Quantity Surveyors and the interior designers or architects to get a sense of how this will happen, how much it costs, and also trying to iterate along the way. This includes integrating natural forms, such as elements that mimic trees, flowers, and shells, into the design of spaces.

Often the client is more or less on board by the time I get involved because they’ve made an effort to reach out, they recognise a gap in their team resources and are looking to fill it in an efficient manner.

what are the benefits of biophilic design?

We can identify benefits both for people and for planet. On the people side the benefits include enhanced mood, generally making feel people just that little bit happier about spending time in any give space within a building. Incorporating natural forms, such as trees, flowers, and shells, into architectural designs also contributes to these health benefits by enhancing the connection between built environments and the natural world.

It’s interesting the effects on cognitive function too as it helps restore concentration levels and gives the mind a bit of a rest before, for example, going back to work or study.

Nature connection, obviously, has been linked to feelings of vitality, ergo having more nature around generally makes occupants feel good. That connects with mood again, and reduces stress and anxiety.

Whereas on the environmental side biophilic design can deploy a whole array of sustainable materials to help improving the indoor air quality with all these plants coming into play removing or indeed completely avoiding toxic substances by specifying natural, non-toxic materials. I’m minimizing my environmental impact while hopefully making something that looks good too.

There is lots out there around biophilic design’s impact on anxiety, effectively reducing anxiety and stress whilst it enhances and improves cognitive function. So again, concentration levels and creativity are the two to focus on as benefits.

It’s quite hard to quantify that sometimes. But there’s research studies on direct exposure to nature. And that could be going for a walk in the park or spending time in a forest. Then there are research studies, specifically on biophilic design. A lot of what we do is correlated from studies focused on spending time in nature and then effectively, we’re doing our best to recreate that or bring elements of that indoors.

Biophilic design in residential developments

The video above was a residential real estate development in Canary Wharf called The Wardian by EcoWorld Ballymore. Biofilico basically created this indoor green environment as a pre-opening sales and marketing activity with the team at The Wardian, then we did some research around people spending 30 to 60 minutes in there during their lunch hour, mostly visiting from Canary Wharf, so they were busy professionals. The design incorporated natural forms such as trees, flowers, and shells to enhance the connection between the built environment and nature.

We recorded various data points such as how they felt when they arrived, vs when they left, their perceived levels of stress or anxiety, again, upon arriving upon departure, or perhaps unsurprisingly, you generally make people feel a bit happier when they spend time in this beautiful green glasshouse with birdsong, natural aromas, plants and all sorts of little hacks that we could use.

I think more than anything, it was the data around productivity and creativity that stood out. So they had some tasks that they could do, at the end of this time that they spent in this biophilic space, and some quite tangible data that came out of the other side of that we did that with the University of Essex, in fact.

what are the key concepts of biophilic design?

DIRECT BIOPHILIA - PLANTS AND NATURE

Firstly, you’ve got plants and landscaping. In fact, most people think effectively, that’s all it is. I think, if anything I’m aiming to show that there’s considerably more to it than that, for example, representations of nature, so indirect forms of nature, so not literally a plant but other ways of evoking nature. Biophilic design also incorporates natural forms, such as elements that mimic trees, flowers, and shells, to enhance the connection between built environments and the natural world.

So clearly, plants is kind of a big one, everyone thinks of vertical garden walls, clusters of pot plants from the ceilings, indoor gardens, rooftop gardens, hydroponic farms of lettuce leaves, and things that can then be harvested on a weekly or bi weekly basis. And that all is very much kind of the common baseline for all of this.

INDIRECT BIOPHILIA - REPRESENTATIONS OF NATURE

Then there’s quite a bit further we can go from non living versions of nature, such as wall murals, wallpaper, artworks, mosaics, there’s lots of indirect representations like that, that we can use. And they’re especially useful in areas where facilities management is going to be difficult, or they’re challenged by putting in life elements of nature, and especially if it’s a lower ground space with no natural light. So in that case, I kind of flip away from direct biophilia to an indirect version.

ECO MATERIALS

Lots of materials we do go quite deep into the health and sustainability aspect, combing form and function. We can even get into bio-based materials, there’s a whole myriad of natural materials that we can use that also conveniently give you a certain natural aesthetic. So that would be a big piece of biophilic design that also conveniently connects with both healthy building strategies and sustainable interiors.

SOUND

As I mentioned, sounds, this is a friend of mine from Glasgow in fact, he’s done a biophilic sound project for the Kimpton Hotel, where he created a whole series of soundscapes, he went into forests recorded the sounds of just being in a forest, and then introduce those into a hill hotel room into the Kimpton hotel, in fact, so hotels hospitality, showing quite a serious interest in this now, largely for its sort of calming and restorative effects. Hotels are certainly getting on board.

SCENT

Scent, there’s quite a lot you can do around trying to recreate the smells of the forest. And then yeah, there’s a conversation with the the MEP consultant in how we get that done into the ducts without damaging the indoor air quality. But when it works, it can be quite a nice extra feature. And you’d be surprised how sound and scent in addition to the visual stuff.

LIGHT

Light as well can all make a massive impact in a pretty short time. So we’ve been in sort of a lobby area of a building, or in the waiting room of a spa before going into a treatment space. All of these elements can have quite a tangible impact on how someone perceives that experience. And really that’s what what I’m aiming for - having a positive impact on how they feel as they spend time in that space before they move on to wherever else they’re going.

BIODESIGN

Bio-Design is arguably one of the more avant garde aspects of biophilic design. So what we can do now is use products that have actually been grown or that are made of purely bio based materials. biofabrication would be the act of of growing a product. You might have heard of mycelium, which is effectively a mushroom based or mushroom root base material. You can see a friend of mine there in New York who’s creating a mold for a lampshade with straw husks.

So while some of these things can feel a little fantastical, as with so much stuff, give that five or 10 years and I think you’ll see that it becomes quite a central piece of of sustainable interior design, green building and also biophilic design, which is already adopting it as part of kind of biomimicry, which is the concept of deliberately recreating and cross fertilizing between nature and industrial design, or indeed architecture.

BEAUTY

It’s difficult to define beauty at the best of times but natural beauty is this other thing that when it’s there, you just kind of know it. And that’s really a challenge to the architects and designers, obviously balancing the costs and the budget, but it can often be a visual piece that just has that little something that nourishes the soul in some small way.

SET PIECES / MULTI-SENSORY

We’re seeing things like healing gardens in care centers, and restorative spaces and corporate offices in Silicon Valley. We’re increasingly seeing these small set pieces of biophilic design areas or spaces within a building, or in a courtyard of a building, that really push the whole wellness angle, and also serve to do a whole bunch of other things in terms of biodiversity, rainwater management, for example.

HERO group offices in Switzerland - Biofilico consultancy project 2018

Use of Natural Light in Biophilic Design

Natural light is a crucial element in biophilic design, as it provides a direct connection to the natural environment. Additionally, incorporating natural forms such as trees, flowers, and shells into architectural designs enhances this connection. The use of natural light in design can have numerous benefits, including improved mood, reduced stress, and increased productivity. Biophilic design strategies that incorporate natural light include the use of large windows, skylights, and solar tubes. These features allow natural light to penetrate deep into buildings, reducing the need for artificial lighting and creating a more natural and welcoming environment. By maximizing the use of natural light, biophilic design not only enhances the aesthetic appeal of a space but also fosters a healthier and more sustainable living and working environment.

Incorporation of Natural Elements in Design

The incorporation of natural elements in design is a key principle of biophilic design. Natural elements, such as plants, water features, natural materials, and natural forms, can be used to create a sense of connection to nature. Biophilic design strategies that incorporate natural elements include the use of green walls, living roofs, and natural stone. These features can help to reduce stress, improve air quality, and promote a sense of well-being. By bringing the outdoors inside, biophilic design transforms interior spaces into vibrant, life-affirming environments that support both physical and mental health.

Connection to Nature in Interior Spaces

Creating a connection to nature in interior spaces is a critical aspect of biophilic design. This can be achieved through the use of natural materials, natural light, natural elements, and natural forms. Biophilic design strategies that promote a connection to nature in interior spaces include the use of natural colors, textures, and patterns. These features can help to create a sense of calm and relaxation, reducing stress and promoting well-being. By thoughtfully integrating elements that evoke the natural world, biophilic design fosters a harmonious and restorative atmosphere within built environments.

HERO group offices in Switzerland - Biofilico consultancy project 2018

Biophilic office interior case study

This is an office Biofilico worked on for a natural foods group in Switzerland, in fact, a couple of years ago, again, working with local interior designers, advising them on all the eco stuff. And it really went quite deep, because they had a lot of technical issues in that space. As you can probably tell, it’s a round shaped building. And effectively a concrete and glass block. And they have real issues with acoustics. Natural forms, such as elements mimicking trees, flowers, and shells, were integrated to address these technical issues and enhance the space.

So a lot of the work we were doing was around. Yeah, acoustic dampening and bringing some of the outside world in at the same time. So doubling up in a sense, not just thinking about the visuals, but also about how we could bring more light into the core of the building, and get rid of some of their pretty serious acoustic problems or echoes going up through the atrium to the top floor.

Biofilico concept design for ecology room in a corporate office

office ecology room concept design

This is one Biofilico was working on for a tech giant, I don’t think it’s going to happen in the end sadly but it was a big Silicon Valley player who wanted an ecology room in all of their offices - a space that these knowledge workers could spend 20 or 30 minutes in, that was entirely eco friendly and that would allow them a space to be, rather than to do. Incorporating natural forms such as trees, flowers, and shells into the design was a key element in creating this eco-friendly space.

As much as anything, I found that a really interesting example of where the tech companies are at now and how biophilic design connects with their vision of workplace wellness in particular, obviously, it’s a company that has plenty of budget for such things. And yet, it is clearly a sign of what’s to come in terms of where these corporate offices are going.

So you don’t need a lot of space, it could be just 50m2 but it can still become a calling card in terms of attracting workers back into the office, for example, post COVID.

Biofit designed gym at Karolinska Institutet Medical University, Stockholm, Sweden

university eco gym and mental health wellness space

This is a Biofit designed biophilic eco gym space within the Health Promotion unit in the Karolinska Medical University in Stockholm. Natural forms, such as elements that mimic trees, flowers, and shells, are incorporated to enhance mental well-being. It was really just a piece of unused workspace for graduate students and staff, in fact, at the Medical University, and they asked me to create a fun, interactive area where people could go and do a quick workout or just do some stretching and break away from the otherwise monotonous hard work that they’re all doing at the Medical University.

Karolinska are a very innovative and forward thinking research university in that sense. They’ve got a lot of their own researchers working on biophilic design, so perhaps not too surprising that they were willing to commission something like this for student mental wellbeing.

Beulah residences, Melbourne

Residential Real estate and biophilic design

Some residential examples from around the world. This is currently where it’s at - offices went ahead of the rest, took the lead, but now residential developments are coming round to the benefits of biophilic design too. Incorporating natural forms such as trees, flowers, and shells into architectural designs enhances the connection between built environments and the natural world. There is the CapitaSpring building on Raffles Place in Singapore by Bjarke Ingels Group for example, based in Denmark but with offices around the world.

Residential developers are looking for ways to stand out from the crowd. In London it’s interesting to see how many examples are appearing in urban areas like Canary Wharf, so a business district, or in a high-end residential area like Chelsea that is already quite leafy and verdant.

Shui on Works, PRC, by M Moser

workplace design and biophilia

Workplaces is really where it all began, because Silicon Valley were the first movers on biophilic design. Natural forms, such as trees, flowers, and shells, are often incorporated into architectural designs to enhance the connection to nature in workplaces. And so it was, in a sense, the influence from the west coast first, but it’s taken hold in the co-working sector in London for example.

The new plans for a massive Google building in New York represent a huge investment, with CookFox NYC behind the biophilic architecture and design there. In Milano there is Welcome Milano by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma where the whole concept is around biophilic design, that’s for developers Europa Resorse.

Dentista Amsterdam, Netherlands

medical facilities and healthcare with biophilic design

Medical centers now increasingly have healing gardens, a form of direct exposure to nature, while dental clinics are also incorporating this into their interiors, along with cancer care hospitals, care homes and hospitals. Natural forms, such as trees, flowers, and shells, are integrated into these designs to enhance the connection between built environments and the natural world.

So again, largely it’s playing on the restorative wellbeing card - the restorative benefits of access to or exposure to nature. Clearly it’s a bit more serious in these cases, as in, it’s not just an aesthetic decision, it’s more of a functional design strategy.

There’s a specific emotional response that the biophilic designers are looking for when they when they do this.

Same with education in that it can both be an interesting way to engage with kids in schools as well as universities. Natural forms, such as trees, flowers, and shells, are elements that engage students and promote well-being. Again, Karolinska Universitet have got vertical garden walls all around their medical university, they were an early adopter of biophilic design.

If you could design a school today, and you have the option to incorporate an element of nature, especially in a dense urban environment, I think most of us would rather have that for our kids, and give them some access to nature, anything is better than nothing.

Even if you haven’t got an outdoor space, then biophilic design basically solves that problem by bringing nature indoors. It can never fully recreate experience being outdoors, but you can get pretty close. And the kids love it!

Living Bakkali, Valencia, Spain

restaurants and cafes with biophilic design

Restaurants tend to opt for even more creative interpretations of this theme. Whether it’s using foliage wallpapers, they just seem to have a much less constrained brief. Natural forms, such as elements that mimic trees, flowers, and shells, are often incorporated to create unique and inviting spaces. So they can literally build it into the shape and format and structure of the building.

Again, just a few examples of how you can do things like SILO in London, that’s a zero waste, fully sustainable restaurant that has won all manner of awards, and is subtly biophilic in its interiors, without being too obvious.

I think places like that are sort of the cutting edge of where this is all going. They’re using biomaterials, some of those funky ones that we mentioned earlier, and really pushing the envelope in terms of what’s out there and how far this thing can go. Because the end of the day, if all of this is just decorating with plants, I think at some point, people would have got fed up or it would become commonplace. So it’s about ensuring that biophilic design evolves.

CBD retail with biophilic design

CBD retail obviously is all in North America for now but this is a real low hanging fruit for biophilic designers. And again, assuming that the legislation changes in other countries, too, then I think you’ll see very much the same approach as CBD stores take hold in the UK and Europe as well over coming years - biophilic design is a perfect fit for this type of product.

We can identify a pared back, minimal interior space with lots of nature, but very deliberately professional in style, and avoiding the stereotype of what we might imagine a CBD store to look like. Incorporating natural forms such as trees, flowers, and shells into the design can enhance the connection between built environments and the natural world.

Natural Materials in Design

Natural materials, such as wood, stone, and bamboo, are a key component of biophilic design. These materials can be used to create a sense of warmth and comfort, often enhanced by incorporating natural forms like trees, flowers, and shells. Biophilic design strategies that incorporate natural materials include the use of reclaimed wood, natural stone, and bamboo flooring. These features can help to reduce stress, improve air quality, and promote a sense of well-being. By choosing materials that reflect the beauty and resilience of the natural world, biophilic design creates spaces that are both aesthetically pleasing and environmentally responsible.

Biophilic Design Patterns

Biophilic design patterns refer to the various ways in which natural elements and patterns can be incorporated into building design. These patterns can include the use of natural light, natural materials, and natural patterns, as well as the incorporation of natural features, such as plants and water features. For example, large windows and skylights can flood a space with natural light, while green walls and indoor gardens bring the beauty of nature indoors. Natural materials like wood and stone add warmth and texture, creating a more inviting and comfortable environment. By using these patterns, biophilic design not only enhances the aesthetic appeal of a space but also promotes well-being and productivity.

Creating an Indoor Jungle

Creating an indoor jungle is a fantastic way to incorporate biophilic design principles into your home or office. This can involve adding a variety of plants, using natural materials, and incorporating natural patterns into your space. Features such as living walls, indoor gardens, and water features can transform an ordinary room into a lush, vibrant environment. The benefits of creating an indoor jungle are numerous, including improved mental health and well-being, increased productivity and creativity, reduced stress, and improved air quality. By surrounding yourself with natural elements, you can foster a deeper connection to nature, making your indoor spaces more harmonious and life-affirming. Whether you’re looking to create a small green corner or a full-scale indoor jungle, biophilic design can help you achieve a healthier, more sustainable living or working environment.

