Recent Advances in Biophilic Design: Blending Nature into Cities, Homes, and Materials
Biophilic design brings elements of nature into built environments to improve how we live and work. Recent work from architects, neuroscientists, and materials experts shows fresh ways to do this, from urban planning to everyday habits and even smart composites. These ideas draw on nature for better health and sustainability.
Shaping City Spaces with Nature
Mona El Khafif, an associate professor of architecture at the University of Virginia, is pushing biophilic design into urban areas. In a discussion with The Cavalier Daily, she describes it as weaving nature into city buildings and streets. Her Biophilic Region Exhibition highlights this approach, showing how it can create greener cities.
El Khafif stresses education’s role too. She works with students and collaborators in Charlottesville to build designs that respond to environmental needs. Her projects aim to train the next architects in making spaces that connect people to the outdoors, even in dense urban settings.
BiofĂlic Habits for Healthier Homes
Nuria Muñoz Arce, founder of Habitarmonia Academy & Ecosystem and an expert in neuroarchitecture, argues that design alone isn’t enough—you need daily habits to make it work. In an interview with Hola.com, she explains how natural light, organic materials, and pleasant sounds affect the nervous system, cognition, and emotions.
Muñoz points out a gap: many homes have biophilic features like plants and wood, but people don’t interact with them enough to gain benefits. She combines design with “biofĂlic rituals,” backed by a 2022 study in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health by Dorothy Huntsman and Grzegorz Bulaj. The study found that active engagement with nature boosts effects far more than just being around it.
For example, Muñoz suggests simple routines: open windows for 10 minutes of morning light before checking your phone to set your body clock. Or crush fresh herbs like basil while cooking and breathe them in to lower stress hormones. At night, dim lights, use lavender scents, and skip screens 30 minutes before bed.
- Walk barefoot on wood or natural fibers for five minutes daily to calm the nervous system.
- Spend 60 seconds focusing on a plant or sunlight pattern to cut mental fatigue.
Even in small city apartments, she says create a “sensory anchor”—a spot with a plant, stone, or candle for quick calm. For noise, play natural sounds like rain through headphones. Muñoz cites research showing wood contact reduces heart rate and brain stress activity, making natural materials a health investment.
She calls this “preventive health design,” noting chronic stress comes from unnatural spaces, and biophilic living counters it.
AI Helps Create Nature-Inspired Materials
Researchers are using machine learning to mimic nature in new building materials. A team including Y. Li, R. Li, and Y. Fan developed a method for layered composites that expand sideways when stretched—a rare auxetic effect, as detailed in Bioengineer.org.
This approach skips trial-and-error by predicting structures with top auxetic performance. It draws from nature’s designs for strength and flexibility, useful in things like bendable screens or tough gear. The work advances sustainable materials that integrate environmental ideas at a microscopic level.