This e-newsletter brings you the latest information and resources on biophilic design, the industry, and GPGB updates. 

Photo: Parker Interior Plantscape
This Men’s Journal article will likely convince you to keep nature nearby as often as possible.

• Kim Alexis
• Feb 13, 2024 3:03 PM EST

What is Biophilic Design?

Biophilic design is about improving our well-being in the places we live and work. It involves adding elements of nature, like pictures of plants, mountains, and outdoor landscapes, to our indoor environments.

How Does Biophilic Design Help Physical Health?

Biophilic design has impactful health benefits that we will explore below. But here’s the takeaway up front: Research indicates that our body gets better when we spend time in natural environments.

A visual connection helps your body relax, and that helps your heart and blood pressure stay in a healthier range.

Staying Healthy at Work

Having plants or seeing green things at work can make you 30% less likely to get tired or sick. Imagine having fewer days of feeling tired or having a sore throat!

Nature in Hospitals

Having nature-inspired designs in healthcare areas reduces the need for pain medicine by 22%, according to research. On top of that, patients who can see nature from their hospital rooms get better more quickly, receive fewer negative comments from nurses, and need less strong pain medication compared to those without similar visual opportunities.

5th February 2024 | IN DESIGN EVENTS | BY SBID
This year’s edition of the Workspace Design Show (27 – 28 February 2024, Business Design Centre, London), presents an impressive array of features. These bring together some of the industry’s leading designers, architects and built environment partners and range from an immersive forest stage to an interactive lighting installation. Altogether, 2024’s features represent an incredible spectacle for attendees of the Show, which has become a must-visit event for office interiors professionals since its inception in 2021.

Design Talks Lounge by Gensler 
Curated by Gensler, the design concept for the Design Talks Lounge at the Workspace Design Show 2024 delves into the overarching theme, ‘Bloom – Exploring the Thriving Ecosystem of Work Life’.

Entrance by tp bennett 

Architectural, design and planning practice tp bennett is responsible for the design of the feature at the entrance to Workspace Design Show 2024. A series of elegant columns is arranged in a conceptual maze, serving as a symbolic representation of the intricate ecosystem of work life.

Insights Lounge by BDP
Both the Occupiers Forum and the Sustainability Works sessions will be held in the Insights Lounge, designed exclusively by Lisa Pasi, graduate interior designer with international architects practice BDP. Also addressing the theme of, ‘Bloom’, Pasi’s concept will focus on the symbiotic relationship between man and nature…

Living Workplace lighting installation

Jason Bruges Studio presents two interactive lighting prototypes on the theme of ‘Living Workplace’. Each prototype is a 1:1 section of an existing, full-scale permanent artwork…

Recharge Lounge
M Moser Associates has crafted a captivating oasis featuring the exquisite Pebble Rubble modular seating range from Italian furniture manufacturer Moroso that transports us to a serene forestscape. Amidst the lively atmosphere of the Workspace Design Show, visitors will have the opportunity to be immersed in nature-inspired surroundings, where tranquillity and rejuvenation seamlessly converge…

Thank you to all who joined the call, January 11, 2024 to hear from industry expert, Mike Senneff. These calls help engage, build community, and allow for networking with others in the industry! Get inspiration, give feedback, and participate in open Q&A. If you are available, please participate on the next call for GPGB Supporters!

Congratulations to our supports on their 2024 International Plantscape Awards!

The International Plantscape Annual Awards recognizes the best from the interior landscaping industry. The contest provides a platform for interior landscaping professionals to share their work on a global stage.

Thank you to all who attending GPGB’s Registered Trainer Seminar and CEU,
“How To Specify Living Walls” on January 18, 2024 @TPIE

We had a record number in attendance and look forward to continuing to increase the number of GPGB Registered Trainers who help communicate the aesthetic, wellbeing, and economic benefits of nature in the built environment.