Famous Buildings that Incorporate Biophilic Design Principles

There are many famous buildings that incorporate biophilic design principles. Natural forms, such as trees, flowers, and shells, are often integrated into these designs to enhance the connection to nature. Some examples include:

• The Amazon Spheres in Seattle, Washington: This innovative workspace features a lush, tropical environment with over 40,000 plants, providing employees with a direct connection to nature.

• The Bosco Verticale in Milan, Italy: A residential building covered in over 20,000 plants, Bosco Verticale exemplifies how urban living can be harmoniously integrated with natural elements.

• The One Central Park building in Sydney, Australia: This building features a cantilevered heliostat that reflects natural light into the structure, enhancing the natural lighting and creating a vibrant living environment.

• The Khoo Teck Puat Hospital in Singapore: By incorporating natural elements and materials, this hospital creates a healing environment that promotes patient well-being and recovery.

These buildings demonstrate the potential of biophilic design to promote well-being, sustainability, and a connection to nature. By integrating natural light, natural elements, and biophilic design principles, these structures serve as inspiring examples of how the built environment can enhance human health and happiness.

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/

The Mental Empowerment office Gym with Katharina naumann

In episode 57 of the Green & Healthy Places podcast in which we discuss the themes of wellbeing and sustainability in real estate and hospitality today, I’m in Germany talking to ex-sprinter Katharina Naumann who is behind a new office gym concept focused on mental empowerment.

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if you are interested in the wider subject of healthy co-work offices in general see our article here and for our thoughts on ergonomic furniture in a healthy office see here

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Transcript courtesy of Otter.AI (excuse any typo errors!)

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Talking mental fitness at work

Matt Morley

Welcome to the show. I'd love to start with a little background on how you made the transition from an Olympic athlete, from elite level sports, to the world of business coaching and mental fitness.

Katharina Naumann

Yeah, thank you for the invitation!

There were two reasons for me. So first of all, I had a very negative experience in my first job after my studies. At that point, I just had finished my career as an athlete and suddenly, I found myself sitting full time behind a laptop, which sounds for many people very normal but it was quite a shock for my body.

Imagine that I was used to training about 10 times per week before that, and now I was sitting eight hours a day, just not moving anywhere. So of course, this caused some physical and also mental stress for me.

I had a very well trained body but I will never forget what it felt like to lose all my muscle tone. It really didn't feel right or healthy at all.

So after six months, I found myself in a very bad condition, especially mentally. I decided to quit, and to look for a job which not does take place in front of the screen all the time. Eventually I decided to start a training program to become a personal and business coach.

I now combined fitness training with life coaching, to help people become mentally and physically healthy and hopefully happy!

Finally, I knew from my athletics races that mental empowerment is so very important to reach goals. There are a lot of mental techniques that I want to carry further into society, I think mental empowerment should actually be a subject taught at school! I know my kids would love that.

At an emotional level there is no difference between the nervousness or stress we feel doing sports to the nervousness or stress we may experience at work. But while the athlete will relieve that stress while moving, the employee remains seated and has no way out.

Matt Morley

Yeah, that's really interesting. Okay, so you were training 10 times per week, in terms of hours, just to give us an understanding of how that dominated your life, what did that equate to?

Katharina Naumann

Yes, I trained like 10 times a week as an athlete doing the physical training stuff and the mental part was actually not not included in this, that was extra, working with a coach on psychology and mental empowerment.

Matt Morley

And the mental empowerment, that then becomes the transition in a way, right, from the world of athletics to the world of work? That's the bridge between the two for you?

mental empowerment in the workplace

Katharina Naumann

Yes. So I really got to know how important the mental empowerment is, it doesn't matter what goal you want to reach, you know, and even it's a goal at work, yes, just to do a good presentation or something like this, you need to be mentally empowered.

mental health as an entrepreneur

Matt Morley

Yeah, I sympathize with that as after eight years now working as an entrepreneur by myself, which is almost as stressful, in a sense, as working in a big company where you have to deal with the politics of being part of a much wider network of staff.

When you're solo and building your own business, then that comes with its own challenges in terms of mental empowerment, and there's no one around to help unless we go and look for a coach or we find people who can play that role for us like, like an ex-boss, or an elder who we can rely on for help and advise occasionally.

I think that's actually one of the techniques that I've used in the past or had to do for myself, because otherwise, it's a very lonely path as an entrepreneur.

Having a corporate structure, having a team around you, obviously has challenges too, but I think can also be very, very rewarding. Obviously one needs to know how to navigate and sail through those waters, because no one teaches you that part. It’s all soft skills.

Goldkern mental coaching services in Munich, Germany

So your services as a mental empowerment and fitness coach based in Munich, what type of services are you offering? And then who are you working with as clients?

Katharina Naumann

Yeah, at the moment, I'm training teams in one or two day workshops about how a healthy life would look like for them, and I also coach one to one people to help them find a better, healthier and happier life.

So many companies now realize that mental health is suffering in Germany, already 20% of the population suffer from some kind of mental stress issue each year.

Matt Morley

And do you see that as having changed greatly from the pre COVID times? Everyone's talking a lot more open now it seems about mental health at work, it was a far less common subject just 2-3 years ago.

mental wellbeing at work post-Covid

Katharina Naumann

Now is the moment where mental health should be destigmatized and as a society we need to look for solutions for these issues. So many people struggled with post Covid mental issues. We not only talk about real mental illnesses. Everybody handled the Covid time differently.

So there is the type of people who are introvert for example, and actually like to stay at a safe home and they are now struggling much more to get back to the office and into the community, they are forced to get out of the comfort zone now.

Then there are the extrovert people, for example, who felt a deep hole while staying at home. And they are also not happy by now.

The opportunity for a company is now to integrate a new, healthier and more flexible working flow. Most companies recognized that online work, remote working really works as an alternative to being in the office every day.

So a nice way now would be to keep some of with the tools that made the life easier during the pandemic while going back to the best of work life before Covid too.

I always see this at my time management workshops. The online meetings are planned from hour to hour and without any opportunity for course. So you don't need to be a coach to recognize that this won't work in the long run.

Also the working conditions are very far away from nature, from our essence as human beings able to use body and mind so much more. This makes me sad, actually. And this is part of my mission to empower people.

mindful techniques in the workplace

It is wrong to put mental techniques like meditation, for example, in an esoteric corner and ignore them - many very successful people like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and so many more, are or were meditating every day as part of a successful morning routine.

My belief is that offices should, when space allows, provide a place for this to happen during short moments of the employee work day, perhaps with some stretching and gentle movement opportunities as well.

the mental performance office gym

Matt Morley

Well, that neatly opens the door to my next question about the project that we've been collaborating on over the last few months, the idea of you setting up your own studio, whether that be a temporary pop up space within an office building in Munich, where you live, or perhaps taking on your own studio space and realizing that vision by yourself for office workers nearby.

What I found interesting when we first started speaking was from the beginning, you were very clear that this was not a gym in the typical sense. You envisage more of a ‘mental gym’. This is about mental and physical wellness, and we need a space that can represent that at that vision of wellbeing both in the mind, the body and the soul to some extent.

Katharina Naumann

Yeah, I was thinking about a way to really empower people mentally and physical in the daily lives. Yes, this is very important that it it helps in the daily lives because just subsidizing a fitness studio membership is not enough. It’s the easy way out,. a way to check the box, but not the most effective solution.

I am creating a place where the employees can practice mental and physical tools that are helpful also at work, not just for their own fitness levels or personal wellbeing. It is much more effective to do these exercises three or four times a week just for 20 minutes, then training once in a gym for two hours per week.

By providing a space in the office, for example in the lobby or an unused meeting room, allows the employees to choose if they need some stretching one day or a 20 minutes meditation, or more intensive 1-on-1 support from my team.

We have planned morning and lunch routines, one to one coaching to solve psychological concerns and group sessions to get the background knowledge for these techniques that are applicable to their productivity and happiness at work.

So over the time of three or four months. during our pop-up in an office building in Munich, the employees will be able to stay in a healthy routine both mentally and physically. The benefits will be less mental anxiety, more confidence handling difficult situations using these mental tools, and also self confidence.

Of course, if the company wants to keep this pop up place apart from it, this won't be a problem. The pop up is composed of natural materials, and the most discreet and technical way, I think, yes, we made a good job.

Reinventing the office gym membership

Matt Morley

The part that really interested me is that gap between what is often a very easy task for a company for a business to do, which is to provide access for staff to the local gym, they tick the box that way, I’ve even recommended it to clients as a healthy building consultant in the past! It certainly gets you the credits you need in your healthy building certification scheme.

The issue though, is that you don't really know who's using it, how often, what they do when they get there, and therefore how much benefit it’s actually having on their lives.

People who enjoy exercise are probably doing it already anyway so offering a more bespoke solution for office workers makes complete sense in theory- the challenge is that creating a dedicated space within an office can also be a big step for a business, even for a large corporation.

I think that is the strongest point in your pitch and the proposition that you just made - the idea of it being specifically about not just getting people to exercise more but also to be healthier, happier, less stressed and more productive. By offering this on-site and with a curated experience, there is a far higher chance of making a meaningful impact on the lives of employees who might not ever make it to a local gym, even if the membership is free!

How to really make an impact via workplace fitness

Matt Morley

Basically I don't know if someone running an hour extra week is going to be more productive or that much happier at work… maybe not so much. So the idea of creating something specifically for the office environment, rather than just saying that access to gyms, or exercise in general, is going to do the job.

Your proposal is that we need to think a bit harder, and commit to tailor making a concept specifically for office workers.

What type of mental. preparation training will you offer and what type of physical training practices combine best with that? What do you recommend for office workers, is it more about mobility or neuromuscular activities focused on reaction times or 30-minute High Intensity training sessions for example?

Katharina Naumann

The connection is actually most of many people go for training just because it is yes. In the daily plan to get it done. I did my sports today, but often it is even more stressful on the body if you go for a run 10 kilometers after a hard day at work.

Actually everyone is able to feel about the body needs intuitively but many have lost that connection and that is what I want to bring back to people, so they know what type of activity to do for every situation, then they know what they actually need for this moment.

Movement and active design in the workplace

It doesn't have to be very complicated, we are made to walk, run, lift and carry things. So the most important thing is to integrate more movement in the first place into the daily lifestyle, all kinds of movement, to bike to work, take the stairs, work at a standing desk, take movement breaks.

functional fitness in office gyms

After that, the next important training I recommend is the functional whole body workout, just with bodyweight, or with some medicine balls and light weights. It trains the whole body together, and it is easy to integrate some mobility and balance exercises too.

I'm not a fan of training each muscle separate at a machine like most of the fitness studios offers, these movements are not very natural, and they miss out to train the interplay of our muscles.

Also, explosive strength training should be not ignored. This is what you need when you don't want to fall when older.

Office workers all have in common that they often have a stiff neck, or they also have very often low back pain because the abs are not strong enough. So they need core training and mobility training.

An office gym for mental wellbeing

Matt Morley

We're talking ultimately about typically, like 10 to 15% of the population who actually use a gym, right? That I think Germany is one of the highest in, in Europe in terms of gym membership. So not everyone's going to be interested in this but by adapting it and making it more accessible you open it up to a wider segment of the working population.

These classes you're describing are not so much about how fit anyone is, you’re not promising weight loss but rather mental wellbeing right?

Katharina Naumann

Yeah, it’s about feeling good and doing what your intuition tells you, whether that be movement, healthy food, meditation or mobility exercises for example.

Matt Morley

I guarantee you that type of internal dialogue is not happening for many people while at work. I think that's a real benefit that you can answer such questions for office workers who perhaps do not necessarily see the connection between a lack of movement in their life or too much of a particular food at lunchtime and a general lack of energy and positivity in their mental life. By taking a more 360 degree approach as you do, then you can really make more of an impact.

Katharina Naumann

I think that's it yeah, a way to handle our lives more healthier than we do at the moment by developing positive habits.

Matt Morley

This looks like the future of fitness at work. for me I think it's a very different concept you have here, it’s what workplace wellness needs!

So if people want to read more about what you're doing, what's the best way for them to contact you?

Katharina Naumann

They can find me on LinkedIn here and my business Goldkern here.

Cognitive performance and sound in a healthy building interior

What is the connection between sound and wellness in healthy buildings?

All of the body’s senses can be used one way or another in order to alter a person’s physical and mental wellbeing but hearing is a main sense that is often targeted first because of the many benefits that can arise from minimal intervention.

A healthy building concept on the rise is that of sound wellness - using soundscapes or acoustic environments such as nature sounds. These can be played through apps or streamed via a website or software platform.

Mental health benefits of nature sounds or ‘biophilic sounds’

What is meant by a sound “working” or not can be seen through physiological and behavioral changes. For example, listening to sounds of nature (biophilic sounds) has been proven to increase mood, improve focus, promote sleep, help relaxation, and just overall ensure a boost in mental wellbeing.

Natural sounds can alter the brain connections that trigger fight or flight response and therefore calm our systems down, implicating that no perceived threats are around. The mellow birdsongs or serene waves tell the body that things are fine and there is no immediate threat which, in turn, reduces stress and the cognitive load that is associated with a heightened alertness.

Even though there are different types of nature sounds that range from rustling of trees to crashing of waves, the nature (no pun intended) of the sounds does not seem to matter but rather varies from person to person based on familiarity.

For instance, rusting trees may cause more benefits for someone who grew up surrounded by trees than they would for someone who grew up by the ocean. There appears to be a level of familiarity or nostalgia that goes into the effectiveness of certain sounds.

So even though initiatives such as Quiet Parks International are popping up and showing improvements in people’s moods it also seems that beaches and other settings will be just as effective for the right individual. There is no one size fits all solution in other words.

What type of biophilic nature sounds work best?

Studies have shown that the more variety of nature sounds are experienced at once, the more a person can feel immersed in the environment and trigger healthy patterns such as calm mood and regulated circadian rhythm. This biological clock helps us to get better acclimated to our surroundings and fall into a comfortable routine.

The more biodiversity in an audio soundscape in other words , the more likely an individual’s brain is to experience something akin to being outside in actual nature.

how does sound therapy promote mental wellbeing?

Another useful aspect of sound wellness is the role music can have, specifically with therapeutic processes. Music therapy is a newer practice that has also shown promising health and wellness benefits. The key difference between the two practices being the applications.

Sound wellness is often a means to treat the symptoms of a bad mood and music therapy is primarily seen in hospitals and other treatment facilitates to aid in reversing or correcting some undesirable behavior.

Music therapy is usually used alongside other affirmative actions in order to touch upon one of five beneficial categories: emotional, physical, spiritual, social, or cognitive. The emotional benefits can help reduce anxiety and encourage self-expression.

The physical benefits are most seen in pain reduction through distraction, relaxation, improved motor development, etc. They can also include motivational factors that reflect the task at hand by providing the energy needed in order to get things done and do them well.

Spiritual and social benefits can bring people together through shared interests or a common goal. Lastly, the cognitive aspect can advocate for better coping skills, increased sense of control, and better focused attention for the task at hand.

Whether a company or individual user wants to become better a task, improve their mood, or become more equip to deal with life’s challenges, sound wellness can apply in a multitude of different ways.

Can music positively impact task performance?

Studies have shown that music can reduce anxiety levels and decrease the time required to complete a complex task such as surgery in a hospital. Music in operating rooms can make communication moderately more difficult but is generally not considered a hazard, in fact it is a positive influence on the person carrying out the procedure.

Equally, noise (unpleasant, unwanted sound) will elevate cortisol levels, a hormone in regulating blood pressure and responding to stress. This is particularly a risk in work environments where productivity in the workplace is closely linked to indoor environmental quality factors such as generally acceptable acoustic working conditions.

REFERENCES:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6901841/

https://desktime.com/blog/how-white-noise-affects-productivity#:~:text=By%20eliminating%20distractions%2C%20it%20helps,and%20helped%20them%20concentrate%20better.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4900491/

https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/6466581?casa_token=ZEapOg-uIu8AAAAA:2d--ku7zFeIAJkvVKdmpJQu6MLgaczQed_7U_MtnLrPp1Q0kW6ej9wlHkhDL1fbO6pHEgYLofLBt

Top 5 Sustainable Real Estate Companies for Nature Green Building and Healthy Biofilico Wellness Interiors

top five Real estate developers using biophilia for sustainability & wellbeing

biophilia = sustainability + wellbeing combined

Real estate companies in the residential, commercial, and mixed-use sectors are increasingly leveraging the occupant appeal and value-adding benefits of nature in their development briefs.

