Biophilic Design: Cultural Perspectives

Biophilic design—incorporating nature and natural elements into architecture—has gained tremendous popularity as research confirms its benefits for physical health, cognitive function, and emotional wellbeing. But while the science supporting biophilia is universal, its implementation varies remarkably across different cultural contexts. How do cultural values, historical traditions, and local environments shape interpretations of biophilic design around the world?

Beyond Universal Principles

The fundamental concept of biophilia—our innate affinity for nature—appears to transcend cultural boundaries. Studies consistently show that humans across diverse backgrounds respond positively to views of nature, natural light, and organic materials. However, the specifics of what constitutes "nature" and how it should be integrated into buildings varies enormously based on cultural context.

In the Western context, particularly in North America and Europe, biophilic design often manifests as literal reproductions of nature: living walls covered in lush vegetation, large windows framing forest or ocean views, and water features that mimic natural streams. The emphasis tends to be on visual connections with recognizable natural elements, often with a preference for pristine, "untouched" nature.

But this is just one cultural interpretation among many. As we expand our perspective globally, we discover rich and varied traditions of human-nature relationships expressed through architecture.

Japanese Ma: The Space Between

Japanese architectural traditions offer profound insights into culturally-specific interpretations of biophilic design. Rather than simply placing natural elements within buildings, Japanese approaches emphasise ma—the meaningful space or interval between objects—and the integration of built and natural environments.

Consider the traditional engawa, a veranda-like transition space between interior and exterior. This liminal zone blurs the distinction between inside and outside, creating a graduated experience rather than a binary separation. Similarly, carefully framed views (shakkei or "borrowed scenery") incorporate distant landscapes as if they were extensions of the building's own garden.

These design principles reflect Shinto and Buddhist philosophical traditions that view humans as integrated within nature rather than separate from it. The emphasis is not on conquering or controlling nature, but on creating harmony between natural and built elements.

Islamic Gardens: Paradise on Earth

Islamic architectural traditions offer another distinctive cultural interpretation of biophilia. In regions characterised by harsh desert environments, Islamic gardens created protected microclimates that provided both practical benefits and spiritual significance.

The chahar bagh (four-part garden) layout, with water channels dividing space into quadrants, represents paradise as described in the Quran. These precisely ordered geometric patterns may appear at odds with Western notions of "natural" design, which often favor organic forms. Yet they exemplify a cultural understanding of nature based not on wilderness but on the life-giving properties of water and vegetation in an arid context.

Contemporary architects working in Islamic contexts are finding innovative ways to integrate these traditional biophilic approaches with modern sustainability needs, creating buildings that are both culturally resonant and environmentally responsive.

Chinese Feng Shui: Energy Flow and Balance

Chinese architectural traditions provide yet another cultural lens on biophilia through principles of feng shui. While often oversimplified in Western contexts, traditional feng shui is a sophisticated system for harmonising buildings with natural energy flows (qi) and balancing opposing forces (yin and yang).

Unlike Western biophilic design that might prioritise maximising views or daylight, feng shui considers subtle interactions between building elements, orientation, and surrounding landscape features. For example, a building's relationship to mountains, water bodies, and prevailing winds is carefully considered for both practical and symbolic reasons.

Nordic Minimalism: Light and Materiality

In Scandinavian countries, where sunlight is scarce during winter months, biophilic design focuses intensely on maximising natural light and creating connections to the outdoors during all seasons. The Nordic approach often features a restrained material palette dominated by wood, with a preference for showing natural grain patterns and textures.

This cultural interpretation of biophilia tends toward minimalism rather than abundance—finding profound connections to nature through careful material selection, quality of light, and honest construction methods rather than overt displays of vegetation.

Finnish architect Alvar Aalto exemplified this approach, describing his work as creating a "connection between the human being and the natural world through architecture." His buildings use organic forms and natural materials, but in a highly selective and refined manner that reflects the character of Nordic landscapes and cultural values of practicality and restraint.

Indigenous Knowledge Systems: Place-Based Biophilia

Indigenous architectural traditions worldwide offer perhaps the deepest cultural interpretations of biophilic design. These approaches are typically characterised by:

• Deep local specificity – Designs respond to particular ecosystems and climatic conditions
• Temporal awareness – Buildings accommodate seasonal changes and natural cycles
• Material integration – Construction uses locally available materials with minimal processing
• Cultural continuity – Design reflects and reinforces cultural relationships with land

For example, traditional Navajo (Diné) hooghan dwellings are oriented to cardinal directions, with the door facing east to welcome the morning sun. This orientation connects daily activities to solar patterns and cosmological understanding. Similarly, Māori architecture in New Zealand incorporates intricate wood carvings that tell stories of ancestral connections to specific landscapes and natural forces.

These indigenous approaches challenge Western dualisms between nature and culture, instead seeing buildings as manifestations of ongoing relationships with living landscapes. They offer valuable insights for contemporary design seeking to create buildings that are deeply connected to place.

Toward Cultural Humility in Biophilic Design

What can we learn from these diverse cultural interpretations of biophilia? Several important principles emerge:

1. There is no single "correct" way to design with nature. Cultural context profoundly shapes what constitutes meaningful connection with the natural world in built environments.
2. Avoid imposing one cultural framework on different contexts. Western designers working globally should approach biophilic design with cultural humility, learning from local traditions rather than simply importing standardised approaches.
3. Look beyond visual connections to nature. Many cultural traditions emphasise other sensory modalities, symbolic elements, or philosophical principles in creating nature-connected spaces.
4. Consider both individual and collective experiences. Different cultures vary in how they balance personal wellness benefits with communal relationships to nature.
5. Recognise that "nature" itself is culturally constructed. What counts as "natural" varies enormously across cultural contexts.

Conclusion: Cultural Resonance in Biophilic Design

While the science behind biophilia is increasingly robust, its application in architecture must be culturally sensitive and contextually appropriate. The most successful biophilic designs don't just incorporate nature—they do so in ways that resonate with local cultural understandings of human-nature relationships.

For practitioners, this means working collaboratively with communities, learning from traditional knowledge, and avoiding homogenised approaches. It requires humility to recognise that our own cultural frameworks for understanding nature are just one perspective among many.

At the Healthy Buildings Network Leeds, we believe that the future of truly healthy buildings lies in this intersection of universal biophilic principles and cultural specificity. By bringing together insights from diverse cultural traditions with rigorous evidence-based approaches, we can create built environments that support wellbeing in culturally meaningful ways.

The richness of human relationships with nature across different cultures isn't a complication to be overcome—it's a profound resource for creating more nuanced, effective, and resonant approaches to biophilic design.