Sheldon Burrows with Green Oasis in San Antonio, Texas had hundreds of attendees at his  GPGB CEU presentations in 2023. He was on his honeymoon and unable to accept the Platinum Award in person. The Gold Award went to Lily Turnerwith Urbanstrong in Brooklyn, New York. Lily had nearly 150 attendees and continues to be one of GPGB’s most influential registered trainers. Jim Woods with GrowUp Greenwalls in Vista, California has earned the Silver Award for having nearly 100 attendees at his presentations this past year. He has been one of GPGB’s Most Influential Trainers for years.  All three winners can attest to the benefits of the Registered Trainer Program.

Our seminars will give you the necessary credentials, training, and authority to get in front of architects, landscape architects, designers, building owners and manager, as well as LEED APs to educate them about the many health and productivity benefits of plants in our built environments.

GPGB provides you with content-rich slide decks, scripts, and whitepapers for our Continuing Education presentations on popular design topics such as living walls, green roofs, authentically green interiors, biophilic design, and moss walls.

No prior teaching or speaking experience is required – only a passion for plants.
Educate: GPGB is an approved education provider for AIA, IDCEC, ASID, BOMI, USGBC.
Advocate: Support your industry by communicating the aesthetic, wellbeing, and economic benefits of nature in the built environment.
Empower: Empower designers, architects, and building professionals to explore their connection with nature through interior design.

ROI Calculator

The built environment matters more today than ever before. With developers, office managers, and the hospitality industry scrambling for ways to entice people back into their space, your knowledge of nature and being able to explain and incorporate biophilic design into the built environment is critical.

For employers, healthy offices can improve employee satisfaction, decrease absenteeism, and reduce turnover. Millennials, who will soon become the largest workforce cohort, overwhelmingly desire healthy workplaces – 78% believe workplace quality is a deciding factor in a job search, with 69% willing to trade other benefits for better workplaces.

A GPGB Board Member will be reaching out to you to discuss your options.
 CLICK HERE to renew and/or “LEVEL-UP TODAY!

GPGB depends on the work of volunteers to carry out our strategic initiatives and fulfill our mission. Serving on a committee or as a GPGB board member is a rewarding experience and an opportunity for personal and professional growth. If you can make a minimum two-year commitment, the industry needs people like YOU! We are actively looking for committee members and board members who are passionate about biophilia.

Once you have completed a minimum of one (1) two-year term on a GPGB committee, you are eligible to be considered to serve on the GPGB Board of Directors. If you have already served at least two-years on one or more GPGB committee(s), please fill out the Board of Directors section to be considered.

Committees include:

-Marketing & Communications
-Supporter Development
-Education & Professional Development

All are driven by our Strategic Plan.

GPGB is making a difference and it’s all thanks to our valued supporters. Our supporter’s participation and contribution is greatly appreciated not only by us, but by everyone in the industry.

Thank you for continuing to add your voice  to the hundreds of other industry professionals committed to integrating plants into our built environments. We appreciate your understanding and willingness to “Level-Up” this year!

We could not do it without you!

Continued Call To Action: Please continue to add your reels, shorts, stories, and all other 15-30 second videos related to biophilia here in order to be featured on GPGB social media.

Living walls, also known as green walls, are vertical surfaces that are densely covered with vegetation. Planterra’s living walls offer a practical solution of adding greenery into buildings with tight areas or limited square footage. They provide the perfect focal point for reception areas, entrances or seating areas.

Planterra’s practice is to match the client site with a living wall system that will work best for the space and the overall objectives of the project. Living walls can be achieved using a variety of methods and living wall systems, ranging from trailing ivy trellises to irrigated pre-grown planted panels.

Company and Credits: Planterra

In the context of Stefano Boeri Architetti‘s vision for a new architecture of biodiversity, Trudo Vertical Forest applies the Vertical Forest model to social housing for the first time.

Designed to accommodate mainly low-income users – such as young professionals and students – the tower in Eindhoven houses flats with low rents but high living quality. The complex vision of “living” coexistence between man and other species is thus amplified in the project into a dual challenge: the possibility of combining the great challenge of the environmental crisis with the urgent need for affordable housing in contemporary cities.

Company and Credits: Stefano Boeri Architetti

Want to Help Keep Nature in the News?

Everything we accomplish happens because people like you are stepping forward and supporting GPGB’s focus on having conversations with the building professionals who can #BringNatureIndoors.

If the spirit moves you, please consider supporting our work by making a donation.