If the COVID-19 pandemic taught Aussies anything, it was that gardens, big or small, are good for the soul.
To this end, biophilic design is creeping – like a verdant vine nourished by water and sunlight – into more and more properties for sale. The 2022 season of The Block has incorporated biophilia with raw materials and mood-soothing colours borrowed from nature, including sage and olive greens.
Renovators and building designers – releasing new apartments – are increasingly using biophilic elements to bring nature closer to how residents live.
Biophilic design creates opportunity for homeowners to interact with the natural world.
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1 Shierlaw Avenue, Canterbury, VIC
One of the earliest examples, before there was a buzzword for it, is the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one the ancient Seven Worlds of the World – a green kingdom that existed 2500 years ago during the age of the Neo-Babylonian Empire.
Writings from the first century BC said the city consisted of terraces, one higher that the next, with pillars and vaults containing trees and plantings that rose high above the man-made structure and seemed to spill over – or hang – in abundance.
However, biophilic design does not only refer to plants.
It also related to homes with beautiful air flow, such as a breezeway; light, thanks to atriums or skylights; sharing the space with animals – for example, an aquarium; flames, in the form of an open fireplace or a fire put; water, including fountains; materials that exist in nature, such as timber and raw stone; and, of course, vegetation, both indoor (a vertical herb garden wall in a townhouse kitchen, as a small scale example) and outdoor (growing up the side of skyscrapers, on the grandest of scales).
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All of these elements aim to help residents to form a connection to nature, in the hope it is calming and therapeutic.
23 Margaret Street, Brisbane City, QLD
In Brisbane, the new Queen’s Wharf Tower will soar like an urban forest.
The configuration by YPM Group, will include one, two, three-bedroom apartments and penthouses, and listing shows rich greenery snaking up the façade, and a swimming pool area with layers of indoor gardens, tiered to create density.
A wine room in the development is rimmed by plants, encased in glass, forgoing minimalist design for lushness through natural décor.
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And the Melior development Canterbury, Melbourne, by CBRE, has reflected nature with its low-rise residential design.
Here, raised garden beds and landscaping that looks like it has been in place for decades, and meandering greenery, makes the garden part of the architecture.
Balconies are in a position to get plenty of direct sunlight, to ensure that plants thrive, the listing explains. Timber and stone are employed to merge the interiors with the abundant flora outside.