Barbican Center was a part of a utopian vision to transform the bombed areas of London
Post-war, architecture thrived through a brutalism style with massive chunks of building blocks featuring heavy and impactful lines.
The integration of elements such as plants and water reminiscent of a natural pond due to the lack of barriers and wild vegetation creates a beautiful and soothing juxtaposition with the massive design of the buildings.
The design of the Barbican Center combines nature and brutalism architecture / Biophilic Architecture
One Central Park – Sydney, Australia
One Central Park is one of the largest mixed-use buildings in Australia comprising two residential towers, a shopping center, commercial blocks and a cantilevered heliostat hanging in the sky.
Designed by Ateliers Jean Nouvel and Patrick Blanc, the building features unique elements and complex planning, gaining vital recognition as a biophilic design structure worldwide.
One Central Park has been the winner of the Best Tall Building Worldwide 2014 for its sustainable design solutions
Patrick Blanc’s method of using a hydroponic system to create tall vertical gardens, stretching over 50 meters high, is a mind-blowing effort in showcasing the possibilities of biophilic design in architecture.
In the night time, the heliostat situated on the 28th floor of One Central Park turns into an LED artwork
Second Home – Lisbon, Portugal
Designed by architects Selgas Cano and Estudio Cano Lasso, Second Home co-working spaces are located worldwide and conceived as nature-infused workspaces, enhancing creativity and inspiration.
The Lisbon location looks like an urban jungle, housed above the storied 19th Century Mercado da Ribeira: filled with thousands of plants and natural light, it combines the two functions of co-working and community space.
Housed above the storied 19th Century Mercado da Ribeira, Second Home Lisbon combines co-working and community / Biophilic Architecture
Presenting a strong contrast between the overwhelming greenery and the industrial nature of the building, Lisbon Second Home is built following hints from evolutionary psychology and biophilia.
It can be considered a biophilic design project showing how “green spaces make people happy”.
Second Home adopts biophilia principles, filling the space with natural light and thousands of plants
Bosco Verticale – Milan, Italy
Inaugurated in 2014, these two residential towers instantly became a valuable landmark of the city of Milan and its most forward-thinking mentality.
Stefano Boeri Architetti, the firm behind Bosco Verticale, was inspired by the novel The Baron in the Trees, in which the protagonist decides to leave the ground and live on the trees.
Bosco Verticale increases urban biodiversity not only with plants but also offering a home to various species of birds and insects
The towers are 111 meters and 76 meters high, entirely covered by approximately 900 trees planted in the terraces surrounding the structures.
The plants are entirely sustained through the use of renewable energy and collecting wastewater.
Known as the world’s first vertical forest, Bosco Verticale is composed of 400 apartments in total.
The Jewel – Singapore, Singapore
When Singapore was being planned, the aim was to make it as green as possible.
The result is an epitome of biophilic design in architecture as we see it today. Amongst numerous great biophilia projects, The Jewel stands out as an icon for public spaces in an urban context.
Jewel comprises layered gardens, entertainment activities, a hotel and more than 300 retail and dining facilities / Biophilic Architecture
The Jewel is a nature-themed entertainment and retail complex on the landside of Changi Airport, Singapore.
Linking three of its passenger terminals, the centerpiece is the world’s tallest indoor waterfall, named the Rain Vortex, surrounded by decks of forest in the promenade.
The Jewel is a public area integrated with the Changi Airport, offering all sorts of entertainment to visitors and passengers
Gardenhouse – Beverly Hills, USA
The first project designed by MAD Architects in the USA,the Gardenhouse is a mixed-use building that comprises 18 residential spaces and a ground-floor commercial space.
It is located in Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, California, and evokes the lush landscape of the city through a “hillside village” scheme.
Designing the Gardenhouse, MAD Architects provided California’s Beverly Hills with a calm oasis / Biophilic Architecture
Residential units are “growing” from the building’s living green wall, one of the largest in the USA.