Why? For its unique position straddling both sustainable real estate (green buildings) and wellness real estate (healthy buildings); in other words, it benefits People and Planet through the built environment, which can only be good for the developer’s bottom line.

Here we look at a hot selection of developers from the global real estate industry that have captured our attention for their interest in the natural world, biophilic design, healthy indoor environments, wellness and green buildings.

• Beulah, Australia

• Coima, Italy

• Colonial, Spain

• Fabrix, UK

• Oxford Properties, Canada

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Beulah, Australia - a sustainable real estate developer using biophilic design

Beulah are behind the 25 ecologically sustainable two-storey townhouses in Melbourne called Brunswick townhomes leveraging sustainable building materials and a carbon-neutral concept inspired by natural systems.

Beulah's sustainable projects have also seen an increase in rental income due to decreased vacancy rates and faster renting of buildings. Beulah’s commitment to sustainability is further demonstrated through their LEED certified buildings.

Carbon neutral houses

Their ‘Wilds' project currently under construction contains 15 carbon-neutral houses immersed in nature with creek-front sites based on a healthy living concept, solar power, biophilia and sustainability.

STH BNK by Beulah, Australia

Their Fawkner House in Melbourne is made up of nine large-scale residences designed for health and wellness, key characteristics include abundant natural light, smart buildings systems for lower operating costs and a focus on occupant wellbeing.

STH BNK by Beulah, Australia

It is arguably their STH BNK development that stands out here though as Beulah's most ambitious development to date.

Currently under development, this UNStudio and Cox Architecture designed precinct in Melbourne will include a Four Seasons hotel, healthy living residences with garden views, pocket parks, a sky garden, auditorium, branded hotel residences and an entire level of the podium devoted to wellbeing.

This wellness precinct involves a curated selection of health and fitness practitioners focused on science, nutrition and medicine while workspaces combine co-working, sustainability, technology and greenery.

 https://beulahinternational.com/

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Coima, Italy - building with biophilia in Milan

Coima, Italy is a leading Italian real estate investment, developer and management company founded in 1974 that has set itself apart in the industry by focusing on three major aspects: sustainability, nature, and wellbeing. Coima strategically invests in affluent and densely populated communities to meet the high demand for sustainable real estate.

Coima also emphasizes governance as part of their ESG guidelines, ensuring that their projects are resilient and adhere to high standards.

With a strong commitment to these values, Coima has successfully managed to create unique and innovative green buildings, healthy building environments, and spaces that seamlessly integrate with nature.

Coima aims to create high quality real estate assets which enable sustainable growth over the long term

Porta Nova by Coima, Milano

Porta Nuova, Milan, Italy

Porta Nova by Coima, Milano

One of the most notable projects that exemplify Coima's focus on these principles is the redevelopment of Porto Nuova in Milan, Italy.

Porto Nuova is an ambitious urban regeneration project that has transformed a previously underdeveloped area in Milan into a thriving and sustainable district.

Spread over 290,000 square meters, the project has been designed with the adoption of cutting-edge green building techniques and technologies for enhanced building performance while providing access to significantly higher quantities of plants and green space.

These features not only help in reducing the environmental impact of the development but also contribute to creating a healthy building environment for its occupants.

Some of the key green building aspects of Porto Nuova include energy-efficient systems, rainwater harvesting, green roofs, and extensive use of natural light.

The integration of nature into the design and planning of Porto Nuova has been a central focus for Coima.

This is evident in the abundance of green spaces and parks throughout the development, which not only enhance its aesthetic appeal but also provide numerous benefits for the wellbeing of its residents and visitors.

By incorporating nature into the urban fabric, Coima has created a harmonious balance between built environments and natural ecosystems, promoting biodiversity and fostering a strong sense of community.

Another noteworthy aspect of Porto Nuova is its emphasis on wellbeing. Coima has ensured that the development offers a wide range of amenities and facilities that cater to the physical, mental, and social wellbeing of its occupants.

https://www.coima.com/it/homepage

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Wittywood, Barcelona by Colonial

Colonial, Spain - real estate with a conscience

Colonial, Spain, a leading real estate developer in the country, has been at the forefront of sustainable development and green building initiatives. Colonial's efforts to address climate change through their sustainable real estate projects have been noteworthy.

With a strong commitment to creating buildings that promote wellness, the company has been making significant strides in incorporating sustainable materials, energy-efficient systems, and state-of-the-art technologies into its property portfolio.

As a result, Colonial has gained recognition for its sustainability credentials and garnered international attention for its efforts in promoting green building practices.

Wellness in real estate

One of the key aspects of Colonial's approach to sustainable development is its focus on creating buildings that prioritize the wellbeing of occupants.

To achieve this, the company employs a combination of innovative design strategies, cutting-edge technologies, and best practices in environmental management.

Occupant health

By emphasizing wellness and occupant health, Colonial is not only reducing its environmental footprint but also enhancing the quality of life for those who live and work in its properties.

LEED

A prime example of Colonial's commitment to sustainability is its pursuit of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for many of its developments.

LEED is a globally recognized green building certification system that provides a framework for the design, construction, and operation of high-performance green buildings.

Furthermore, Colonial is an active participant in various industry initiatives and partnerships aimed at promoting sustainable development and green building practices.

This includes collaboration with organizations such as the Green Building Council España (GBCe) and participation in events like the Greenbuild International Conference & Expo.

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Fabrix, UK - focused on health benefits of nature and supporting local communities

Fabrix, a leading real estate developer in the UK, is committed to implementing wellness real estate and sustainable real estate strategies in its portfolio. Fabrix also focuses on improving their sustainability performance. And they really mean business.

By focusing on innovative design, energy efficiency, and environmentally friendly materials, Fabrix aims to create spaces that enhance the wellbeing of their occupants while minimizing the ecological footprint.

Roofs in the Sky by Fabrix London

Renewable energy

Roofs in the Sky by Fabrix London

One of the key environment friendly strategies employed by Fabrix is the incorporation of renewable energy systems, such as solar panels and wind turbines, into their projects.

This not only reduces the dependency on fossil fuels but also lowers the overall carbon emissions of the buildings.

Indoor air quality

Additionally, they make use of natural ventilation systems to improve indoor air quality and reduce energy consumption related to heating and cooling.

Biophilic design

In terms of healthy building strategies, Fabrix focuses on incorporating biophilic design elements that bring nature into the built environment.

This includes the integration of green roofs, living walls, and indoor gardens that not only improve air quality but also contribute to the overall wellness and productivity of occupants.

The use of non-toxic materials and finishes further ensures a healthier indoor environment free from harmful chemicals.

The Gramophone Works, London

A notable case study showcasing Fabrix's commitment to sustainability and wellness in real estate is their recent project, The Gramophone Works, in London.

This mixed-use development incorporates various green building features such as a green roof, solar panels, rainwater harvesting systems, and electric vehicle charging points.

The project also prioritizes wellness by providing ample natural light, high-quality acoustics, and a range of amenities designed to promote physical activity and social interaction among occupants.

 https://www.fabrix.london/

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Oxford Properties, Canada - Combining human health and green spaces

Oxford Properties, a leading real estate developer in Canada, has demonstrated a strong commitment to sustainability and wellness in their projects through the implementation of green building and healthy building strategies.

Oxford Properties has achieved a world leading position in sustainability and environmental certifications, showcasing their leadership and excellence in these areas.

This commitment is evident in the numerous case studies showcasing their innovative approaches to sustainable real estate development.

count those rooftop solar panels! Oxford Properties, Canada

Environmental footprint

count those rooftop solar panels! Oxford Properties, Canada

One of the core aspects of Oxford Properties' sustainability strategy is the integration of sustainable design features, such as energy-efficient systems and renewable energy sources.

The company actively seeks to minimize its environmental footprint by incorporating advanced technologies, such as solar panels, green roofs, and rainwater harvesting systems in their properties.

Indoor air quality

Additionally, the company focuses on improving indoor air quality and utilizes environmentally friendly materials in construction to ensure the overall health and well-being of occupants.

WELL Building Standard

A prime example of Oxford Properties' commitment to healthy building and wellness is their participation in the WELL Building Standard certification program.

This program evaluates buildings based on various factors related to human health and well-being, including air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort, and mind.

The company has successfully achieved WELL certification for several of its properties, highlighting its dedication to creating spaces that promote occupant health and wellness.

EY Tower, Toronto

Case studies showcasing Oxford Properties' commitment to sustainability include their work on the EY Tower in Toronto.

This LEED Platinum certified office tower features energy-efficient HVAC systems, a green roof that reduces stormwater runoff and provides insulation, and extensive use of natural light to enhance occupant well-being.

Park Place III, Calgary, Canada

Another example is Park Place III in Calgary, where Oxford Properties implemented a comprehensive waste management program that resulted in a 77% waste diversion rate.

By prioritizing environmental considerations and occupant health in their projects, they are setting an example for other developers to follow and contributing to the creation of a more sustainable future.

https://sustainable.oxfordproperties.com/2021/materials.html

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Further Reading

• Posts in ESG

• Health & Wellbeing Strategies For Wellness Lifestyle Real Estate & Mixed-Use Communities

• Best Examples Of Biophilic Commercial Developments

• Posts in Sustainability

• Real Estate Posts

• Future-Proof Real Estate With The Smart Building Collective

• Posts Tagged Commercial Real Estate

• Posts Tagged Real Estate

• About Us

• Posts in Real Estate

• An Introduction To Biophilic Design In Sustainable Buildings

best examples of independent sustainable hotels UK — biofilico wellness interiors

A review of some of the most sustainable independently owned hotels in the UK focusing on these sustainable concepts:

• energy efficiency & renewable energy

• local sourcing & responsible supply chains

• eco-friendly products & materials

• enhanced biodiversity & biophilic design

• waste reduction & recycling

• circular economy principles

• health & wellness

• ethical business practices

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The Scarlet Hotel - a sustainable hotel concept UK

eco sanctuary hotel

Located on the cliffs of Cornwall, the 37-key Scarlet is an eco sanctuary that overlooks the Atlantic, offering guests a chance to reconnect with a natural lifestyle.

circular design hotel

The building was constructed using Circular Economy principles, meaning reclaimed materials that can be reused or recycled at their end of life, such as the wooden frame, copper cladding and aluminium roof structure.

hotel energy efficiency

Rather than air conditioning, natural ventilation strategies are used to cool the interiors in summer, rooftops are lined with sea thrift to stimulate biodiversity and electricity is from 100% renewable sources.

Low-energy LED lights with motion sensors reduce unnecessary energy expenditure, the indoor pool is heated by a solar system, heating is courtesy of a biomass boiler and grey or waste water is collected from showers and baths to flush the toilets.

sustainable hotel waste management

Bathroom amenities are sourced from local artisans, the wasteful packaging of an in-room tea tray is done away with in favor of room service upon request and each room booking includes a £5 donation to Surfers Against Sewage to help protect the British coastline (a cause that Biofilico also supports).

sustainable hotel food menu

There is a tangible sense of authenticity to this hotel’s commitment to the environment. So it’s no surprise to find a food concept that is based around seasonal ingredients, sustainable seafood and wines, slow-aged steaks.. it aligns perfectly with the overall stance on sustainability here.

sustainable hotel wellness

In terms of wellbeing, there is an eco spa inspired by Ayurvedic treatments with an outdoor natural reed pool, a clifftop wooden sauna, a meditation space and endless ‘blue nature’ views of the Atlantic.

Spa therapies happen in lantern-lit tented spaces, concluding in a cocoon pod for a moment of contemplative relaxation. Mind-body wellness classes on offer include various forms of yoga and tai chi; with surfing available out front when the waves are doing their thing!

https://www.scarlethotel.co.uk/

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The Green House Hotel - a sustainable hotel UK

sustainable hotel certifications

Billed as the greenest hotel in the UK, The Green House knew where it was headed right from the start and was able to line itself up for BREEAM green building accreditation as well as integrating an ISO 14001 compliant environmental management system and joining the Considerate Hoteliers association. In other words, they meant business from Day 1!

sustainable hotel renewable energy

This boutique hotel of just 32-rooms harnesses the power of the sun to heat its water, reduces energy consumption with energy-efficient lighting throughout, EV charging points, and generates electricity onsite via a Combined Heat and Power (What is CHP?) unit. The thermal envelope of the building was improved with additional cavity wall insulation, roofing insulation, double glazing windows, and high-performance window seals to prevent heat loss / cool air drafts.

sustainable hotel supply chain

Their procurement policy and approach to materials use is impressively considered, from local craftsmen making their furniture from storm-felled timber, to naturally fire retardant (chemical-free) wool carpets in the bedrooms, FSC certified wallpaper made using vegetable inks and eco-friendly, metal-free mattresses.

sustainable hotel waste policy

Waste oil from the kitchen is made into biofuel, coffee beans and food waste are composted for use in gardens, and coffee grounds are repurposed to grow mushrooms, showcasing a commitment to reducing waste and sustainable practices. The restaurant menu is based around seasonal, local, and organic ingredients while alcohol is locally sourced from around the UK.

sustainable hotel operations

Sustainable hotel operations focus around aligning staff behind the environmental policy with ongoing training and rewards for new ideas, recycled toilet roll, eco cleaning products that are free from toxic substances, pesticide free landscaping and a comprehensive waste management system that starts with the procurement process - by asking questions before purchasing products, they team are able to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.

The Green House Hotel's sustainable operations contribute to the global effort towards responsible tourism.

https://www.thegreenhousehotel.co.uk/environment/

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Saorsa 1875 - a sustainable vegan hotel concept in scotland

a vegan hotel concept

This 11-room property in Pitlochry, Scotland was established in 2018 in a building constructed in 1875 and set out to become the UK's first 100% vegan hotel, “designed for vegans, vegetarians and the plant-curious” to be precise.

Interiors play off a bohemian, eclectic vibe with individually styled rooms created more of a home from home atmosphere than a formal chain hotel.

Toiletries, cleaning products and furnishings are 100% vegan, avoiding leathers and. animal-testing in particular.

The food menu is completely plant-based focusing on not just local and seasonal but foraged ingredients too, combined with craft beers and a wine list ‘inspired by the region'.

an ethical. hotel with values

As a business they are aligned with the Good Business Charter (see the small business version here) meaning they are assessed for paying staff a real. living wage fair hours and contracts, employee wellbeing and representation, diversity and inclusion, environmental responsibility, paying fair tax, commitment to customers, ethical. sourcing and prompt payment.

https://saorsahotel.com/

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Whatley Manor a sustainable cotswolds hotel

Whatley Manor in the Cotswolds has pledged to reduce its carbon footprint and reach Net Zero carbon emissions by 2028, equating to a reduction of 90% from their 2019 data, as well as Net Zero emissions from their supply chain by 2035. Commitments made publicly in this way help to keep a business on track and increase accountability, so are to be commended. These efforts contribute to a more sustainable future by supporting eco-friendly practices and initiatives.

sustainable hotel accreditations awards

Set amongst 12-acres of gardens, the hotel has a Bronze certification from Earthcheck, has a Green Michelin star for sustainable gastronomy in its renowned dining room, and regularly picks up awards as one of the UK’s most eco-friendly luxury hotels.

sustainable hotel energy efficiency

The hotel. runs on 100% renewable energy and removed gas from its kitchens to cook on induction heat only (more. efficient), a new Boiler Management System helps with optimum energy efficiency for heating and hot water needs, LED lighting uses 75% less energy than. the previous lighting set-up and six EV charging stations are offered to guests in the parking area.

sustainable hotel guest rooms

Eliminating single-use plastic is now an established first step for most environmentally conscious hotels, at least in the front of house operations - doing so in the kitchens is far more of a challenge. As part of their eco-friendly practices to reduce waste and promote sustainability, Whatley Manor only change bed linens and towels upon request, have opted for ceramic amenity bottles, compostable coffee pods, in-room recycling bins, digital newspapers for guest use and reusable water bottles.

