Vivo for Healthier Generations is on a mission to ignite healthier generations. In partnership with the Alberta Real Estate Foundation, Vivo has launched a research initiative to evaluate the impact of Biophilic Design in the built environment on the health and wellness of its members and the community it serves. The research strategy capitalizes on Vivo’s Indoor Park, a 19,500 square foot space that connects park users to nature through the incorporation of biophilic design. That park offers a unique opportunity to engage with what is traditionally considered outdoor park infrastructure year-round.

Biophilic design as a strategy for promoting improved health and wellness has its roots in the biophilia hypothesis and research; the concept suggests people are innately attracted to the natural environment and recharged by engaging with it. In a world where our access to outdoor spaces seems to be increasingly challenged by smoky skies, winter storms, or simply the difficulties of finding the time and space to get out and enjoy the great outdoors, biophilic design offers a way to make our built environments feel more natural.

Built environments incorporate biophilic design in many ways, bringing nature into a space can be incorporated through natural light and ventilation, plants and water, and providing views of natural spaces. Nature can also be built into a space by applying design strategies that simulate nature, through the materials, textures and geometries designers use to make a building feel less like a box that was built and more like a space that was discovered. Finally, biophilic design provides strategies to promote the types of interactions we experience in nature through their physical design and layout by incorporating opportunities for exploration, relaxation and recreation in the same ways you would experience the joy of an afternoon in a park with your family.

Vivo is starting a journey to measure the benefits of biophilic design in a recreational environment by evaluating the impact of biophilic design on the way people use the space, the way they think and feel about it, and the way it affects their physical and mental well-being. These three research priorities (use, perception, and well-being respectively) are part of a longitudinal research and innovation agenda meant to provide the real estate and design community with insights into the value of biophilic design, as a means of creating healthier spaces.

The first phase of the project was a literature review and planning process to chart a path forward. The literature review was structured in an online database that explores the mechanisms behind biophilic design, the effects those mechanisms have, the measurement of those effects, and the experience they collectively create for individuals and communities. Please contact donate@vivo.ca if you are interested in access to the database.

Key findings from the review suggest biophilic design and interactions with the natural environments can:

• Improve our health: time spent in a natural environment can reduce stress, improve mood, and lower blood pressure.
• Increase workplace satisfaction: employees and teams seem to show improved creativity and collaboration skills, as well a preference for working in, environments that incorporate biophilic design.
• Attract new and diverse people: members of the general public generally spend more time in, and pay more attention to, spaces that incorporate biophilic design elements.

This project was funded in 2023 through the Alberta Real Estate Foundation’s Development Grants Program.