We spend 90% of our lives in buildings, which means our health and wellbeing is influenced significantly by the built environment.
In our typical office environment in the UK up to 60% of staff don’t have sufficient access to daylight. More than 130 million days are lost to sickness absence every year in Great Britain and working-age ill health costs the national economy £100 billion a year. A 1% reduction in absenteeism would convert to a saving in lost days alone of £1 billion to the economy. In addition a 15% increase in operational productivity enabled by the internal fit-out of your office adds further benefit.
We hosted an international Wellness and Biophilia Symposium.
Read the papers from the event.
The Biophilic Office
Contact us
[email protected].
Biophilic design acknowledges that we are genetically connected to nature and that a human-centred approach can improve many of the spaces that we live and work, with numerous benefits to our health and wellbeing and efficiency. The scientific evidence for the positive influence of biophilic design, on the health and wellbeing of building occupants is substantial and growing. In an office environment this is shown as quantified improvements in productivity, wellness and a reduction in days absent due to illness.
The Biophilic Office is a long-term research and demonstration project from BRE and Oliver Heath Design, supported by a range of partners.
#biophilicoffice
Learn about The Biophilic Office
Download a pdf document showing the outline timing for the project – The Biophilic Office Project Timing or take the Biophilic Office CPD webinar.
The Biophilic Office in the Press
Using nature-inspired design to improve office health & wellbeing – read the article on SHP Online
Ambius partners with BRE on groundbreaking biophilic office research
Hear from Ed Suttie on the project – interviewed by Modern Building Services magazine
Read about The Biophilic Office in The Guardian’s My Green Pod magazine, Summer issue
Wellness and Biophilia Symposium
The Wellness and Biophilia Symposium was held at BRE on the 6th and 7th of June 2019. Find out more about the Wellness and Biophilia Symposium.
This research offers us a great opportunity to contribute to the understanding of the impact of the office environment on the health and wellbeing of our colleagues. The link between people’s wellbeing and our wider business culture is one we are very keen to understand and benefit from. Kirsten Lord, Director of HR at BRE
Phase 1 summary report – one year of monitoring
This report gives an overview of the pre-refurbishment phase of the project. This phase of the project focused on monitoring occupant behaviour within the space to establish the indoor environmental quality, the occupant’s perceptions and responses and their typical behaviours. It also explores the initial design concepts by Oliver Heath Design using biophilic principles in different zones.
Hear from some of our event partners…
Latest News and Insights
Take a look at the video from BRE and Oliver Heath Design which explains the project
Core Partners
Dissemination Partners
Contact Us and Get Involved
The team at BRE is looking for partners and supporters to get involved with the project. This can include refurbishment contractors, office and real estate owners or investors, materials and product manufacturers, monitoring and technology providers.
Contact: Flavie Lowres [email protected] Ed Suttie [email protected]
