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An infusion of nature into the urban landscape

Print | Comments () Posted by Beth Daley October 13, 2012 03:44 PM

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It is the name of a music project by Iceland's Bjork. But Biophilia - an intense love of nature - is also making its mark on Boston architecture.

According to a recent article in Architectural Record by Joann Gonchar, biophilic architecture embraces “nature or natural elements to improve occupants’ physical and mental health, increase productivity, and enhance overall well-being.”

Her story notes that there have been dozens of studies that link biophilic features, such as views of nature from a room, with faster recovery rates, decreased dependency on meds and reduced stress.

Several places in the country - and around Boston - are taking such studies to heart. For example the Cambridge-based Tsoi/Kobus & Associates firm is building the new global headquarters of Vertex Pharmaceuticals at Fan Pier that will feature an intensive green plaza system (instead of an existing parking lot) to provide workers with ways to get to nature during the workday. The same firm is using a bamboo garden and natural materials in Boston Medical Center’s Carl J. and Ruth Shapiro Ambulatory Care Center. (pictured here)

Mass. General also has patient rooms in its Lunder Building that look out on a bamboo garden, Gonchar notes.