The Gardenhouse makes MAD’s aim clear: far from creating another cubic-box living environment, they wanted to provide a calm oasis intrinsically connected with nature.
Gardenhouse shows how architecture can connect with both the built and natural environment to offer a more harmonious living experience.
The living wall of Gardenhouse has a unique texture forming an organic, natural, seasonal addition to the neighborhood streetscape
Garden & House – Tokyo, Japan
Ryue Nishizawa is a Japanese architect and one of the founders of the Pritzker-Prize winning firm SANAA. This four-story home is a result of the clients’ desire to live in the city center, among the small urban lot.
The structure, unlike other typical residences around the area, does not have a facade.
The building is wedged between tall modern apartments, it is almost impossible to see from the main road
The sandwiched space is divided through floating concrete platforms and floor-to-ceiling glass fronts which are highlighted through the vegetational boundary.
Each floor has its own garden in the periphery along with minimal interiors.
Curtains ensure privacy covering the bare glass exterior walls / Biophilic Architecture
Amazon Sphere Headquarters – Seattle, USA
Amazon Spheres are three domed conservatories located in the Amazon Headquarters campus of Seattle, Washington.
The use of the biophilic design in office spaces ensures higher productivity / Biophilic Architecture
All three spheres are filled with approximately 40,000 plants along with co-working spaces and lounges, reserved for Amazon employees.
NBBJ, an American Global architecture, and planning firm designed these conservatories inspired by biophilic theories.
Each dome is a glass and steel construction consisting of formal spaces and an enormous garden
Ha Long Villa – Ha Long, Vietnam
To multiply the green area that the property was built on, Ha Long Villa was designed by VTN Architects as part of the “House for Trees” series.
Situated 150km northeast of Hanoi, in the coastal town of Ha Long, Vietnam, the project hinders the destruction of nature and brings together people and the natural environment.
Ha Long Villa is located nearby the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ha Long Bay
VTN used local and natural material, maintaining the essence of Asian architectural expression.
In their practice, they also explore ways in which light, wind, and water can be used within the architectural design to help connect contemporary architecture with nature.
In Ha Long Villa facade, various trees were planted to provide a beautiful contrast between rough concrete and soft greenery / Biophilic Architecture
Naman Pure Spa – Danang, Vietnam
The Spa presents an ultimate wellspring for the 5-star Naman retreat in Danang, Vietnam. The spa consists of fifteen rooms surrounded by the tranquil environment created through vertical and landscape plantations.
Naman Pure Spa gives an ultimate wellness experience through boundless nature coverings
The rooms are also encircled with serene lotus ponds, which helps to enhance the meditative state of mind. The facade is an intricate latticework fused with vertical gardens, resulting in a manipulative play of the sunlight.
Vietnam based design studio MIA used local plants to create the Vietnam vernacular.
The courtyards of the spa are entirely covered with dense backdrops of flourishing plants / Biophilic Architecture
Planted Pergola – Tokyo, Japan
Founder of the Heatherwick Studio, Thomas Alexander Heatherwick is one of the most significant designers in Britain.
His notable works such as Vessel, UK Pavilion Expo 2010, Bombay Sapphire Distillery and many more are extremely popular landmarks renowned worldwide.
The building was particularly made to provide a new identity into Tokyo’s context. This 6,000 square meters structure is a mixed-use building fusing biophilic design and fluid style of architecture.
‘Planted Pergola’ is a challenging project, shaped in a huge pergola form which seems to be stretched down from a corner, soon to become a distinctive landmark in the redevelopment of Tokyo’s Toranomon-Azabudai district.
Planted Pergola defines a curious yet mad combination between modernity and creative manipulation of materials
Talking to people terrifies me the most, which is why I started writing.
I am an architect from India, studying and working in Milan with my broken Italian and a bag full of spices.
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Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete
Biophilic architecture: 11 projects where nature meets concrete