This e-newsletter brings you the latest information and resources on biophilic design, the industry, and GPGB updates.
What Happened to the Human Side of Architecture?
Image: 1,000 Trees mixed-use commercial development located along the Suzhou Creek in Shanghai, China.
Source: SCI-Arc Channel. Thomas Heatherwick [YouTube video]. Directed by Reza Monahan. Additional video and images provided by Heatherwick Studio. © 2026 SCI-Arc Channel.
British designer Thomas Heatherwick, founder of Heatherwick Studio, challenges the growing sense of indifference in the built environment and calls for architecture that gives greater attention to human experience.
Heatherwick argues that while modern architecture has become highly effective at delivering size, speed, efficiency, and increasingly sustainability, it can overlook what people experience up close: texture, detail, rhythm, craftsmanship, curiosity, and care. Because people spend so much of their lives walking past, working in, and living alongside buildings, he suggests the quality of these environments should be considered not simply a design issue, but one connected to human health and well-being.
Rather than advocating for more architectural spectacle, Heatherwick calls for buildings that remain interesting and engaging over time—places that tell stories, reward curiosity, and offer what he describes as more emotionally and cognitively “nutritious” surroundings.
The conversation also explores adaptive reuse, embodied carbon, and the environmental consequences of demolition, including Heatherwick Studio’s transformation of a historic grain silo into the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (MOCAA) in Cape Town.
Heatherwick’s message reinforces an important principle of human-centered and biophilic design: the built environment is something people experience every day, at every scale. Creating healthier places requires looking beyond performance metrics alone and considering how materials, natural elements, sensory richness, craftsmanship, and thoughtful details shape the way people experience and connect with a space.
The First Nature Library opens in the US
Image: Anythink Libraries in Thornton, Colorado
Source: Outside, August 20, 2026 — “The Country’s First Nature Library Lets You Check Out Camping Gear Like Books,” by Daliah Singer.
The experience extends well beyond the building. Visitors can explore gardens, trails, a mud-play area, outdoor storytelling spaces, and nature-focused educational programs. Through the library’s TryIts program, library cardholders can also borrow more than 650 outdoor-related items—including gardening tools, camping equipment, hammocks, snowshoes, and birdwatching and bug-finding kits—at no cost.
The project is particularly timely as communities look for ways to counter increasing screen time and create more opportunities for people, especially children, to interact with nature. Rather than treating nature as something that requires a trip to the mountains, the Nature Library demonstrates how access to plants, natural materials, outdoor spaces, and nature-inspired experiences can become part of everyday community life.
The project is also a compelling example of biophilic design in practice. From its living plant wall and central garden to daylight, views, sensory materials, and seamless indoor-outdoor connections, the library illustrates how the built environment can help create opportunities for people to encounter and engage with nature.
Beyond the Plant Schedule: What ASLA’s Decarbonizing Guide Means for Interior Living Systems
Photo: Joscō Garden, Pantique Florida
What can an exterior landscape guide teach us about designing with plants indoors?
The American Society of Landscape Architects’ updated Decarbonizing Specifications v2 focuses primarily on exterior landscapes, but several of its principles offer valuable lessons for interior living systems—particularly early collaboration, lifecycle thinking, thoughtful specification, and long-term maintenance.
For architects and designers, one of the most important takeaways is to bring interiorscape expertise into the design process earlier. Decisions about lighting, irrigation, drainage, HVAC, structural support, access, and plant selection can significantly affect whether a living wall, specimen plant, or other interior planting succeeds long after installation.
The same thinking applies throughout the life of an installation. Plants interact with containers, growing media, water, lighting, building systems, occupants, and maintenance teams. Designing for the actual environment—and considering how the installation will be cared for from the beginning—can help protect the original design intent while supporting healthier, longer-lasting plants.
The bigger idea: A strong plant schedule is only the beginning. Successful biophilic design requires thinking about the entire living system and involving plant professionals early enough to help that system thrive.
The Global Biophilic Design Calendar: September 2026
September is packed with opportunities to explore the evolving relationship between nature, design, buildings, and human wellbeing. From interior design and landscape architecture to living walls and biophilia, here are several events around the world worth watching.
September 7–10 | TERRAenVISION 2026 — Trier, Germany
This international conference brings scientists, policymakers, businesses, and other stakeholders together around nature-based solutions addressing climate, biodiversity, natural hazards, and urban and industrial environments.
