Bringing In the Green: Biophilic design struggles to take root in the Last Frontier.

• Author: Simonelli, Isaac Stone
• Position: ARCHITECTURE & ENGINEERING

Renowned for its majestic wilderness and awe-inspiring landscapes, Alaska faces extraordinary hurdles when it comes to bringing green spaces into its commercial buildings. Despite these barriers, biophilic elements are important for Alaska buildings.

"Plants or biophilic elements certainly have their place in every building type," says Dana Nunn, the director of interior design at Bettisworth North. "How you implement those biophilic elements certainly depends on... climates, daylight, budget, ability to maintain something that's going to be good versus an eyesore that suddenly starts to undo the good of the biophilic imagery."

Biophilic design originates from the work of psychoanalyst Erich Fromm, who defined biophilia as the "passionate love of life and of all that is alive." The theory in design has evolved to focus on increasing building occupants' direct and indirect connections to the natural environment.

The biophilic touches designed into a building's interior or exterior can play an important role in the health and well-being of those who use the spaces, Nunn explains.

"Research [demonstrates] that they have a positive impact on stress levels, blood pressure, and heart rate," Nunn says. "All of those things that make people better patients, better students, better employees, better providers in a healthcare situation," Nunn says.

At least two published studies have also connected plants in the workplace to increased productivity. The studies compared how well people completed "attention tasks" while surrounded by biophilic elements or in barren office spaces. in both studies, those with access to plants or views of nature performed significantly better.

"Long story short, it's the fact that people want to feel that connection to earth, to nature," says Sarah Lanners, the sales and design manager for Anchorage-based Green Connection. 'When you walk into a building, and there's plants there, you feel good."

To get the biophilic benefits, features simply need to be within view, Nunn explains. This presents the option to not only bring plants inside but to open up line of sight to the outside with large windows, as well as incorporate images, materials, and textures that work as biophilic elements within the building.

Mark Kimerer, a landscape architect with Bettisworth North, explains that part of his work is designing the areas outside of a building so that it can directly benefit those inside the building--which is even more important when dealing with the deep, cold winters...