“Huge congratulations – Biophilia Summit was a triumph! A very engaging and motivated set of presentations with real passion and drive around our individual and collective action paths”
“Just wanted to say a BIG thank you for organising a terrific conference. Really, you should be really proud, it was a huge success. Brilliant.”
“A brilliant, powerful, and inspiring biophilia summit event – setting a high standard for future biophilia explorations. Big thanks to all involved …”
“Oh, what a way to spend the day! 🌱☀️ Thank you for organising. It was excellent! Every single talk brought something to “the table.” Well done everyone!”
“Sincerely hope this is the beginning of a new tradition! I for one would love to meet up every year to broaden my views on this emerging field of research and design. Big thanks to Living Future Europe for organising.”
“So wonderful!”
These are some of the amazing comments we received from participants, which totally encourage us to keep on exploring the compelling opportunity to open the doors of the conversation on biophilia to other sectors other than the one we are typically working on – the built environment – in a really interdisciplinary way.
What a day. We explored the different facets of a biophilic approach, between biophilic design, regenerative sustainability, architecture, engineering, interior design, constructions, biology, psychology, mindfulness, art, photography, film making, nature, beauty, fashion, collaboration, regenerative design, Living Building Challenge, wellbeing, Living Future Europe, education, innovation, circular economy.
We started with two amazing building projects, winners of the Stephen R. Kellert Design Award 2022 and 2023, a commercial building connected to a railway station in Japan, full of astonishing biophilic natural features, and then a school building in the Netherlands (what if every school was like this!), discovering how universal the language of biophilic design could be.
We are often asked “But … is biophilia measurable?” Tools and standards may help. We presented for the first time to an international audience the BiodiverCity framework. And then the Summit deep dove into lighting – light is a cornerstone of every biophilic design approach – between product design and architecture, the positive effect on children’s education through well-designed spaces for interactions, and finally how the use of natural lighting may increase attention.
Environmental psychology is a still pretty new scientific field whose potential has been explored in an engaging session, addressing the spiritual side of our connection to nature. In our hyper-technological world, our capacity to express awe and to recover a healthier relationship with the environment may help us in better connecting our brain with our heart.
What’s the role of artificial intelligence in all of this? We asked ChatGPT to create a presentation on the connection between virtual environments and natural experiences, and we listened from ‘her’ insights – yes this was our first AI self-managed session ever! AI is still a sensitive topic (how to manage it?) but we understood how interesting the opportunities for an alternative way are to connect with nature, especially when this is not possible due to some physical constraints.
Agriculture meets fashion. Totally aligned with the overall strategy towards a circular economy, this was the core meaning of a conversation full of notable examples and innovative approaches linking our modern world to the ancestral traditions of our relationship with the land we inhabit. Photography can be another way to explore our connection with the natural world: we commented on some great pics taken in urban as well as wild environments.
Nature has a healing power too, and this potential arose truly clear from the case studies and conversation around healthcare facilities design. What are the positive effects of a stronger patients’ connection to nature? Faster recovery time, symptoms reduction, shorter sickness absence, and many others.
Through the lens of neuroscience, we addressed how beauty emerges from architecture thanks to some well-conceived nature inspired examples (Antoni Gaudí is an iconic reference on this). Can buildings be empathetic? What a fascinating conversation we had.
And lastly, after all this, what’s the future of biophilia? Biophilia is more than a buzz word now, and we can include it in every project. How to scale it up? We need strong leadership, true, but our designers have already demonstrated a brilliant ability to make a synthesis in the design process, implementing the right inputs with a multidisciplinary approach. And then we need advanced, ambitious, and inspired clients who can provide their sponsorship.
We started in the morning from Japan, to close at the end with speakers from the West Coast, with attendees registered from Oceania to Europe, Central and South America, USA, and Canada. The conversation on biophilia is global, without barriers between cultures and disciplines. We are looking forward to the next edition!
If you missed it, no problem! We will keep the registrations open so that you can enjoy the full recording.
This was our amazing program.
Schedule
00:00:00 – 00:07:00
Welcome & Intro
Carlo Battisti
00:07:00 – 01:22:00
Biophilic Design across borders: a keynote dialogue between East and West with the Stephen R. Kellert Biophilic Design Award 2022-2023 winners [ARCHITECTURE]
KEYNOTE
Yoshiaki Komatsu | JR Kumamoto Railway Station Building (Japan)
Gijs Bruggink | De Verwondering (The Netherlands)
Moderation: Carlo Battisti
Designing cities & buildings with Nature in mind [ARCHITECTURE]
Jérémy Durand | BiodiverCity®: a tool for integrating and evaluating biophilia for buildings and neighborhoods
Moderation: Carlo Battisti
01:22:00 – 02:07:53
The role of biophilic lighting design in regenerative architecture [LIGHT]
Wim aan de Stegge | Biophilic Lighting Design
Paolo Creati | Lighting design as a strategy for inclusion
Martina Frattura | The Beauty Movement
Moderation: Nuria Muñoz Arce
02:07:53 – 02:48:11
Nature as therapy. The psychology of Human connection to Nature. [PSYCHOLOGY]
Rita Trombin | Heal the World with Awe
Anicee Carolyn Bauer | Spiritual Design – a journey from head to heart
Moderation: Rita Trombin
02:48:11 – 03:20:17
Virtual Environments and Biophilic Patterns: Opportunities and Challenges for Mimicking and Enhancing Real-World Natural Experiences (AI Generated Title) [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE]
Martin Brown
Jelena Brajkovic
Moderation: Martin Brown
03:20:17 – 04:06:00
From field to fashion: exploring the intersection of Biophilic design [FASHION, AGRICULTURE]
Rachel Sheila Kan
Toby Diggens
Moderation: Martin Brown
04:06:00 – 04:35:28
Through the lenses of Biophilia: a dialogue around Photography [PHOTOGRAPHY]
Christian Passeri
in conversation with Carlo Battisti
04:35:28 – 05:16:10
The Healing Power of Nature: Biophilia in Healthcare facilities [HEALTH]
Terri Peters | Biophilic Design Strategies for Long-Term Care Environments
Natali Ghawi | Biophilic Design in End-of-Life Care
Amelia Chasey | Healing By Design – Biophilic Design in Healthcare
Moderation: Martin Brown
05:16:10 – 05:35:49
Neuroscience insight on love, empathy, and beauty in architecture [NEUROSCIENCE]
KEYNOTE
Marta Delgado
Moderation: Carlo Battisti
05:35:49 – 06:05:50
The future of Biophilia
A chat with biophilia champions, feat.
John Ennis
Erin Rovalo
Richard Piacentini
Moderation: Vanessa Champion
06:05:50 – 06:11:37
Closing remarks
Carlo Battisti