September 8 | Green Roofs & Walls Forum — Prague, Czech Republic
Dedicated specifically to green roofs, green walls, and vegetation on buildings, this European forum will explore international best practices along with biodiversity-enhancing, blue-green, and biosolar approaches to the built environment.
September 15–17 | Neuroplaces: The Inclusive Design Show — London, UK
Part of the London Design Festival and Shoreditch Design Week, Neuroplaces focuses on neuroinclusive and accessible environments. Biophilic design and the role of planting in supporting wellbeing are among the ideas being explored as designers rethink workplaces and public spaces.
September 16–18 | ASID GATHER: Catalyst 2026 — Dallas, Texas
The American Society of Interior Designers brings together interior designers, educators, students, industry partners, and design leaders for three days of education, professional development, and networking. This year’s event overlaps with Dallas Design Week and ArchLIGHT Summit, creating additional opportunities to explore lighting, human-centered design, materials, and emerging approaches to interior environments.
September 16–18 | ASLA Conference on Landscape Architecture — Los Angeles, California
Thousands of landscape architects and allied professionals will gather around the theme “Action! Design in Motion. Work in Progress.” More than 100 education sessions and 20+ field sessions will explore sustainability, ecology, resilience, design innovation, and the future of landscape architecture, complemented by a large industry EXPO.
September 24 | Biophilia Summit 2026 — Online
Living Future Europe’s fourth annual international Biophilia Summit brings together architects, designers, researchers, developers, manufacturers, educators, artists, policymakers, and innovators. Under the theme “Biophilia in Practice: Sensing, Belonging, Regenerating,” the program explores how strengthening the relationship between people and nature can contribute to healthier, more resilient, and regenerative places.
September 30–October 3 | CitiesAlive 2026 — Brooklyn, New York
The 20th CitiesAlive Conference brings together professionals working across green roofs, green walls, living architecture, landscape architecture, planning, research, and policy. This year’s program explores nature-based approaches to extreme heat, stormwater, biodiversity, public health, and climate resilience. Of particular interest, Bill Browning of Terrapin Bright Green will address biophilic design and the human-nature connection as part of the conference program.
Together, these events point to a larger shift taking place across the design professions: nature is increasingly being considered not as an aesthetic addition, but as part of how we create healthier, more resilient, and more human-centered places.
The Conversations Moving Our Industry Forward
Some of the most valuable industry conversations happen when professionals can openly share experiences, ask questions, and learn from peers facing similar challenges.
That’s the idea behind GPGB Monthly Supporter Open Forums, held virtually on the last Wednesday of each month at 12:00 p.m. ET.
More than webinars, these are interactive, peer-driven conversations where interiorscape professionals exchange ideas, compare approaches, and talk candidly about the opportunities and challenges affecting their businesses. Topics range from sales, staffing and operations to technology, profitability, client relationships, leadership, business development, and more.
GPGB Supporters: Invite Your Whole Team
Open Forums aren’t just for company owners or your primary GPGB contact. All personnel of GPGB supporting companies are encouraged to participate.
Salespeople, designers, horticulturists, technicians, project managers, operations professionals, and other team members all bring valuable perspectives—and can benefit from connecting with peers in similar roles across the industry.
We encourage supporting companies to have interested staff opt in to receive the recurring Monthly Supporter Open Forum calendar invitation. That way, upcoming forums are already on their calendars and they can join whenever a topic is relevant to their role.
Not a GPGB Supporter Yet?
The Monthly Supporter Open Forums are just one of the benefits of joining GPGB.
Supporting companies gain access to a growing professional community along with educational programming, networking opportunities, industry resources, research, and opportunities to connect with professionals working to advance the interiorscape industry and biophilic design.
Thank You to Our Supporters!
Image: Foliage Concepts, North Carolina
Your Support Is Putting Plants at the Center of the Built Environment Conversation
Every GPGB supporter helps expand the conversation about the role of plants and nature in the places where people live, work, learn, heal, and gather.
Through your support, GPGB is able to reach architects, interior designers, building owners, facility professionals, students, educators, and interiorscape professionals with education, research, resources, and opportunities that strengthen the connection between people, plants, and the built environment.