‘reuse recycle repair' in a sustainable hotel

Not ones to do things by halves, Whatley Manor established their own on-site recycling centre with a glass crusher as part of their commitment to sustainable practices. All food waste is segregated and turned into compost whenever possible, while general waste was reduced by 30% after benchmarking took place in 2019.

nature, organic and biodiversity at a sustainable hotel

Organically grown fruit and vegetables dominate in the hotel kitchen, with a kitchen garden and on-site greenhouses, four beehives, minimal pesticide use, planting schemes to encourage biodiverse natural habits for insects and birds, bio char is used to enhance the soil and organic manure serves as fertilizer. These sustainable initiatives significantly reduce the hotel's environmental impact.

https://www.whatleymanor.com/sustainability-2021/

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Environmental psychology in healthy buildings interiors — biofilico wellness interiors

We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us - Sir Winston Churchill, 1943

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We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us - Sir Winston Churchill, 1943 〰️

Introduction to Environmental Psychology

Environmental psychology is a multidisciplinary field that explores the intricate relationship between human beings and their physical environment. It examines how both natural and built environments shape our experiences, behaviors, and overall well-being. Environmental psychologists delve into the impact of physical settings on human behavior, investigating how elements like natural environments, urban planning, and architectural design influence our daily lives. By understanding these complex interactions, environmental psychologists can inform the design of sustainable and healthy buildings, promote conservation psychology, and mitigate environmental risks. This field is crucial for creating spaces that not only meet our physical needs but also enhance our mental and emotional well-being.

Healthy Buildings, Sustainability, and Environmental Psychology

Healthy buildings are meticulously designed to promote the physical and mental well-being of their occupants. Environmental psychologists play a pivotal role in this process, ensuring that these buildings are not only sustainable but also conducive to human health and productivity. By incorporating natural environments, such as green spaces and natural light, into building design, they create physical settings that support human well-being. Sustainable development is a cornerstone of environmental psychology, aiming to balance human needs with environmental conservation. In the face of climate change, environmental psychologists address pressing issues through research and design interventions that encourage sustainable behaviors and reduce environmental risks. Their work ensures that buildings contribute positively to both human health and the planet’s well-being.

healthy buildings, sustainability and environmental psychology

As healthy building consultants, we combine concern for both physical and mental wellbeing of building occupants with a parallel effort to minimize environmental impact.

These two concepts of sustainable, green buildings and healthy buildings designed with occupant wellbeing in mind, are therefore in one sense at least operating at two different scales.

In the case of the former, the building is part of an increasingly delicate natural ecosystem that has no start or end point as such, meaning a real estate developer, landlord or tenant is assuming responsibility for their contribution to something urgent yet ultimately global in scope - the health of our planet and the environmental impact legacy we will pass on to future generations.

healthy building strategies in architectural psychology

Healthy building strategies are comparatively small-scale and hyper local, i.e. they are more immediately connected to the activities going on within a specific building or space. As such, there is a tangible connection between an individual occupant and their experience of the building they are in.

Partly this is about physical elements such as Indoor air Quality, for example, or Active Design features that encourage movement, yet a large slice of it is connected to environmental psychology. Various research methods, including interviews, data analysis, field studies, and lab experiments, are used in environmental psychology to understand the impact of built and natural environments on human behavior and well-being.

Theories of Environmental Psychology

Environmental psychology is underpinned by several theories that elucidate the complex relationships between humans and their environment. Ecological psychology, for instance, emphasizes the interconnectedness of human and natural systems, highlighting how our surroundings influence our behavior and well-being. Conservation psychology focuses on the importance of preserving natural environments for the benefit of human health. These theories provide a framework for understanding how physical environments affect human behavior and well-being. By applying these theoretical insights, environmental psychologists can design interventions that promote sustainable behaviors, reduce environmental risks, and enhance overall human well-being. These theories are essential for developing strategies that create harmonious and sustainable living environments.

The Role of Environmental Psychologists

Environmental psychologists are integral to promoting sustainable development and mitigating environmental risks. They collaborate with architects, urban planners, and policymakers to design physical environments that support human well-being while minimizing environmental impact. Through rigorous research on human behavior and environmental interactions, they provide valuable insights that inform design and policy decisions. Environmental psychologists also engage with communities to foster sustainable behaviors and develop conservation psychology initiatives. By leveraging their expertise, they create healthy and sustainable environments that not only enhance human well-being but also contribute to environmental conservation. Their work is vital in shaping spaces that are both livable and sustainable.

What is environmental psychology and how does it impact a healthy building?

Environmental psychology is formally defined as “the interaction between humans and the surrounding environment… how environment influences us but we also influence the environment” (ref)).

Environmental psychology is a branch of psychology that explores the relationship between humans and the world around us. It is concerned with the influence of natural and built environment on how we feel, think, and behave (ref). The Journal of Environmental Psychology is a key source of authoritative information on the topics and scope of environmental psychology, encompassing various interdisciplinary studies relating to the interactions between people and their physical environments.

An important part of environmental psychology is recognizing the positive and negative effects any given space can have: for example, the impact of environmental stressors like noise and crowding or conversely the restorative effect of incorporating nature.

cognitive vs environmental

This topic can further be broken down into two subcategories:

1. cognitive/physiological/behavioral aspects

2. more environmentally conscious, conservation aspects

The cognitive/ behavioral/ physiological part makes use of methods such as restoration (mood-improvement), wayfinding (how people find their way in new places, place attachment (what are physical things that make people get attached to certain place), etc. The physical environment affects our behavior, emotions, and cognition, playing a crucial role in environmental psychology by shaping human experiences and promoting wellbeing.

The conservation side focuses more on the relationships between people and the natural world as well as putting emphasis on how society treats our surrounding environment and preserves nature-based connections.

Before getting into what environmental differences can affect the mind and mental wellbeing for occupants in a building, it is important to have a general understanding of how surroundings can positively or negatively impact health.

For more on what constitutes a healthy building see our dedicated article here.

How can a building's physical environment affect our health?

When doing research on how exactly the body reacts to different nature-made vs. man-made environments, most ideas circle back to the influence of the natural environment on human experiences and well-being, particularly through the concept of circadian rhythm and its impact.

Circadian rhythm is an internal clock that helps signal different processes within the body according to time of day. This one biological process can have drastic effects on many other processes such as hormone production and release; motivational drives on cognition, etc.

Therefore, when utilizing biophilic design as a healthy building strategy for example, it is important to keep circadian rhythm in mind.

Incorporating Natural Environments

Incorporating natural environments into building design and urban planning is a fundamental aspect of environmental psychology. Natural environments, such as parks and green spaces, have been shown to significantly promote human well-being and reduce environmental risks. Environmental psychologists work closely with architects and urban planners to design physical environments that integrate natural elements, including natural light, ventilation, and materials. By embedding these natural components into design, they create sustainable and healthy buildings that support human well-being and environmental conservation. This approach not only enhances the aesthetic and functional quality of spaces but also fosters a deeper connection between people and the natural world, promoting overall well-being and sustainability.

Biofilico Wellness Interiors

Exploring the Concept and Its Importance in Modern Architecture

Biofilico wellness interiors represent a design philosophy that integrates elements of nature into built environments to enhance human well-being and health. Rooted in the concept of biophilia, which suggests that humans have an inherent desire to connect with nature, this approach leverages natural elements such as plants, natural light, and water features to create spaces that foster physical and mental well-being.

Environmental psychologists have long emphasized the significance of the physical environment in shaping human behavior and well-being. Research has consistently demonstrated that exposure to natural environments can lower stress levels, elevate mood, and even mitigate symptoms of anxiety and depression. By incorporating biofilico wellness interiors into modern architecture, designers can create spaces that not only support physical health but also enhance mental well-being and productivity. This holistic approach to design ensures that the built environment contributes positively to the overall quality of life for its occupants.

Designing Healthy Buildings Interiors

Practical Strategies and Design Principles

Designing healthy building interiors necessitates a comprehensive understanding of the intricate relationships between humans and their physical environments. Environmental psychologists and architects collaborate to create spaces that promote both physical and mental well-being by adhering to design principles that prioritize natural light, ventilation, and connections to nature.

One effective strategy for designing healthy building interiors is the incorporation of natural light. Natural light has been shown to offer numerous benefits, including improved mood, reduced stress levels, and enhanced cognitive function. Architects can achieve this by integrating large windows, skylights, and solar tubes into the design, thereby allowing natural light to permeate the space and foster a sense of well-being.

Another crucial design principle is the emphasis on ventilation and air quality. Poor air quality can have detrimental effects on physical and mental health, such as an increased risk of respiratory issues and diminished cognitive performance. By implementing ventilation systems that prioritize the influx of fresh air and minimize pollutants, designers can create environments that support both physical and mental health. These strategies, grounded in the insights of environmental psychologists, ensure that building interiors contribute positively to the well-being of their occupants.

WELL Healthy Building standard - restorative spaces in healthy buildings

International WELL Building Institute has a set of recommended standards for integrating natural components into workspace environments and other real estate projects as a way to protect the mental wellbeing of occupants. The Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA) plays a crucial role in promoting interdisciplinary communication within the field of environmental psychology, facilitating the exchange of ideas and research between practitioners and researchers to address complex human-environment interactions.

A set-piece interior space focusing on mental wellbeing in particular is often called a restorative space, or a recharge room. These concepts typically make use of a combination of:

• wellness lighting (dimmable light levels, Circadian lighting intensities in tune with our 24 hour internal clock)

• sound wellness (water features, nature sounds, sound masking strategies)

• thermal comfort (sun-exposed outdoor spaces or carefully shaded areas, comfortable indoor temperatures)

• comfortable seating arrangements (movable light weight chairs, cushions, mats)

• nature and biophilic design (calming natural colors, textures and plants)

• visual privacy, in order to complete internal practices such as prayers, meditation or a power nap :)

The role of environmental psychologists in environmental psychology

This also applies to studying interpersonal relationships with environment taken into consideration. Looking into things like privacy, personal space, and having a sense of ownership for a space while also keeping in mind questions like: “how can people learn to better navigate the environment they are in,” and “why are certain environments preferred over others?”

Eastern Buddhist traditions of mental wellbeing

An Interesting Comparison Study from the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies Explored Connections from Buddhist Teachings to Western Psychology. (https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2006-12925-003)

The Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies conducted a fascinating comparison study that explored the connections between Buddhist teachings and Western psychology. This study revealed that both traditions emphasize the importance of mental balance and well-being, albeit through different approaches. While Western psychology often focuses on external factors, such as the built environment, Buddhist teachings stress the significance of internal mental training and balance.

This comparison is particularly relevant to environmental psychology and healthy building design. By integrating principles from both traditions, designers can create spaces that not only address external environmental factors but also support internal mental well-being. For instance, incorporating elements that promote mindfulness and relaxation, such as quiet meditation areas or spaces with natural elements, can enhance the overall well-being of building occupants. This holistic approach ensures that the built environment supports both the physical and mental health of its users, aligning with the core principles of environmental psychology.

An interesting comparison study from the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies explored connections from Buddhist teachings to Western Psychology. (https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2006-12925-003 )

Although it is useful to keep in mind the surrounding environment's effect on mental health, both western and Buddhist teachings believe that happiness derived from internal, mental training lasts longer than that from external sources, such as the built environments we spend our days in, such as an office, home, school or gym.

Buddhists believe that a lack of overall mental wellbeing is a sign of internal imbalances, requiring focused attention through meditation practices and so on in order to integrate these ‘issues' whatever they may be into our psyche.

Equally, for Buddhist practitioners, happiness itself can be a fundamentally ephemeral or at the very least fluctuating experience for most of us, unless we are ‘enlightened' and have found our own internal happiness, rather than chasing after external sources of happiness.

For example, Buddhist teachings stress the importance of mental balance with a fourfold theory of combining conative balance, attentional balance, cognitive balance and affective balance. Things like anxiety, depression, etc are thought to result from an unbalanced mind while a healthy, uninjured mind is thought to be better prepared to deal with stresses.

Buddhist principles for mental wellbeing in natural environments

• Conative Balance refers to the ability that allows to set intention; having set goals increases motivation and commitment than desire alone while stressing the importance of realistic expectations and having clear goals as a way to predict happiness.

• Attentional Balance is the development of sustained attention for optimal performance. This can be applied with mindful breathing as a sense of focus, the theory of flow – being involved in an activity for its own sake. Mindfulness practices such as meditation are also a key component in developing this skill, for example.

• Cognitive Balance implies being calmly and clearly present; engaging in the world without making assumptions or misleading ideas. Being present in the moment, without judgement in other words. This can be seen through mindfulness training and stress-reduction that results in not getting caught up in expectations.

• Affective Balance is having a clear and cohesive mix of the other three.

https://www.routledge.com/Buddhist-Thought-and-Applied-Psychological-Research-Transcending-the-Boundaries/Nauriyal-Drummond-Lal/p/book/9780415599344

Summary on environmental psychology in the built environment

The essence of environment psychology has to do with the environment, yes but mainly relies on healthy minds as the goal and environmental factors as a stepping-stone to get there. While there are many techniques that can be included in design, there is no “one” answer.

Everything comes down to asking the question: “how will this affect my mentality?” and the answer to that, varies according to the context of each building or interior space situations. 

Sustainable country estate hotels UK

biofilico hotel sustainability consultants review the most sustainable country estate hotels in the uk focusing on core themes such as

• energy & water efficiency

• local sourcing policy

• building and interior materials

• waste reduction, recycling & single-use plastics

• biodiversity & biophilia

• health & wellness

Read on to find out what some of the best examples of sustainable UK hotels in the countryside are doing in terms of sustainability.

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Thyme - a nature inspired UK hotel in a conservation area

Thyme is an independent hotel in a restored 31-bedroom manor house on a privately owned farm in the Cotswolds, with a spin-off business of botanically inspired products marketed under the brand name Bertioli.

The central concept here is nature, providing guests with a myriad of ways to connect with and be in nature during their stay (a concept known as biophilia) on this carefully restored, historic estate located within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) with water meadows that have been named a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Around the estate guests will find a Barn restaurant, the Baa Bar, Swan pub, a cookery school, the Meadow Spa and an event space.

An ‘English countryside with a contemporary twist’ style pervades the interiors with their nature-inspired colour palettes and botanical prints combined with a restrained use of the latest technology where required.

In terms of sustainability, a number of energy efficiency measures include enhanced ventilation and insulation measures, as well as on-site heat pumps and boreholes, taking full advantage of what the land offers them. A chlorine-free, spring water swimming pool meanwhile has a high-tech filtration system to provide a more natural swimming experience for guests.

In the food and beverage outlets, ingredients are responsibly sourced and seasonal, there is also a vegetable garden, herb bed and orchard on the estate providing the foundation of what is used in the kitchens.

Decorative flowers used around the manor’s interiors are sourced from around the UK, rather than being imported from the giant producer countries such as Holland, Colombia and Kenya.

Additionally a supplier code of conduct, or Rules of Engagement document, reportedly ensures a minimum of “sustainable standards, transparency, inclusivity & fairness, and product excellence” from businesses in their supply chain.

In hotel operations, commitment has been made to removing single-use plastics as well as composting and recycling, with the aim to achieve zero waste kitchen operations eventually.

As a hotel, Thyme doesn’t shout about its sustainability yet thanks to its nature-inspired brand positioning, a respect for the environment is clearly a vital part of the business’s future success.

Thyme is a member of 1% For The Planet, supports the conservation efforts of Tusk in Africa and is advised on sustainable meadow management by Plantlife to ensure the estate becomes a haven for wildlife.

https://www.thyme.co.uk/sustainability

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The Wild Rabbit - a sustainable hotel UK

Billed as a modern British inn, this independent hotel is part of the Daylesford Farm estate, one of the leading sustainable and organic farms in the UK, owned by Lord and Lady Bamford.

Refurbishment works in 2013 used traditional building techniques, local craftsmen and local materials to deliver a high-end concept that is at once rustic and contemporary thanks to Lady Bamford’s architects of choice for all ofher Daylesford projects around the world and biophilic design experts - Spencer Fung Architects.

In both the dining room and bedrooms, we find plenty of exposed stone and aged oak ceiling beams, one-off furniture pieces and fine detailing. Wattle and daub panelling was restored and re-rendered while original beams and joists were exposed and given a new lease of life after the previous countryside pub context.

Roofing was insulated with pure sheep’s wool from the Daylesford estate to improve thermal performance and reducing energy expenditure, while introducing a natural, non-toxic material into the building, just as would have been done several hundred years ago.

The Wild Rabbit runs on renewable power, there are over 1800 solar panels around the farm in total, electric vehicle charging points are provided, low energy lighting has been used throughout the property and a set of recycling bins are standard in each waste collection area.

In the kitchen, no surprises perhaps to find locally sourced, seasonal food on offer with many of the ingredients coming directly from the Daylesford farm, making this an ideal ‘0km’ solution.

