Project Orange, Knox Bhavan, ECD Architects, and Assemble are among the practices discussing how they use biophilia within their offices, and/or regularly host meetings and retreats in natural settings.
Knox Bhavan’s studio and garden (photo: Fergus Knox).
Co-evolving with nature
Part 2 of the Regenerative Architecture Index focuses on ‘Co-evolving with nature’. This is about recognising that we are part of – as opposed to separate from – the natural world. It recognises the importance of actively regenerating ecosystems by learning from and working with natural systems. This requires designing for circularity and encouraging closed-loop energy, material and water cycles. Responses in this section were assessed by Architects Declare steering group members Anna Lisa McSweeney, Alasdair Ben Dixon and Craig Robertson, with expert input from RAI ambassador Phoebe Tickell – renegade scientist, systems thinker and social entrepreneur. Read more about Part 2 of the RAI here.Â
Practice Question 1
Does the practice use biophilia within the office or regularly host meetings and retreats in natural settings? For example do you have extensive planting within the office or rely on natural patterns and imagery for stress relief or quiet areas?
Answers breakdown
Front-runner
Studio Bark
We have extensive planting within the office, with plans to improve the planting on the street outside. Our directors own a piece of land in Worcestershire, a combination of open field and woodland. There is a pod on the site available for our team to work remotely should they want some quiet time in the outdoors. We also did a live build project on site with students from UEL, creating a dwelling from timber sourced from the immediate surroundings. Each year we hold a festival on the land, enjoying the outdoors for a weekend with friends and family. We encourage public transport to reach the site and provide vegan food and camping. In the summer we regularly socialise outdoors, as our office is near London’s Victoria Park. We also visited Yorkshire Sculpture Park as part of our 2023 Christmas party, giving us a chance to enjoy nature together.
Studio Bark regularly work and socialise outdoors (photo: Tom Joy).
Ones to watch
Exploration Architecture
The design of our workspace is based on biophilic principles as described by Terrapin Bright Green (visual connection with nature, thermal and airflow variability, natural light, material connection with nature). It’s not a frequent thing but we do occasionally have ‘walking meetings’ in natural settings.
Project Orange
We believe our connection with nature has been damaged and we have a duty to repair and enhance where we can. Our studio is set into a small garden with an olive tree where we grow fruit and herbs. We have a table and chairs on our terrace where we regularly take meetings in summer. We are able to compost our waste. An outside kitchen area allows us to prepare food. Inside, we’ve clad the interior with reclaimed timber. Our desks are bamboo with natural linoleum surfaces. Our meeting room is clad in natural felt to give better acoustics, as well as provide comfort. It is a gentle space to work from where we can witness the seasons. We also run our village Hidden Gardens (last year we raised £10k for local charities) and open our own garden (it’s across the road from the studio, so a zero commute).
Architype
Our rural studio in the Herefordshire hills was created for co-owners who seek a greater connection with nature. The award-winning barn is a ‘phoenix from the ashes’ refurbishment, celebrating local Douglas fir timber with a very strong visual connection to the fields and forests. The studio loves the benefits of the dogs that join us through our days, and we dine together every month over a home-cooked lunch our barn-keeper Jo makes, with fresh ingredients from our allotment, fuelled by our hot bin. The London studio recently moved into a WELL-certified retrofitted office, with a rich and warming rouge natural clay finished wall, accompanied by internal planting.
Our Scottish studio’s fit-out included cork and plywood furniture reused from the former London office. All our studios embrace the importance of breaks away from focused tasks, and support a daily teatime break at 11am where co-owners’ conversations are as broad as our imaginations.
Knox Bhavan
Our studio received a national RIBA Award in 2018, in part for fully embracing and creating an all-encompassing positive workplace experience. We have cultivated a serene environment, where in summer we eat our communal healthy lunch in a south-facing garden next to a tranquil linear pond, watching colourful koi carp. Tending to the wisteria, jasmine and arum lilies provides stress relief and enhances the tranquillity of, and outlook from, our workspace.
Our bespoke sit-down stand-up desks are designed to promote a healthy working environment and equal comfort from our tallest to shortest member. Through our dedication to using natural materials, we’ve crafted a comfortable and sustainable workspace. Additionally, our meeting room includes a quiet area where individuals can work or take private calls without disturbance.
We take an annual retreat to rural Somerset where we integrate work with nature, boosting focus and productivity.
Haworth Tompkins escape to the Peak District (photo: Haworth Tompkins).
ECD Architects
Our Glasgow team is currently planning its third annual office walk, having previously enjoyed a section of the West Highland Way and a Munro. We have found that spending time together in nature helps staff mix with those they may not typically work with, and reminds us all of the value of the climate that we are trying to stop changing too dramatically.
We have plants in all of our offices, and the care of these has become a social activity. Alongside regular watering, the whole team gets involved in repotting. Actively nurturing the plants that nurture us encourages people to value them and consider the way they grow and flourish.
Assemble
Assemble hosts an annual summit for all staff at a rural location (in the past this has been Scotland, the Lake District, Suffolk, and Kent). This is a time for reconnecting both with each other and our environment. It is centred on eating well, walking, visiting exemplary projects in rural locations, and other positive practices.
Human Nature
Human Nature’s Lewes office is situated within the South Downs National Park. To best make use of this asset we organise a monthly team walk for both London and Lewes employees. There is extensive indoor planting alongside small-scale vegetable and herb gardens scattered throughout the site, and managed by the Human Nature team. The office has not been actively designed to provide relief for stress or quiet areas. However, its size permits staff to move around freely when required.
