Direct Experience Of Nature - Part 2

In our first blog, we defined Biophilia and introduced theories within evolutionary psychology that provide explanations as to why humans are inclined to seek out natural environments.

Direct experience of nature 

Kellert and Calabrese outline direct experience of nature through a variety of elements. These include Light, Air, Water, Plants, Animals, Weather, Natural landscapes and ecosystems, and Fire. Lets explore some of these elements – light, air, and plants – that can be incorporated into an office environment! 

Light 

Light, and access to natural light, is one of the easiest adaptions that can help transform your space. Not only can it make your space feel fresher and more inviting, it also plays a key role in our health, especially when it comes to sleep. 

Sleep is controlled by our ‘circadian rhythm’, commonly known as our ‘biological clock’.  It works on a 24-hour cycle and is responsible for helping us be awake during the day and sleep during the night, known as the ‘sleep-wake cycle’. This sleep-wake cycle is largely controlled by light. Light acts as a stimulant; similar to coffee, it increases our alertness when we are exposed to it. Daytime light exposure also helps to regulate our sleep-wake cycle, meaning that we have better quality sleep during the night too! Other research also shows that a part of our brain called the amygdala is activated in response to light. The amygdala is responsible for controlling our emotions and mood, and studies have shown that office workers who are exposed to circadian lighting during the day have reduced levels of depression. 

The WELL building standard V2 recommends that ‘at least 30% of the regularly occupied area is within a 20 ft horizontal distance of envelope glazing in each floor’. At Claremont, we often design workstations around the perimeter of a floorplate, offering the most natural light exposure to the spaces we tend to spend the longest periods of time. However, it is important to consider potential glare that can occur – especially where direct sunlight reflects off neighbouring glass buildings! If glare is not accounted for, staff will resort to closing blinds meaning you lose all the benefits of natural light. In areas where there is likely to be direct sunlight throughout the day, angling the workstations helps minimise the impact of glare on a screen or in someone’s eyes. In instances where this just isn’t possible, possible solutions can include light diffusing window film, smart glass, electrochromic glass, or smart blinds ca offer an alternative to retain natural light whilst reducing distracting glare. Some research has shown that people appear to be more tolerant of glare from daylight than from electric lighting, which could be due to the other benefits associated being close to windows.

Having views to the outside not only gives us access to natural light, but it can also tie into other direct experiences with nature such as animals and weather. Simply sitting near to a window with views of greenery can activate areas of the brain that are associated with positive emotions. If you’re lucky enough to have outside space at your office, the simple addition of a birdfeeder may provide great benefits to your staff.  A study published in October 2022 in Scientific Reports found that seeing or hearing birds improved people’s mental wellbeing for up to eight hours. This also encapsulates the ‘animals’ element of direct experience of nature. 

Air 

Over 95% of our human evolution occurred in nature, as opposed to the influence of long periods in indoor space. Therefore, our bodies have been designed to function with extensive access to fresh air. Now that we spend approximately 90% of our time indoors, with a high proportion of that in the workplace, it’s important that we have as much access to fresh air as possible to perform at our best. Fresh air circulation within a workplace can be increased through M&E systems, which can provide air filtration and ventilation to reduce unwanted mould, pollen, volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) that can arise from furniture and cleaning products, or microbes.  Research by the World Green Building Council suggests that having better quality air indoors can result in an increase in productivity of around 8%-11% – in part this could also be explained by the reduction in sickness and allergies that poor quality air can cause. Cundall’s London office, WELL Certified at the Gold level, focused on improved indoor air quality, including continuous monitoring of carbon dioxide and volatile organic compounds (VOC’s). Research analysing the impact of these measures found a reduction 50% lower absenteeism – saving £90,000 annually, and a 27% reduction in staff turnover – saving £122,000 annually.  

Plants 

The addition of indoor plants to your office not only acts as a decorative feature to bring colour and vibrancy to the office, whilst providing air purifying and sound-absorbing qualities, but they can also have psychological benefits for your employees too. In 1989, two psychologists (Kaplan & Kaplan) proposed a theory suggesting that being exposed to nature helps improve people’s ability to concentrate and pay attention. Their theory, ‘Attention Restoration Theory’ (ART), explains how there are two different types of attention: voluntary and involuntary. Voluntary attention requires focus, concentration and thought, for example at work you may use your voluntary attention to focus on a meeting, document or finishing a piece of work to meet a deadline. Voluntary attention is tiring, and after a prolonged period of time becomes more and more difficult to do as energy resources deplete. Involuntary attention, however, is passive and does not require focus. An example of involuntary attention could be hearing a loud and unexpected noise, where your attention is naturally and instinctively pulled towards it.  As involuntary attention does not require effort, it is suggested that it can help restore energy lost from using your voluntary attention – ART explains how nature can help speed up this process.  

In this theory, looking at or experiencing nature attracts your involuntary attention. Kaplan’s (1993) early investigations into ART found this by studying 2 groups of office workers, one group had views of nature and the other group did not. They found that workers with views of nature reported to have less health concerns and had much higher job satisfaction, more patience and greater enthusiasm for their work than those who did not have views of nature. Bearing in mind this was a controlled experiment – so the views of nature were the only changing variables – it provides a strong argument for the integration of nature into the workplace to support all kinds of positive employee outcomes!  

 After exploring a few of the elements that create the first pillar of biophilic design, it is clear that the addition of direct experience of nature within your workplace can have many benefits for your employees and for your organisation through improved wellness, job satisfaction and productivity.   

We appreciate, however, that not all of these are possible – or appropriate – for all types of office spaces. In our next blog we will explore the second pillar of biophilic design – indirect experience of nature.