Bathrooms feature the distinctive green bottles of the Bamford Bath & Body collection, made with naturally sourced and in many cases organically certified ingredients. These products can also be found at the eco-luxury 1 Hotel spas around the USA.

No sustainability report available online.

https://thewildrabbit.co.uk/

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Fritton Lake Hotel & Members Club - a green hotel experience

Fritton Lake Hotel & Members Club is part of the Somerleyton Estate, owned by Lord and Lady Somerleyton, who are on a mission to rewild this corner of East Anglia in collaboration with other landowners under the collective moniker of WildEast.

Farmland here is gradually being restored to self-management, ensuring it is home to free-roaming deer, cattle, water buffalo, sheep, ponies and a plethora of birds.

A 16th century clubhouse with restaurant and rooms is joined by a series of cabins and holiday cottages tucked away around the serene lake. On-site ‘wildstock’ is made up of both wild and farmed grazing animals. playing a vital role in re-engineering the land, as nature intended.

By way of a waste reduction plan, Fritton works with suppliers to reduce unnecessary packaging while a local food waste recycler turns waste into energy. Food miles are kept to a minimum as the bulk of ingredients used in the kitchen are from the Somerleyton Estate grounds, with harder to source delicacies coming from local artisans.

After an energy audit back in 2018, tenergy sourcing was switched to renewable energy providers, LED lights were introduced and ongoing energy monitoring has provided valuable real time data to assist with managing efficiencies.

In terms of guest health and fitness, there are plenty of on-site activities such as wild swimming in the lake, trail running, cycling and even one of our own Biofit designed eco-friendly gyms with a group fitness studio.

https://www.frittonlake.co.uk/

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Heckfield Place - a sustainable countryside hotel

A decade in the planning, Heckfield Place is a 400-acre estate in Hampshire with a main building that dates back to the 1760s. Today it offers a high-end, sustainable hotel experience inspired by traditional values rather than sustainability being its defining characteristic.

Biomass boilers burn wood pellets from sustainable sources to heat the building and water for showers; additional energy from the grid comes from renewable sources; motion-sensors and LED bulbs reduce the energy requirements of lighting. Water meanwhile is taken from an on-site borehole and rainwater is collected for use around the estate, rather than drawing from the mains.

Various natural materials are said to have been sourced locally such as rush mats and headboards - no mention is made of the myriad other building and interior fit-out materials in that particular slice of the procurement strategy however.

Natural ingredients dominate in the spa and this connection. with nature is perhaps where Heckfield Place hits its highest notes in fact.

In addition to. single-use plastic-free bedrooms, extensive waste-reduction strategies in the kitchens include making preserves and cordials from excess fruit, as would have been done in the past, with anything that can’t be used going to compost for the ‘living soil’ that forms a central part of the hotel’s biodynamic farm concept.

Regenerative farming techniques are a commitment, requiring detailed knowledge of the local soil conditions, solar calendars and faith in traditional methods that shy away from fertilizers completely. in favour. of compost, manure and. ‘herbal remedies’ The result is an organic farm with its own dairy, seven greenhouses, a rotating mix of crops, British saddleback pigs, hens, bees and fruit orchards.

Future projects include the addition of solar tiles on the roof for energy production, a windmill and an off-grid community of ‘tiny houses’ as well as ongoing tree propagation and. planting initiatives.

https://www.heckfieldplace.com/.

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The Victoria, Holkham - a green country estate hotel uk

The Victoria hotel within the Holkham Estate, owned by the Earl of Leicester, located on the Norfolk coast, is made up of two buildings with ten rooms in each.

The setting is the “most pioneering and sustainable rural estate” that has received a Gold Award from Green Tourism every year since 2016 and is regularly references as one of the finest examples of estate conservation in the UK, so the omens were always good for their on-site hotel.

sustainable hotel energy

Heating is courtesy of a biomass boiler fuelled by their own woodchip, from their sustainably managed woodland. A 100-acre solar farm was built back in 2014 in a first step towards becoming what they intend to be a carbon neutral estate by 2040.

There are also ground source heat pump energy units and air source heat pumps on the grounds. In 2021 Holkham undertook two carbon audits covering both the leisure and agriculture components of the estate’s activities.

Working at this level as part of a hotel sustainability strategy, is a far greater commitment than merely buying recycled toilet paper or going digital at reception, it requires long-term planning and expert consultancy services.

green hotel kitchen ingredients

Ingredients are sourced either on-site (such as venison, beef and lamb) or from within a 50 mile radius of the estate, this type of local procurement policy is nothing new of course but it has become increasingly less common in a world where avocados can be flown in from Peru all year round. Making this type of commitment means following the seasons, and reducing the impact of food miles further along the supply chain.

Green Hotel waste management

One of the central tenets of the Holkham sustainability strategy is waste reduction. They are set on closing the loop on compostables with the help of a local recycling supplier who turn it into compost suitable for agriculture.

A target of a 10% reduction in non-recycled waste each year for the next decade shows yet again their long-term vision for reducing environmental impact both on the estate as a whole and at their sustainable hotel The Victoria. No surprises therefore to see a prominent recycling bin strategy in place for visitors to do their bit whilst on the estate.

https://www.holkham.co.uk/about-us/wonder/

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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

Examples of biophilic design interiors cannabis retail stores

Biofilico biophilic design consultants review the best retail interior design concepts for medical cannabis stores in north america

Alchemy Downtown Toronto, Canada - example biophilic interior design

Alchemy is a Toronto-based cannabis dispensary brand that not only delivers a nature-based product but a customer experience inspired by biophilic design.

Designed by the Studio Paolo Ferrari, the Alchemy Downtown Toronto cannabis retail store shows influences of art, nature, and technology fused into an elevated space. The result is a sublime yet upbeat atmosphere, rather like the effects brought on by many of the products on sale here.

High technical ingenuity and healthy building materials combine to create a contemporary retail space with a touch of class in an otherwise neglected corner of the retail design industry. Things are now changing for the better with these nature-inspired dispensaries however.

Walking through the cannabis store space feels like a luxury, high fashion experience. Within the foyer, a large skylight shines down upon a circular garden central to the room. At its center, a tree sapling grows tall reaching toward the light cascading down from above. Along its sides, large-leafed plants spiral out into the white room surrounding the indoor garden. At its base, a layer of undergrowth fills the small ‘forest floor’.

Further elements of earthy, biophilic design are brought into the room through whitewashed ash wood. An organically shaped pillar of this material accompanies a curvilinear wood table that bends around the ash pole.

The strong, sunshine yellow accents present within the space are an essential element in the overall aesthetic while natural light is brought into the store via yellow-tinted glass.

Finally, circles are a recurring design theme here: a circular pattern marked by a change in material was created on the floor. In the ceiling a circle of acoustic sound-absorbing material creates a dark circle while on the walls, circular mirrors reflect back the displays of merchandise, even one of the retail store’s rooms is circular.

https://alchemycannaco.com/about/

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City Cannabis Vancouver - nature inspired interior design

This dispensary is what we would classify as a classic example of biophilic interior design. A welcome desk with a curvilinear form of a quarter circle incorporates wood paneling while on the wall behind the reception this wood paneling extends to full height, introducing a large chunk of timber into the visual experience. Each section of paneling is three dimensional in nature protruding a couple inches from the wall.

Moving into the interior of the cannabis dispensary, the wooden panelling covers the two long parallel walls. The beaming goes up each side of the wall and bends like an arch before it meets the corner. The beaming bends toward each-other and connects in the middle surrounding the room in small wooden arches.

A retail display table is a continuous piece of whitewashed wood. It extends to around 20 feet as one solid piece of organically shaped timber.

Lighting creates abstract patterns into the space, as if replicating light filtering in through a forest canopy overhead, inevitably unordered and fractal. Also placed within these nooks, an assortment of artificial plants decorates the ceiling and walls of the space, no doubt a response to low light / maintenance priorities. Placed with intent, they appear to grow outwards and are concentrated within corners of the space.

This greenery cascading down the walls and across the ceiling when combined with living plants and potted birch trees gives the dispensary a tangible connection to nature and biophilic design, the perfect backdrop for their plant-based products.

https://www.citycannabis.co/location/cambie-st/

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Etain Health NYC - biophilic design in medical cannabis dispensary

Female-owned Etain Health located in New York integrates biophilic design into their health and wellness focused medical cannabis dispensary store by Clodagh.

As shown above, a dominant feature of the space is a 20 ft living plant wall. beneath a skylight.with supplementary high-lux LED lights that give the plants what they need to survive in the long-term, all year round.

Thanks to adequate light levels and an in-built irrigation system, there are close on 2500 plants in the wall providing not just air=purifying benefits (neutralizing volatile organic compounds while absorbing mildew and spores) for the space but also a sense of calm and natural vitality from bringing the outside world in.

A Feng Shui water feature provides natural background noise through the movement of running water. From wall to floor, natural elements of oak wood and stone are used to create a reassuring, zen interior.

https://etainhealth.com/Biophila-green-plant-wall/

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Dockside Cannabis Seattle

https://www.dezeen.com/2019/11/19/graham-baba-architects-seattle-cannabis-dispensary/

Located in Seattle, Washington, Dockside Cannabis was converted into a local dispensary clinic from a pre-existing structure. It was designed to redefine the typical, often uninspiring retail experience of marijuana through the creation of a tranquil and inviting environment inspired by biophilic design interiors.

Making not only the interior of the building look open and welcoming but also the exterior facade was intended to reduce any lingering stigma around entering a marijuana store. Large windows fill the wall allowing light fill the interior space. They are complemented by a large skylight above and organic, wabi-sabi wood displays below.

Sunshine filters downward through the scissor trusses forming unique shadows within the space. From the trusses, hanging plants flourish under the natural lighting. Vines grow down into the space from these hanging plants alongside a variety of other living plants to create an abundant nature-inspired interior experience inspired by nature.

https://www.docksidecannabis.com/

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Dutch Love Ottawa

Dutch love is a cannabis dispensary located in Ottawa, Ontario that has taken a unique twist on biophilic design in its retail interiors, primarily via a clever feature in their display table joinery that uses opaque sheets of backlit plastic board with a plethora of potted plants inside, kept alive with grow lights built into the cabinetry.

By leveraging a feature of cannabis production in the interiors, while also connecting with biophilia and nature in this way, the store immediately stands out from the crowd. The rest of the space is neutral, with whitewashed walls and minimalist wood shelving structures for product displays, pot plants and lamps.

Filing the space between each storage shelf are slabs of material placed within the cubby made from an array of materials, from organically broken pieces of rock sitting next to each other, to large slabs of wood, and polished slabs of stone.

https://dutch.love

UK floral stylists - biophilic design concept

UK botanical artist

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UK floral stylist

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UK botanical artist 〰️ UK floral stylist 〰️

As healthy building advisors and biophilic design consultants, we maintain a close eye on the ever more vibrant field of floral art, styling and design. These works use living flowers, dried flowers, preserved flowers and a generous dose of design creativity to bring the outside world in - the fundamental principle behind biophilic interior design.

What’s more, we’re seeing a number of these artists integrating sustainability and ethical business practices into their value system as well, making them even more worthy of our attention as sustainable interior design consultants.

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Design by Nature

floral artist, london, uk

https://designbynature.co/

Design by Nature is a floral stylist studio based out of East London that uses experimental design in dried botanicals and cut florals, a perfect compliment to biophilic design interiors.

Their projects range from sculptures to arrangements, bouquets, and installations. Taking cues from the natural world, their botanical compositions integrate nature’s raw beauty for private clients, brands, as well as weddings and corporate events. Notable client names include Nike, ASOS, Facebook, Vogue, and Swarovski.

In placing an emphasis on sustainable sourcing, Design by Nature works solely with British flowers and dried botanicals. They also provide a flower delivery service. 

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Rebecca Louise Law

floral artist, london, uk

https://www.rebeccalouiselaw.com/installations

Rebecca Louis Law Installations is a London based floral installation company that specializes in large exhibitions of preserved flowers. With this as her signature, her works are widely recognizable in the botanical art sector already.

Along with this recurrent theme, she experiments with the contrasting states between living plants and dried, between with fresh, preserved, and decaying flowers.

She specialises in vast works that often find their natural home within museum and gallery installations. Some notable customers include Skovgaard museum in Denmark and the Chandran Gallery in the United States.

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carly rogers flowers

floral stylist, london, uk

https://www.carlyrogersflowers.co.uk/

Carly Rodgers, a Camberwell based floral artist, creates dazzling artistic installations with the floral medium. She makes stunning cut floral arrangements alongside elaborate garden installations.

By bringing the natural flora up walls and wires and into interior environments, she breaks the mould of a traditional florist and pushes into the contemporary art space.

Rodgers has been commissioned for large-scale events, weddings, and one off installations. Some notable client names include Cartier, Benefit, Michael Kors, Dior, and London hospitality destination Sketch.

Her botanical sculpture has found its place in high-profile business, renowned designers, and private clients around the globe.

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Simon lycett

floral artist, london, uk

https://www.simonlycett.co.uk/

Simon J Lycett is a luxury floral artist based out of South London, a brilliant example of biophilic interior design using flowers. He takes floral design to a breathtaking level creating magical designs for his clients. Some of his most notable and prestigious customers include the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, and the Queen herself.

Lycett’s floral portfolio includes weddings, special events, and commissions for historic buildings. His style is elaborate, evocative and deliberately colourful, seamlessly integrating into any building or interior with his signature touch of class and elegance.

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jam jar flowers - floral installations, london uk

http://www.jamjarflowers.co.uk/events

Melissa Richardson is the founder of Jam Jar flowers, a floral installation company based out of South London with an obvious devotion to the field of biophilic design via flowers, whether living or dried. They create intricate floral designs for events, weddings and creative projects.

Working for notable names such as London Gate and the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, the elaborate designs have grown into a notable name in the industry. With installations of flowers cascading down from the ceiling, growing up walls, and springing from the floor, her designs are perfect for anything from a product launch to an extravagant party.

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The Flower Laboratory - floral artists, east sussex, uk

https://www.theflowerlaboratory.com/home/

Based out of East Sussex, The Flower Laboratory is a big name within the UK floral industry for those that know and a dramatic example of how to integrate a biophilic design concept into commercial contexts, be they photo shoots or fashion shows.

The team’s stated goal is to provoke an emotional response from their audience by harnessing the power of plants and flowers to communicate feelings. With a large portfolio of projects and installations, they are known for their elaborate set builds for magazine photoshoots. Clients include Gucci, Vanity Fair, Harper’s Bazaar, and Vogue.

They also make arrangements, sculptures, installations and set builds for films, events, runway shows, and retail. This is all delivered by their in-house team or botanical designers, florists, plant specialists, set builders, set dressers, and floral artists.

Frog Flowers - floral stylist, manchester, uk

https://frogflowers.co.uk/services/installations-events/ 

The Frog Flower company was started by David Jayet-Laraffe in Manchester creating floral installations for grand openings, product launches, anniversaries and other events.

Their client list includes Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and the National Theatre. They also have florist studios where people can experience the practice of floral design for themselves hands on by making their own bouquets and flower crowns.

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Wild About - floral stylists, London, UK

https://wildabout.co.uk/pages/floral-installation 

Wild About is a floral installation outfit with a client list including Alexander McQueen, Michael Kors, J Sheekey restaurant, Hackett stores and Fifty Cheyne.

Floral displays for weddings and events hold a large place within their portfolio, alongside retail store flower installations and weekly flower delivery services curated to fit each different customer’s preferred style.

Endlessly creative in their retail brand store installations, they have an indulgent, elaborate style that is just right for the instagram generation where big, bold visuals are needed to capture our attention.

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Pyrus Botanicals - floral artists, scotland

https://pyrusbotanicals.com/creative 

Fiona Inglis and Natalya Ayers started Pyrus Botanicals in East Lothian, Scotland. The studio creates botanical installations for events, sets, brands, film and TV, and editorials.

Some top names of their clientele include The Telegraph, The White Company, and Strathberry amongst other fashion and lifestyle publications. They also specialize in weddings from large scale and luxury to more intimate events.

Sustainability and ethics are of high priority to Pyrus Botanicals. They source flowers from small specialist farms across Britain to reduce their environmental impact and support local businesses rather than importing from floral industry the giants such as Kenya, Colombia and the Netherlands.

