A critical review of Biophilic design and its design framework

Since the publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring in the 1960s, the architecture realm has witnessed a surge in sustainable design approaches. These have primarily focused on developing solutions that reduce negative environmental impacts. A growing body of research has identified that merely reducing the destructive impacts may not suffice to fight the global environmental crisis. In response, a number of architectural design approaches, such as biophilic design, restorative design and emotion-based nature-oriented architecture, have been developed to not only overcome the destructive environmental impacts of design and planning but also to improve human-nature interactions in the built environment. This paper critically reviews one of the most recognized approaches in the literature among the three: biophilic design. It discusses its relation to sustainability and the strengths and potentials for fostering pro-environmental behaviour. An in-depth analysis of biophilic design's emerging design frameworks follows, explicitly considering their applicability in informing the process of designing nature experiences in architecture. The paper concludes with two main shortcomings of biophilic design and outlines an area for future research.