Here are just a few ways that support is making an impact:
Reaching the Next Generation
Through GPGB’s sponsorship of the Interior Plant Identification and Biophilic Interiors Learning Sessions at the NALP National Collegiate Landscape Competition, students were introduced to career opportunities and expertise within the interiorscape profession.
Bringing Plants Into the Design Conversation
At the AIA Conference on Architecture 2026, GPGB connected directly with architects, designers, and other building professionals, increasing awareness of biophilic design and the value of thoughtfully integrating plants into buildings.
Making Professional Education More Accessible
GPGB’s NeoCon CEU, Wellness-Driven Interiorscapes for Sustainable Design, remains available through December 31, 2026, providing AIA HSW and IDCEC HSW continuing education while helping design professionals better understand the role of interior plants in healthier, more sustainable spaces.
Building the Next Generation of Education
New educational programs are also in development, including Designing Neuroinclusive Spaces, expanding the conversation around biophilic design to include wellness, accessibility, sensory experience, and evidence-based design.
None of this happens without our supporters.
Your investment gives GPGB the ability to educate the professionals making decisions about the built environment, create new resources, build stronger industry connections, and continue advocating for a future where plants and nature are an integral part of the spaces we create.
Thank you for helping move that mission forward.
Image: Jay Scotts, Batch-O-Blooms, Pennsylvania
Great Biophilic Design Needs the Right Expertise
Bringing nature successfully into the built environment takes more than a great idea. It takes professionals who understand how to turn that vision into a living system that works—and continues to thrive.
The GPGB Provider Directory helps architects, designers, building owners, facility professionals, property managers, and other decision-makers connect with experienced professionals specializing in plants and biophilic environments.
Whether you’re planning a new project, renovating an existing space, adding a living wall, refreshing an interiorscape, or looking for ongoing plant care, the directory provides a starting point for finding the expertise you need.
Find professionals specializing in:
- Interior plantscaping and plant maintenance
- Biophilic design and consultation
- Living and green walls
- Plants, containers, products, and supplies
- Commercial holiday décor
- Specialty services and solutions
GPGB providers serve a wide range of environments—from workplaces and healthcare facilities to hospitality, education, retail, residential, and mixed-use properties.
For design professionals, involving plant expertise early can also help ensure that plant selection, lighting, irrigation, maintenance, and other horticultural requirements are considered before critical project decisions are made.
Have a Project in Mind?
Don’t wait until the plants are the last item on the project list.
Explore the GPGB Provider Directory and connect with professionals who know how to successfully integrate plants into the places people live, work, learn, heal, and gather.
Biophilic Gallery
Project: LYM SPACE
Location: Hanoi, Vietnam
Architecture & Design: PAK Architects
Year: 2025
Image Credit: © Triệu Chiến. LYM SPACE / PAK Architects, featured by ArchDaily.
View the LYM SPACE project on ArchDaily
LYM SPACE demonstrates how architecture and vegetation can be integrated even within the constraints of a dense urban site. Rather than maximizing the building envelope, PAK Architects created a series of stepped terraces filled with lush planting and incorporated an interior atrium to encourage natural light, breezes, and fresh air throughout the building. The project’s cast-in-place concrete structure is softened by extensive vegetation and natural materials including stone and wood, creating a strong visual and experiential connection with nature. The architects describe the resulting building as a verdant oasis within Hanoi’s increasingly dense urban fabric.
The building’s form was inspired by a flower.The central structural column represents the stem, while the building’s projecting forms and planted terraces evoke the calyx and petals.
Project: Rijkskantoor B73
Location: The Hague, Netherlands
Construction Completed: 2025
Client: Rijksvastgoedbedrijf, the Dutch Central Government Real Estate Agency
Architect: Studio PROTOTYPE
Interior Architecture: ZENBER Architecten
Green / Biophilic Design: MOSS
Green Contractor: Hydrozorg
Photography: © Jeroen Musch
View the Rijkskantoor B73 project on Moss Amsterdam
The project transformed an existing government complex into offices for three Dutch ministries. The standout space is the enormous glass-roofed Orangerie, where planting is treated as architecture rather than decoration.
The central staircase is essentially wrapped in vegetation. Layered planting climbs through the atrium, while greenery is integrated into furniture, walls, work areas and circulation spaces. MOSS describes the project as incorporating layered vertical gardens throughout the Orangerie.
The result feels less like an office with plants and more like a working environment built inside a garden.
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.