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the aficionados on sustainability at independent hotels

how are independent boutique hotels in europe integrating sustainability?

matt morley talks to the founder of the aficionados, iain ainsworth, to find out…

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In this episode I’m in London talking to boutique hotel expert Iain Ainsworth - Founder of The Aficionados a reference for travel culture and lifestyle that promotes neat edits of hotels, creators and craftsmen as well as its sister company White Line Hotels a marketing network for hoteliers. 

He was Executive VP of Design Hotels from 2004-2008 and Regional Director of Sales and Marketing for Concorde Hotels from 2000-2004 so he’s a hospitality insider through and through. 

I took the opportunity to take the temperature on sustainability in his corner of the industry today, so we cover everything from eco-friendly hotel amenities, sustainability certifications for hotels, the landscape hotel concept and various examples of sustainability initiatives from his member hotels in the Alps. 

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FULL TRANSCRIPT COUTESY OF OTTER.AI - EXCUSE ANY TYPOS

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interview with the aficionados

Matt Morley

Iain, thanks for joining us today. I'd like to start at a fairly high level overview. You've been in this game for a while you're an insider. How do you see sustainability taking shape or evolving amongst the hotels you're working with? Is it more of an informal organic process or are you seeing more structure coming into play?

natural sustainability in hotels

Iain Ainsworth

Hi, Matt, I think for me, the most overwhelming point is that for all of our hotels, it's a very natural process, it's part of their DNA. When we talked to them initially, 12 years ago about sustainability, they were like, well, what's new? It's always been part of what we do. And we only work with privately owned hotels - 99% of them are indigenous, from that village, from the valley, mountain or town.

So for them, it's pretty natural that they sourced locally, beside the fact that they knew Bert down the road, who was the timber maker, it's very natural thing.

greenwashing in hotels

Green labeling is not something that they they need. Sure, it's not just a marketing process, it does need some structure coming into it. And that's where we try and guide them and filter out what what they do, because for them, it's part of running a daily hotel, and they don't necessarily realize that what they're doing is remarkable.

You know, even for the older hotels, where you might think, to be up to the new standards is quite difficult. You can see the next generation are applying the newest technologies, but they're also going back to how their grandparents originally built the hotels.

renewable energy for hotels

In the Alps, for example, using renewable energy is pretty normal now, if you look at South Tyrol, most hotels have zero carbon emissions, because they are using a grid fostered by the local government. So a lot of them are very, very green, I hate the word green. But this just put them into into that philosophy, if you like, I just think it's a welcome blast of energy and enthusiasm that they have for being sustainable - without necessarily calling it ‘sustainability’.

hotel sustainability certifications

It is difficult within the hotel industry, as you know, and also between countries, to get certification is there's not one mandated policy that you can follow when you're building a new hotel. Equally, if you're renovating, it's very hard to tick all of the boxes. And there is no one's one central template for this.

sustainable hotel architecture

But on the other hand, I think that's quite good. Because then you get personally into innovation and new ideas. The other striking point with our hotels is the lead on architecture and design, again, maximizing the use of light, maximizing the conservation of heat during the winter. And also keeping cool in the summer.

Architects, particularly in the alpine regions are very up to date on sustainable approaches - again, it's part of the DNA of that of that region.

sustainability as part of the hotel culture

Matt Morley

It's an interesting point, isn't it? Because it's almost as if there are certain areas of Europe and in particular, in this case, geographies where you are heavily present with your member hotels, where it's almost part of the culture where it doesn't need necessarily to be introduced from outside and then sort of imposed from above, which is what we're seeing in places like London, and other huge cities where it hasn't been historically part of the local culture but now they're playing catch up, whereas someone like South Tyrol, it's really part of the fabric of society.

sustainable supply chains for hotels

Iain Ainsworth

Yeah, I mean, there's certain aspects they still need to look at like, like, like how do you minimalize the impact of what you're doing because at the end of the day, it's still tourism but I think when your family owned the farm down the road, your other family member is the hotel architect. Your other family are producing hotel linen which is a very natural and sustainable product, even the timber they use in the bedrooms, they will save sleep better because it's holistic and antibacterial.

natural health and wellness in hotels

So you have this natural health and wellness element as part of the building. For me, you know, it's very easy to talk about, you know, sustainability in Lisbon. But it's a very different approach there, you need to dig deeper because, unfortunately, some countries or larger urbanized hubs, when they go for the local furniture, it's not necessarily locals, they just take the design and then source it from further afield.

But we've got an old palace in Lisbon, it was the hardest thing finding an architect that would understand conservation, and reinvigorating the hotel history rather than wiping over it.

certification systems for sustainable hotels

Matt Morley

So you mentioned the idea of sustainability certifications. And we do see a number of them out there at the moment, as you say, it feels like perhaps there isn't quite one dominant leader that works across territories. Each has a slightly different twist, I noticed, but a lot of them are covering, broadly the same bases.

So for example, Son Brull in Mallorca - one of your member hotels - they've gone for Travelife certification, from your perspective, hotel marketing, do you think there's value in going for something like that?

sustainable hotel restaurant ingredients

Iain Ainsworth

Yeah, Son Brull, when they created the hotel some 15 years ago, it was a very sustainable approach to it, it's been a farm for nearly 300 years. So it was a monastery as well, and it came with 40 hectares of land. So as a hotel, you can either sell the land, leave it over to other farmers, or you can take it as part of your concept.

So in this case ‘farm to table’ dining for them is pretty natural as well, because they've got the farm on their doorstep. So they've always been a pioneer of doing things proper, I guess, they're Islanders, and they saw a lot of destruction of the island.

Also, you know, the movement of locals from farming into hospitality, which sort of saddened that one of the owners and a particular and he said, No, this is not right, we need to employ the farming community around us.

So they did it from their own hearts, as it were, but I mean, having certification from Travelife, for example, the gold certification, it's a good tickbox because again, you start to ask yourself, Okay, what am I missing? What else can I do and like all of the certifications, of course, you know, they're covering a very broad spectrum of hotel typologie and sizes.

The smaller ones, invariably are not going to be able to tick every box. But equally, they know, the larger ones are not going to be able to offer fresh lemons from their own orchard in the morning.

Compared to a hotel just saying that they’re green and eco, and sustainable., having a certification means for me that they are following strict sustainability guidelines. And they're fulfilling as many items on the checklist as possible.

It’s also an ongoing process, which I like, because it's not just okay, we've done an initiative, tick the box, close it. You know, it's an ongoing thing. And I think that, for me, is what certification is about. It's ongoing. It's always changing. It's always evolving. Technology, of course, is helping this in terms of collecting data from hotel operations.

sustainable hotel amenities

Matt Morley

One idea that we see a lot of hotels adopting is sustainable amenities, removing single use plastic bottles. You've written about various brands offering that type of product, from plant-based botanicals and organics and naturals - what’s going on there from your view?

Iain Ainsworth

Yeah, it was the straws and now we're going for plastic free amenities. And, you know, the elimination of single use plastics throughout the hotel, whether it's the amenity bottle, or mineral water bottles. The advantage small hotels have is that they can go to a local supplier again, and source materials from them.

I mean, the best elements for me are those pioneers like Susanna Kaufman, who have always used natural products. You know, she's very cautious about minimalist, use of plastic refill bottles.

We see new products emerging all in sort of a block form As soaps, shampoos, conditioners, so they have no plastic and no glass involved at all. And I think that's the way forward but it can also be a question of cost so we didn't want to mandate a certain type of hotel amenity and say they all have to be plastic free, because there are many unique opportunities out there with local suppliers. And also to keep that relationship with the small pharmaceutical companies that are making products for the hotels.

single use plastics in hotels

You can also look at stores like Muji, if you want bamboo slippers, sometimes you can draw inspiration from a High Street store that's gone sustainable, because it's still very hard as a small hotel to get a supply of slippers, that are environmentally friendly - people seem to feel they need these things for the one or two nights in a hotel!

The same goes for the hotel toothbrush, you know, you can find a bamboo option now. The problem is sometimes certain countries demand an array of amenities for their star categorization. Which is crazy for me because you know, I don't need a toothbrush in every room.

eco cleaning hotel operations

Also in into the next stage of this equation, which are the chemicals used in cleaning the rooms. Because after COVID, you know, during COVID There was this huge euphoria for chemicals instead of looking at natural ways of cleaning a room because this is equally as important for me as what's in the bathroom.

local procurement policy in hotels

Matt Morley

A hotelier does have an easy option and it is going to one of these giant hotel supply companies that offer bulk branded bottles that have not much to do with the real brand, it's all just licensed and an easy solution for hotel slippers, bathrobes, amenities etc.

So in a sense, the hotels that are seeking out the individual brands, there's a lot of work behind that there's a lot of extra legwork. Right, it's an it's more of an appeal process than the sort of the easy path. Right. So it's sometimes maybe not evident the guests that what's gone into that.

Iain Ainsworth

Yeah, and I still think some some guests judge your hotel on a brand that they know. Whereas I'm, you know, myself and I would say most of our subscribers that travel into our hotels are more intrigued by finding the local brands and then go and buy it, because you want to take it with you. So I think I think there's opportunity for hotel amenity distribution to continue changing.

Of course, you can buy big brands like Ren - a fantastic sustainable product, and you can buy them from a wholesaler. So there are alternatives there. But if I find somebody that's making a product 20 kilometers down the road, I'm gonna have my first conversation with them as a hotelier!

Health and wellness in Alpine hotels

Matt Morley

You mentioned the idea of the Alps as being quite strongly associated for many of us with with a healthy lifestyle. Someone like the Hotel Arlberg, Lech- they bill themselves as a wellness retreat, exactly what does that mean?

Iain Ainsworth

Well, for them they're a third generation of family, so grandmother's still involved daily, in the business. So their parents run the hotel today, they're keen to refurbish and upgrade. And it's always been changing, he started as cafe and then had a couple of rooms and, and today's become what it is, a fabulous Alpine retreat.

They always had a spa, but when they started to rethink about the spa, they looked really at how do you bring in the Alps inside? So that's where they created the blueprint of Alpine healthy living, and they started to look at the sound, fresh air, nature, it's about the products.

And one thing they noticed in the older rooms, there was always a scent of pine. And this was coming from the wardrobes actually. So they said, Okay, where can we get this old pine from that, you know, is well sourced, and they found a guy in the next village that salvages pine from the older Alpine houses.

Then they looked at the pigments of the local colors. So they started with colors and said, Okay, what are the colors that we want to be in there? But then they looked at, okay, how do you create this moss green color? Well, surely there's a herbal pigment growing up in the mountains that we could use. So then they created natural paints, which they bought into their spa as well. So I mean, spa for them was the starting point. But it's actually extended now throughout the whole hotel.

So there's a wellness concept throughout the whole hotel. They use chemical free paints that are made locally. They also use natural stone, which comes from about 20 kilometers away from the hotel. And they've also then started to look at the treatments that they have and which oils you can use. So they're looking at the old monasteries in the area and what therapeutic oils that they use derive from nature, of course.

And just working with architects very carefully and producers like we were talking about Susanna Kaufman of you how you can give me that total one off wellness experience, which is what I want As the consumer, but also with the added bonus of it being healthy and sustainable, and an ethos behind there that gives you that sort of joy for the Alps and healthy living.

the landscape hotel concept

Matt Morley

What about the Juvet property in Norway, what do you consider goes into a ‘landscape hotel’ concept today?

Iain Ainsworth

I mean, the Juvet landscape hotel was probably the one of the first ones that I encountered back in 2009. And for me, it's this total immersion into nature, but with no disruption to nature itself. So the word you know, the landscape hotel was the pioneer of the owner that had this dream of how can I create a living pods if you like or hotel without disrupting even the moss that grows on the rocks.

So their first thought was, Okay, what if we put these pods on stilts, and the stilts actually mimic the birch tree stem, so you sort of get this beautiful visual integration between the trees, trunks, and the rods that go into the into the rocks. And by doing that, then you can create a platform, which is what a lot of indigenous tribes did in wilderness areas, you know, is it's quite logical, actually to get the elevated from the ground, but it enables the flora and fauna that you fall in love with to continue to thrive and in fact, thrive even more, because you're giving a new habitat to grow along and thing.

I think the landscape hotels, for me, the biggest thing about them is the view. And so they tend to have huge panoramic windows. There's a lot of gimmicks coming in, you know, we're a landscape hotel, you know, and they put things up in trees and things like that. So I think you have to be very careful, you don't become a gimmick.

Matt Morley

And obviously also written about the green philosophy at Hotel Buhelwirt in South Tyrol. Clearly one of your favorite regions, and as I'm discovering, quite a hotbed for case studies in hotel sustainability and wellbeing. So in that instance, how did the architects pull through a concept of sustainability touching on things like construction and energy use?

energy use and building biology in a hotel

Iain Ainsworth

The architects, two brothers, and their real philosophy is environmental building biology. And so they're quite famous in South Tyrol for their work integrating a building into its natural habitat. In this case, it was an old guesthouse, which the owners had inherited from their parents, and they wanted to add to this but by doing so, in a way that, you know, is sensitive to their environment. And so they found the perfect architecture to do that.

You’ve got this very vernacular structure that sticks out of the rock side. And it has a purpose to it as well. I mean, they have always had energy efficiency on their minds, not only because of the cost of it, but to have as least impact as possible. Again, being in South Tyrol is great, because you know, the energy is hydroelectric - power plants provide a lot of the local renewable energy, and without any co2 emissions, so they've got that backup there.

But they've also invested a lot into technology into meter reading, they can see from their app, how much energy they are using each day, how many guests they have, how much energy is being consumed in the rooms? What do we do about pool heating? What do we do about heating in general areas? Again, technology is helping them reduce their carbon footprint.

plastic-free kitchens in hotel operations

But I have to say they are natural enthusiasts for their environment that they live in. And again, they have the farm down the road, they're completely organic, they went a step further in the kitchen, banning all plastic in the kitchen. And when we start to think about our own practices at home, you know, with plastic containers food wrap, we use it to preserve food.

So again, they've gone back to pickling, how do you conserve, how did our grandparents conserve food without using refrigeration, or plastics, so they've taken it to a whole new level. And I would say cutting out plastic in the kitchen is even a bigger challenge than say, in the bathroom amenities, because there is a replacement already there.

Matt Morley

Really fascinating examples. I feel like we could go on for an hour or two more, but I'm going to be respectful of your time - what's your preferred medium for communications?

Iain Ainsworth

Obviously, we're on LinkedIn as a company, and we're also on Instagram. But I'm quite old fashioned. I'd like to hear from people. So anybody wants to pop as me an email, maybe you can put a link in for that love to hear from people, contributors, experiences.

And they say, you know, we as a company as well, we're still learning how to harness all the sustainability aspects that we have 93 hotels now and about 110 makers.

So we're always looking for feedback, suggestions, ideas, of how we can better inform people of what what's going on.

CONTACT @ THEAFICIONADOS . COM

Using Germicidal UV light in a healthy building plan

What is Indoor Air Quality?

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) has become an increasing focus in building design over the past decade but especially with the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic that threw the topic into the global limelight. Developing an enhanced IAQ plan for an entire building or indeed an interior space such as a spa, office, apartment or gym is likely going to combine a number of key components, including:

• high-grade in-duct filtration

• adequate ventilation rates

• healthy non-toxic building materials

• air purifying plants

• green cleaning policies

• air quality monitors

• IAQ certification

what is UV-C light and UV Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI) in healthy buildings?

UV-C light and UV Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI) can be used to disinfect air, water, and surfaces, thereby lowering the spread of viral infections and bacteria in building interiors. 

UV light is a relatively new but well established technology that can be leveraged as part of a healthy building and interiors plan to improve indoor environmental quality, especially in the post-Covid era.

UV-C lighting can be used on scales as small as individual cabinets to sterilize cellphones or in personal water bottles, all the way up to its incorporation into a building’s HVAC system for a more building level, systematic approach.

Surfaces, air, and water can all benefit from UV-C light technology, although installation and safety should be considered, especially when put in place at the building scale. 

Ultraviolet (UV) light in healthy building cleaning protocols - HML publication

The Parsons Healthy Material Lab (HML) and MFA Lighting Design programs published a doc showing their research and testing of the impacts of Ultraviolet (UV) light on viral spread.

In the wake of the global pandemic, there has been a mindset shift recognizing the importance of a healthy building interior. However, traditional disinfectants commonly contain antimicrobials and other toxins that cause a variety of negative health impacts. ‘Antimicrobial’ does not in fact mean ‘healthy’.

