• Culture

It’s easy being green

We’re at the epicentre of a biophilic uprising. The love of plants and desire to connect to nature is spilling over into our homes, our workspaces and public places at an increasing rate. Blame it on our tech-saturated lives, an increase in urban living and a general sense of fatigue at the pace of modern life but the need to surround ourselves with the calming forces of nature or even design that mimics our natural environment is right now more important than ever.

Studies have proven the positive effect houseplants can have on our wellbeing. And the uplifting impact a simple walk in nature can have on our long-term health — from increasing our immune systems to decreasing depression and anxiety — is something most of us feel instinctively but has also only recently been substantiated by the world of science. While green walls (hello, Patrick Blanc) and indoor courtyards suffused with plant life are by no means new, below we highlight a few recent developments in the latest wave of biophilic design.

Linda Tegg’s spontaneous plants

Melbourne artist Linda Tegg made headlines at this year’s Milan Design Week for her installation inside the city’s Jil Sander flagship store. Comprising wild living plants sourced from disused industrial sites across Milan the work, titled Adjacent Fields, aimed to instill a deeper appreciation of nature in the viewer by taking common plants out of context and placing them in a gallery environment. It’s the grouping of these plants into island-like formations that most piqued our interest. Simple yet stunningly effective.

Snøhetta’s Outdoor Care Retreat

Norwegian design studio Snøhetta has made headlines this month for the design of the latest Aesop store in Sydney’s Pitt Street and the reimagining of the 1946 Ford Motor Company’s research centre in the US into a 21^st century eco-system of curving inter-connected buildings and green spaces. But it’s their Outdoor Care Retreat located in woodland by a freshwater stream only moments from Norway’s largest hospital that ranks high on our list of simple genius havens. Inspired by the playfulness of children’s treehouses the two timber cabins were originally developed in collaboration with child psychiatric specialists and offer a respite for patients from their hospital treatments in the soothing surrounds of nature. Oak interiors mimic the outside forest while a circular window in the ceiling invites visitors to lie down and immerse themselves in the forest canopy above.

Fifty shades of forest green

British companies Little Greene and Edward Bulmer Paints not only do a heavenly line in shades of nature-inspired colours their paints are also water-based and so better for our health and that of the planet. We’re particularly loving Little Greene’s collaboration with the UK’s National Trust on a new collection of green hues based on historic houses and gardens throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland. “Goblin” green for example, comes from the Gloucestershire manor of architect, poet, artist and collector, Mr Charles Paget Wade. Renowned for playing jokes on visitors, his neighbour, Mrs Graham Greene, often referred to him as “half goblin”.