Since the start of the pandemic, aerosol disinfectant spray sales have gone up by 385%, which has the potential to increase health issues of building occupants in other ways.

Parsons concentrated their study on applying UVGI light safely and affordably, focusing most closely on air quality in shared spaces for this very reason.

What is Indoor Viral Transmission in buildings?

Viral spread indoors is a hot topic in the COVID-19 age but is not a new concept per se. Viruses can spread both through the air in the form of small, suspended droplets, or fall to the ground and rest on interior surfaces, as many of us have come to understand in the past few years.

In the air, these droplets are known as aerosols and the virus can be transmitted through inhalation. When the droplets make their way to surfaces, the virus spreads through tactile means. 

How does UV light disinfect building interiors?

An important distinction to make early on is the difference between disinfection and cleansing. Disinfection can be done by UVGI, meaning it kills germs in the air and on surfaces, but doesn’t remove the bacteria and dirt itself.

When combined with cleansing, aka the physical removal of impurities, UVGI implementation is a healthier, safer alternative to traditional aerosol-based disinfectant strategies. 

UVGI specifically refers to a light with the wavelength of 254 nm, which is the application of UV-C radiation for germicidal purposes.

The UVGI system essentially inactivates viruses and bacteria after they are exposed to doses of the light source. The light does this by changing the structure of the DNA and RNA within the microorganism, making it unable to grow and replicate in an infectious manner. 

In interiors, air is carried up from the occupied area to the UVGI element through fans and ventilation. When the air reaches the fixtures, it is then sterilized and can be returned to the occupied area in a healthier, safer condition.

Safety & Installation Considerations of UV-C light

Direct exposure to UV-C light is unsafe for humans, as the radiation can cause a burning sensation similar to a sunburn in the eyes. In addition, material health can be compromised and impact human health if not considered in the design phase. 

Due to human sensitivity to the UVGI wavelength, the lights must be installed in a diffuse manner, avoiding any down-facing, direct light sources. Strategies such as installing UV lights within the HVAC system and upward facing fixtures far above human head height are safe options.

Although the inclusion of UVGI light is a safer alternative to traditionally used disinfectants, care must be taken in fixture type and placement. 

UV-C light can also degrade materials if the relationships are not considered beforehand. Generally, the UVGI wavelength will only superficially penetrate a material, which is nothing to be concerned about.

However, materials such as plastics and polymers are more easily damaged and can off-gas toxic chemicals and carcinogens when in contact with UV light.

Source:

https://healthymaterialslab.org/projects/improving-occupant-health-with-germicidal-uv-light

Best Examples of Biophilic Design in Healthcare: Dental Clinic and Wellness Center — Biofilico Wellness Interiors

Biophilic design integrates both wellness design interiors and sustainable interior concepts, making use of biophilic design elements such as natural building and furniture materials, shared green spaces, and natural patterns to create an ideal fit for healthcare clinics, wellness centres, and dental clinics. These elements enhance the functional and physical value of healthcare environments by promoting stress reduction and improved cognitive function. Collaboration with healthcare professionals is crucial for the successful implementation and future development of biophilic design.

Key concepts on evidence in the examples below include air purifying plants, natural colour palettes, circular materials that can be recycled at their end of life, abundant natural light aswell as patterns, textures and finishes that evoke the natural world in healthcare settings. The advancement of scientific and medical knowledge plays a significant role in supporting the benefits of biophilic design in healthcare.

Dentista Amsterdam - dental clinic biophilic design interiors with natural elements

https://www.dentista.nl/

Interiors by i29 interior architects

Dentista is a design-conscious dental clinic located in Amsterdam designed by i29 Architects that offers a dental experience designed for mental wellbeing and calm relaxation, despite the potential stressor of dental surgery. Biophilic design within the hospital environment can significantly enhance the health and well-being of patients by creating a more comfortable and welcoming space.

Abundant natural lighting ensures that plant life can be meaningfully sustained in the long-term, promoting natural circadian rhythms and enhancing mood. The use of natural patterns, such as the presence of natural light, water, and vegetation, helps reduce stress levels and improve patients' physical and psychological well-being.

Walking into the clinic, patients are met with a plant filled window atop a green strip of flooring. Down the line of sight they are met with the white of a medical building accompanied by a complement of wood furnishings. A green reception desk is color blocked by a green floor ceiling and wall.

The rest of the clinic’s interior hallways are pure white, ensuring the attention is drawn to an inner courtyard garden full of plants, providing an unexpected centre piece to the clinic experience. Trees, shrubbery and grasses make up the garden atop a pebble floor of white stone.

Within each ‘box’ (treatment room), a soothing green accent wall and ceiling skylight continue the biophilic design interior theme.

This is an example of how an image of medical professionalism and health can be enhanced with the integration of biophilic design principles

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The Well, NYC - biophilic design wellness centre with natural materials

https://www.the-well.com/new-york

Interiors by Rose Ink Workshop and Spector Group

Located within the heart of New York City, The Well is an integrated health experience that combines medical doctors and personal trainers, meditation spaces, saunas, and ancient healing techniques in one single practice, making it an ideal venue for biophilic design interiors that promote a connection with nature and create healing healthcare environments. The design also incorporates outdoor spaces such as patios and rooftop gardens to encourage outdoor activities and social interactions.

East-meets-West mental and physical wellbeing services include acupuncture, personalized wellness consultations, mindful movement, functional fitness, massages, facials, blood work, hormone panels, microbiome testing and genetic testing, to name but a few. The design considers not only their physical needs but also their social and psychological needs, enhancing the overall wellness experience.

Some key amenities of interest within the building include a meditation dome, the rest and recovery room, and the relaxation lounge.

A circular meditation dome is a design focus thanks to its textured floor rug, cushions and earthy colours - creating a balanced, calming space for psychological healing, meditative peace and a rest from the distractions of the outside world. There are surely traces of tribal rituals in this concept.

A ‘rest and recovery room’ gives clients an additional space in which to find their own inner peace for a moment during their visit. Positioned on lounge chairs between a wall of shelved potted plants and a wall of windows, occupants can benefits from the full mental health benefits of biophilic design.

Plants have been proven to reduce stress and boost one’s mood, thereby acting as an essential element of wellbeing interior design. 

A ‘relaxation lounge’ incorporates an organic color scheme along with textured walls, lounge seating surrounding the room, and a mangrove tree table centerpiece. Large selenite crystals surround the room to ensure a healing and calming environment.

St. Elizabeth Healthcare Cancer Center, Kentucky, USA - biophilic design healthcare facilities

https://www.stelizabeth.com/

HGA Architects

The St. Elizabeth Cancer Center in Kentucky pulls together a range of cancer services into a single building while deploying elements of biophilic design in the HGA Architects designed interiors, setting a new standard for healthcare spaces. Collaboration with healthcare professionals is crucial in the design process to ensure that the unique needs of each facility are met.

The center is not only focused on caring for the physical impacts of cancer but on the mental wellness aspects as well, meaning access to the healing power of nature exposure is a key concept.

Located on the first floor for example are centers for yoga, meditation, art and music therapy. This comprehensive wellness program is part of the emotional complement to the physical cancer journey.

A neutral palette of natural colors, abundant natural light, grass-like carpet tiles and plenty of textured finishes make up the interiors.

To reduce the possible stresses of navigating such a large building were color coordinated with uplifting color tones so patients and their family’s intuitively find their way around between departments.

The St. Elizabeth Cancer center creates a comprehensive healing experience for cancer patients, incorporating biophilic design and concern for physical and mental wellbeing during the cancer care journey.

Circular Interior Design: Sustainable Restaurant Object Space Place — Biofilico Wellness Interiors

Sustainable restaurant design with David Chenery

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circular economy

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restorative restaurants

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Sustainable restaurant design with David Chenery 〰️ circular economy 〰️ restorative restaurants 〰️

Welcome to episode 55 of the Green & Healthy Places podcast in which we discuss the themes of wellbeing and sustainability in real estate and hospitality.

I’m your host, Matt Morley, founder of Biofilico healthy buildings, and in this episode I’m in the UK talking to David Chenery of Object Space Place, a sustainable interiors company specialising in hospitality environments. The construction industry plays a crucial role in implementing circular design principles to minimize waste and improve sustainability.

Our conversation covers the Restorative Design Framework that David has developed with his business partner over the past five years, the role of circular economy principles in restaurant design, designing out waste and lowering embodied carbon while still delivering memorable customer experiences, as well as the pros and cons of sustainability assessments for restaurant spaces.

David is an interior architect by trade, a considered thinker and someone with a rapidly growing client list that may suggest an inflection point in the UK restaurant industry’s relationship with sustainability.

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View on Zencastr

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Matt Morley

David, welcome to the show. It could be really useful for anyone considering a similar shift in their own career to understand how you integrated sustainability into your restaurant interior design work? What was that process of going from being ‘just’ an interior architect / designer into someone with a real focus on sustainable restaurant interiors?

A transition to sustainable restaurant interior design

David Chenery

It’s certainly not that there was one particular lightbulb moment, it definitely was more of a gradual process, slowly feeling more and more uneasy and more and more uncertain. We’ve been going for 11 years now and we started out designing a lot of hospitality.

Then over the years, even though we always tried to do things with integrity, we cared how we treated people we were working with and about designing things with proper materials, avoiding materials on a red list and so on but we never really got to grips with what ‘good’ restaurant interior design would actually look like. This gradual process involved adopting a circular approach to emphasize flexibility, sustainability, and efficiency.

We started working with the Sustainable Restaurant Association about five or six years ago, and we just really started interrogating those questions and started thinking, What does a good restaurant mean?

what is restorative restaurant design?

Andrew Stephen, the CEO of the SRA at the time, threw out a question to us - he’d always wondered what a restorative restaurant would look like, how would that actually be designed? And whilst he gave it to us as a throwaway question, for us, it really stuck, to the point whereby we developed a whole design framework, what we called “the restorative design framework” around trying to solve that. The concept of a circular building, like The Circular Building by Arup in London, influenced our thinking on sustainable construction practices and the ease of disassembly for recycling and reuse.

In the first instance, we boiled it down really simple - to design places that give more than they take. So I guess the point to emphasize there is that we were overwhelmed by the complexity and not sure what this sustainability thing was, and is a SKA rating enough? Is BREEAM enough?

Matt Morley

The idea of almost being overwhelmed with the whole theme of sustainability, and perhaps not quite knowing where to start is something I hear from clients as well, they’re sort of looking for guidance. And by the time someone picks up the phone, I sense something has nudged them in that direction. And it might not be the core tenet of their brand, But there’s enough out there, enough prompts to make them think about how they can integrate sustainability into whatever they’re doing, for example, a boutique hotel group. What about in your sector of restaurant design, would you say the same as true there? Or are there more restaurants that have sustainability at their heart of their proposition?

a shift to sustainability in the UK restaurant sector

David Chenery

Well, I mean, it's one of the reasons we now call ourselves sustainable hospitality designers to begin with, we kind of shied away from that a little bit. Because if you stick your hand up and say you are sustainable, then you know, you're putting yourself in the firing line. And ultimately, you know, once you dig into it, and start pulling all those threads around sustainability, you realize that if you do anything in this country, the UK, you immediately have a carbon footprint, six to 10 times higher than anywhere else in the world.

So can you ever say what you're doing is sustainable. But we realized that to begin with, we had to educate our clients and bring sustainability into our projects. But the commercial reality is that building stuff is hard at the best of times. And unless someone comes to you with that sustainability agenda, it is very often going to get kicked to the side as you go along.

So we had to sort of stick our hands up and say we are focused on sustainable hospitality design, which therefore means we now attract the people that want to pursue that agenda. So I guess it's hard because we have pushed ourselves to live in this bubble. But I definitely think there's been a huge shift in understanding and even more so in in the last year or so.

We're now being approached by restaurant groups who don't make big claims around sustainability. But they might have, you know, 5 to 10 restaurants already and they're aware of as they continue to grow they want to do that in a way that is going to minimize their environmental impact. And they don't quite know how, like you suggest, but they're trying to find some people to help make it happen.

Matt Morley

So I see similarities there between, say, the office sector and hotels, where it's about a soft sustainability, so it's not absolutely defining them, like, say, a hard sustainability brand that's completely committed to the cause. And yet, they know that they need to make baby steps in that direction. But then that raises the question of, where does it start and end if it is a sustainable design that you're creating for a restaurant?

And clearly there are these rating systems, whether it's BREEAM for a new build, or SKA that you mentioned in the past around your interiors on the restaurant work. Did you initially rely on those certification systems more and step away from them over time?

sustainable restaurant design certifications

David Chenery

I think what we’ve realized when we created our own design framework, so that the assessment systems are rigorous, independent, and they make a lot of sense. And we had to learn to work in BREEAM, how to work in the SKA system, definitely.

It’s only through doing that, that you might start to see some of the the flaws, or some of the shortcuts or the kind of bureaucracy associated with them. If you have a one-off independent restaurant somewhere in the country, that won’t have a huge budget for such assessments so they’re just going to run it all directly themselves.

That’s a very different approach than trying to do something for someone like a Wagamama who’s got hundreds of outlets around around the country and has processes in teams and all this stuff.

So our framework acknowledges that. And we really will tailor it to the client we’re working with. Ultimately, we want it to be as sustainable as possible. But we know that different clients will come with a different level of ambition. So we might work with a chef like Chantelle Nicholson for Apricity, where she wanted to push as hard as she could, you know, we were really trialing the circular economy ideas in terms of the materials, we were measuring the embodied carbon to get that as low as we could, the landlord Grosvenor, were really behind us pushing that as hard as they could. Reducing construction waste by incorporating circular design principles and a lifecycle approach is crucial in this context.

So there was a lot of energy in that same direction whereas we might work with Gail’s bakeries, you know, who are beautiful, and they care about sustainability. And they care about the social side and the environmental. And they’re also doing about 30 sites a year. So there is a commercial reality to the speed and the cost of doing those.

So we are working as hard as we can within that commercial framework to make the best decisions. And that’s to be honest, what we quite enjoy is that we are constantly being challenged not to just live in an ideal dream world. But actually some of it is very, very ambitious and we can set a new benchmark in sustainability and sometimes it’s more about raising the bar slightly.

measuring sustainability in restaurant interior design

So I think assessments are really interesting when it comes to the measurement, this is really what we’re talking about the measurement of sustainability. I think there’s some interesting nuances to dive into there. The first one we’ve realized is that quantitative measurement, the idea of numbers almost always comes down to carbon, because that’s the thing we can reduce down to a number, the bigger the scale of the organization we’re dealing with, the more you need numbers, because it’s just really hard for everyone to grasp the qualitative, multifaceted layer of sustainability without numbers. So it’s, it’s not really a good enough representation.

Optimizing production processes for energy efficiency and waste reduction is crucial in the circular economy model, which seeks to create sustainable practices that allow for resource reuse and minimize environmental impact.

But carbon is really, really useful as a tool. You know, I always say that carbon is to sustainability, what calories are to a healthy diet, you know, I could eat 1000 calories a day, and I would lose weight. But if it was all chocolate, and I did no exercise, that is not a healthy diet. In the same way, carbon is an oversimplification of all the other stuff around you know, VOCs Indoor Air Quality and the social side of things which we can go into as well.

But if the planet managed to get down to dealing with that carbon, we’d be in a lot better place. So I do think that that’s thing with the conservative side. And then the other is you’ve mentioned with the assessment systems A good thing about those are that they are more qualitative They have much more, you know, many more features within facets within them that measure things like the air quality or looking at glare or their staff wellbeing, all these sorts of things. So that’s the way we sort of broke those two things down, when it comes to measurement, I think it’s kind of worth understanding the differences of those.

Matt Morley

And then to some point in that process, you felt comfortable enough to set your own working model of how you go about integrating these various themes and topics into something that you put your name to.

developing principles and a process for designing sustainable restaurant interiors

David Chenery

Absolutely. What we realized was, firstly, when we started looking at the assessment systems at the beginning, we think, how do we make this a sustainable design? What does that even mean? If we get SKA gold or BREEAM Excellent? And then coming across the circular economy and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation website in particular. That’s why I can’t get happy with this idea is because it’s still within the scope of one project. And we need to understand the ripple effects and the circular flows of everything else, and how stuff goes together.

So our framework then becomes about that, because we see that as a bigger understanding of the material construction design ecosystem. Using sustainable materials to adhere to circular design principles is crucial in this context. So I think that’s just a more intelligent place to start as well for us because it then leads us to ask a lot of different questions. And what we start to look at a design approach that is slightly different, based on a set of principles.

the problem with sustainability assessment systems

The danger of an assessment system is you end up with this huge checklist and a really complex spreadsheets. And you know, you’ve got to get however many points out of however many other points, and then you start getting tactical about what decisions you’re making, right? Because you got to get to the certain levels. And if we just get a couple more, we can get up to silver, and it becomes a different weird game, that clearly is better than doing nothing. But it’s not engaging with the core idea.

You know, and I think for us, we wanted to step outside of that and think, Well, if we really want to make a difference here, how are we going to do it. And the other realization is that it’s all very good saying, let’s get the lowest embodied carbon we can. But if you sit down with a blank piece of paper and try and work out let’s just design something low carbon it’s almost impossible, you can’t design to that it’s meaningless.

So we need a design strategy. The unsustainable extraction and consumption of raw materials contribute to environmental degradation and resource scarcity. And that’s why circular economy is so good for us. We’ve managed to prove that if we design out waste and pollution, if we design to keep materials in use for as long as possible, if we get reclaimed chairs and tables, if we sand the existing floorboards, if we expose the walls, if we use the right type of paint, if we cut the staircase up and make it into a wall cladding, that guess what we managed to reduce the embodied carbon of that of typical fit out by 45%, just by doing that for a high end restaurant in central London.

So that connection for us was kind of a key moment of saying, well, we can design this way we have this strategy of designing out waste, of thinking about principles. But the point in developing the framework was, it gives us a way of working. And I think without that, that’s where so many designers feel a bit lost, because we don’t know how to interrogate those decisions and ask enough questions.

If someone can give you an EPD, that says, this has three kilograms of CO2, and another one says this one’s got four. If that’s all you know, then you’re just going to pick the three, even if it comes with all kinds of other compromises on the sustainability, or huge water usage, or all kinds of all kinds of stuff. So that’s why we had to develop a framework and we certainly don’t have all the answers, I wouldn’t sit here and say, we have it all down. The point of having the framework and the point of us applying that to these projects is that we are learning every day.

consultants for a sustainable restaurant interior project

Matt Morley

Maybe that opens discussion then around how far your role goes in terms of the design of the space? Typically when I’m looking at say an entire healthy building project, whether it’s new build construction or refurbishment, I’m often on a call as one of 10+ different consultants from a QS, to MEP, to project management, lifts and so on… but with a restaurant are you operating effectively as a One Stop solution or are there others that you might bring into the mix with you?

David Chenery

Again, it’s a question of scale - a one off independent restaurant with a focused brief, lean budget, then yes we might do most of that sustainability work.

If we didn’t have a sustainability consultant, we often with a social enterprise called Bio Regional who can do assessments for carbon, SKA or bespoke metrics that we’re developing around the circular economy.

And then on the MEP side, we are definitely not MEP consultants. So particularly operational carbon, that energy efficiency piece, we would look to partner with someone like MESH (net zero carbon building performance) then a landlord or or contractor may have their own people they will bring along, but on smaller projects, what we’ll find is you will tend to have specific conversations with, say, the HVAC contractor, or the plumber, or the electrician, to see what we can do with them to get things better. And if it goes slightly a notch above that, then we will have an MEP consultant, similar to ourselves, who will give input on that. The significant climate impact associated with the production of office furniture and the potential reduction in emissions through circular economy practices like refurbishment and repair should also be considered.

But that does really depend on the scale of a project and your average high street restaurant of 3000 square foot is probably unlikely to have that person. So you know, that’s probably where we develop our knowledge, particularly often they’re contractors or installers within the industry, that can have a similar mindset to us.

If I go into my garden here, and I pick a pear off the tree, I don’t need a carbon lifecycle assessment or a sustainability consultant to tell me that that’s a good choice. You know, there are some straightforward, common sense principles that we can apply.

The Pareto principle applies suggests 80% of the impact will come from 20% of the decision. So you know, if we’re looking at the water systems, we know even just from looking at the SKA systems that if they are the same 5-7 things you do in terms of water management, such as low flow taps, and WCs, leak detection systems, you do those right and you’ll get most of the impact anyway.

Circular design principles and end-of-life in a sustainable restaurant

Matt Morley

In the past I’ve studied green and health building certifications from LEED, to WELL, FITWEL, and so on following the checklist. And then at some point, you just start, you just start freestyling without needing to hold on to the sides of pool, let’s put it that way. Then you start to combine elements or leave certain bits out, knowing that you’re getting 20% of the value.

So what about end-of-life phase with your restaurant designs? How do your clients manage that?

David Chenery

Well, I guess since we’ve been focused on doing this, fortunately, nothing we’ve designed has had to be taken apart. So you have to say that that’s theoretical in a way and it’s just a really important acknowledgement as a designer that most restaurant fit outs will last about five years whether it’s because the concept has failed or they want to make changes or simply update the look and feel of the space. Even the average building gets fitted out 20 to 30 times in its lifetime.

So, yeah, we haven’t had to be challenged on that yet. But we are aware when we’re designing, you know, whether it’s a counter going in or material finishes on the floor? How is this going to come out again? Can we use particular materials that are in as useful a format as possible? Can we avoid cutting tiles?

Last week, I was looking into an issue for Gail’s, the difference between a timber floor and a tiled floor. Now at end of life, those both become quite difficult. You know, we spent two hours talking to a tile manufacturer about how realistic is it actually that we’re going to get these tiles up, and then once that tile adhesive goes down, are those coming up in pieces, or are they going to be able to be reused? Again, if you can get them up whole, they’re still going to have all the adhesive on the back. And it’s going to be such a labor intensive process to take that off, it’s probably unrealistic to use that for anything other than aggregate, which isn’t really good enough.

We need to as an industry find a better solution for that timber again. Likewise, if we’re looking at a herringbone floor, now that can stay in longer, you can re-sand that, you can refinish it, you can re-stain it, it’s going to have a lower carbon footprint, if you take the carbon sequestration into account and having carbon negative score effectively. But again, you’re not because that has to be glued down in a commercial setting, you have to glue that timber down no matter what you do, because it’s going to move over time. So therefore, you’re not going to be able to take that floor up, even if that’s in 30 years time, for example, without and be able to reuse those elements quite easily. So some of those questions I don’t have the answer to at all.

In many cases, if you do something of quality, you’re maximizing the chance it can stay in there for a long time. But yeah, it’s it is a challenge, I really do think it is, you know, we need to understand how materials come apart. Again, we need to design for disassembly, so that elements can be taken apart using mechanical fixings wherever we can, rather than glue - that is a general principle. But you know, in, in commercial or hygienic environments, like restaurants where we’re talking about cleaning down every day that that can be quite difficult as we come up against standard best practices. Additionally, it's crucial to regenerate natural systems while addressing the tension between resource extraction and environmental protection.

Matt Morley

I think that sort of transparency and honesty is, is really the only position any of us in this game can take because you know, we’re all always learning, but simply doing the best we possibly can at any given time. Right? And as long as it’s a sort of circular but forward motion, we’re heading in the right direction.

restaurant design trends and sustainability

What about restaurant design in general, when you look at what’s happening in the industry, particularly in London, but around the UK, Are you broadly optimistic of where it’s going?

David Chenery

I try and kind of cultivate quite a stoic mindset but we will do everything we can to make it better. I think that depends on which side of the bed I’ve got up in the morning. I think I’m nervous how everyone has rebounded straight back into growth mode After COVID. I think people are just trying to build things. And I don’t know if we’ve necessarily learned the lessons we could have done. But I’m happy that initiatives like Net Zero Now and the Zero Carbon Forum are getting more traction. I’m happy that, you know, the SRA is, is getting good traction with its members.

Right now, I honestly believe it’s probably like a five year problem. And I don’t think you can be running your business, for the benefit of your stakeholders and shareholders. with them front of mind, if you’re not tackling this issue of sustainability, because you’re just not building a resilient business,

So if you don’t dial back in and actually look at your business model and look at your supply chain, and look at how you run your buildings and your energy usage and all of that stuff, you’re just going to have a tougher and tougher time in the years to come. I don’t believe The whole industry has got that and agrees with that. I think there are a number of people who still want to think it’s business as usual but maybe a little bit more green. - we need to move faster than that! By incorporating circular design principles, the restaurant industry can promote a more sustainable future, significantly reducing environmental impact and fostering a healthier planet and society.

David Chenery's current sustainable restaurant interior design projects

Matt Morley

What have you got going on at the moment? What do you have in your pipeline?

David Chenery

We’re certainly fully booked until September at the moment, which is great. I mean, there’s Gail’s - a great client for us. And we’re doing a number of new sites for them - we just opened one in Epping recently. These projects aim to be resource efficient by minimizing environmental impact and maximizing the longevity and adaptability of materials. There’s actually a hair salon project we’re working on as well.

We’ve been approached by some other people like L’Oreal to help them apply our framework to a hair salon. So there’s a flagship I’m working on with them at the moment, which I’m not actually allowed to talk about But that will be quite high profile in central London. And then alongside that, we’ve got some some independent restaurants, we’ve got a six tenant food hall we’re working on.

But also we’re doing a number of more consultancy pieces now, as you can probably imagine. So some of the larger groups, were talking to them about how we can bring these principles and this framework to their sites, whether we end up designing them ourselves or not. So that’s quite an interesting conversation, how we can educate internal property teams on carbon literacy or this disjunction between net zero targets and daily operations.

Matt Morley

Very good. Well, it sounds really positive. So people are looking to follow along or see your news and updates. What’s your chosen format?

David Chenery

Yeah, LinkedIn is definitely best. That’s definitely the place to find me.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidchenery-sustainablehospitalitydesign/

What is Circular Design?

Definition and Importance of Circular Design

Principles of Circular Design

Benefits of Circular Design in Interior Design

Applying Circular Design Principles

Flexible Spaces for Adaptability and Reuse

best examples of biophilic design in residential interiors

O Lofos Villa by Blok 722, Greece

organic interior design example

Built on the foothills of Thrypti mountain on the Greek island of Crete lies a hidden villa built with respect to its surroundings.

It is a 280m2 private residence on a sloping terrain. Instead of stairs to balance the natural elevation, a series of levels were created to allow ease of movement physically and visually throughout the space.

When creating this design, the architects pulled from a variety of structural backgrounds combining aspects of vistas from mountains, plains, and the Mediterranean Sea.

This allows it to fit cohesively within its natural setting. The vista has plentiful outdoor areas to promote healthy living.

With the site broken down into multiple smaller segments, movement through nature is encouraged in-between spaces, many of which are outdoors. The main division of the building is linked by a semi enclosed feature where the sounds of giggling water can be heard from a large water feature.

The materials used with the natural villa are largely wood and stone which bring the natural elements of biophilic interior design within its walls.

Painted with a palette of warm greys and beiges, neutral, earthy colors dominate the space. The villa was created with a desire for slow living. Its layout, structure, and divide was created to enhance the lifestyle of its occupants to promote healthy living. 

https://www.block722.com/o-lofos/

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Landmark Pinnacle, London, UK

example biophilic design indoor garden

Rising up above the London skyline as the city’s tallest residential tower, the Landmark Pinnacle was completed in 2022 by architects and interior designers Squire & Partners for developer Chalegrove Properties and Farrer Huxley Associates (FHA) Landscape Architects.

This residential complex has views westward of the River Thames and eastward of the docks of the Thames Barrier. These natural vistas are complemented with an earthy, soothing interior palette of blues, beiges, tans, whites and browns.

Biophilic elements of design such as potted plants, dried flowers and stones ornament the building tying it back to the natural environment. Taking a step further into nature, a floor is dedicated to pulling its occupants out of the cityscape.

Residing on the 27th floor of the building, a residential tropical garden brings the outside world in with a carefully curated collection of plants and indoor trees, the space is perfect for watching the sun rise or set as natural light shoots through the open elaborate floor of plants.

There are spaces for lounging and for relaxation. This encourages the residents to escape the intensity of nearby Canary Wharf in order to appreciate their own private slice of nature high up in the sky.

https://landmarkpinnacle.com/

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Pantheon Estate, Mykonos by Nikos Adrianopoulos

example organic interiors

A renovation by architect Nikos Adrianopoulos of a residence in Mykonos, Greece, transformed an existing villa into a luxury abode with subtle influences from both organic interior design and nature-inspired biophilic design.

Built upon a cliff, the villa has impressive views of the old city harbor and the Aegean Sea. Essential to its design process was the unification of internal and external space. Large outdoor areas accompany the indoors encouraging movement from each space.

The outdoor areas have natural views of the landscape from a sky porch with no railings ensuring not to block the breathtaking views of the area. Accompanying this, biophilic design in the exteriors ensures a smooth transition between the building and its surrounding landscape. Curvilinear furniture such as chairs, large couches, and tables are placed purposefully, making use of premium fabrics, a minimalist colour palette and textured patterns.

The view from an organically shaped pool provides picture perfect views of the sea on the horizon while an outdoor gym provides a complete set of workout equipment such as a squat rack,weights and cardio machines. Stone walls, wooden floors, and a transparent plant-based ceiling that lets small slices of light into the gym's training floor.

Moving indoors, the interior design is a harmonious selection of neutral colors - tans, whites, browns, beiges, and blacks. Curvilinear architecture brings nature’s mark inside through arches and curved organically falling countertops.

Examples of biophilic interior design are present in the woven light fixtures, stone sinks, and stone tile. One of the key elements of design within the space was created from the bare rock that the structure was built upon through open rock walls. Bare rock walls are exposed within the sunroom and bathroom, among other spaces.

Painted white bare rock walls create a wonderful natural space within a shower and sauna. Bringing nature further within the walls quarters, wood beams expand across many of the villa ceilings. The space is adorned with artwork of driftwood and curvilinear, undefined sculpture work. This renovation transformed the space into an interconnected body with its natural environment.

https://www.nikosadrianopoulos.com/projects/pantheon-residence-mykonos

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The Eden, Singapore

example of multi-family residential biophilic architecture

The Eden is a private residential building located in Singapore designed by Heatherwick Studio.

From its exterior facade the key principle of biophilic design in building architecture is hard to miss - a cascading central spine of flora created by a series of balcony gardens.

Each apartment is one floor of the building fitted with its own ‘eco-balcony’.

Clam shaped in structure, they each hold sufficient soil for over 20 different species of plant life to thrive in the humid Singaporean climate.

Each sky garden is alternated giving double the height to the outdoor space.

The garden above provides a necessary shade from the hot Singapore sun and a view of plant life hanging down from above. Walking out into these spaces is like walking into your own personal jungle.

Each apartment taking an entire floor also creates opportunities for natural cross ventilation, a low-energy and altogether more pleasant experience than 24/7 air conditioning, at least as an option should owners want it!

The entire ground floor is a heavily planted garden with nooks for relaxation. The pool is lined with an array of flora to one side. Walking into the lobby with 18 meter high ceilings, plant ‘chandeliers’ hang from above helping to decorate the room but creating moments of visual intrigue and wonder too.

https://www.heatherwick.com/projects/buildings/eden/

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Casa Cerros Madrid

example of single family residential biophilic architecture

Located in the hills of Madrid, the Casa Cerros estate was renovated into a. sustainable villa with subtle traces of biophilic design that uses compact space to its maximum potential.

Located in what can be a cool climate, the villa was constructed to amplify heat and sunlight.

With a narrow south facing facade, the team at sustainable architecture studio SLOW in Barcelona had to effectively use the space to pull in as much natural light as possible.

This was executed by lifting the roof creating room for the addition of skylights and additional openings to the south through biophilic design architecture.

Amplifying the introduction of light and solar heat into the south side of the building also affected the placement of rooms within the home.

On the lighter south facing side, the most used spaces were constructed including the living room, dining room, and kitchen.

Within the North facing side of the building, the bathrooms, office, and machine room are housed. Double brick walls with insulation in between allow for heat conservation while also allowing for open brick accent walls with texture of thickness and grooves.

The residents particularly requested a fireplace so a thermo stove was installed to further conserve heat. When the fireplace is running it heats the hot water tank and heating system.

The whole building is unified through a cabin like aesthetic with a large incorporation of wooden walls, ceiling, and furniture. The villa acts as a compact, warm, rustic yet nature-inspired space for a family to enjoy the comfort of home without losing contact with the environment around them.

https://www.slowstudio.es/arquitectura/casa-cerros-madrid