The flourishing of Biophilic workplaces: ‘Second Home’ offices as a case study

Abstract

ABSTRACT The main purpose of this study is to assess the indoor environmental quality of one of London’s most modern workplaces; it is one which uses the Biophilia design approach, bringing nature inside office buildings. To evaluate the occupants’ well-being, the research uses the Flourish wheel, which is based on both the built environment and the social environment. The built environment part of the study analyses the buildings’ main features and the social environment part uses the qualitative method of interviewing the employees of the ‘Second Home’ company which designed the building. The occupants’ responses provided evidence that Biophilic design is a promising approach to improved health, wellbeing and productivity in the workplace. However, the results show two points related to the company’s use of this design. First, the use of Biophilia as an aesthetic value is not enough to reach the best environmental quality nor the occupants’ expectations in the office environment. The second is that Biophilia needs to go hand in hand with other technological features, all equally well designed for controlling the quality of the indoor environment, such as thermal comfort, air quality, lighting, acoustic comfort, and suitable spatial layout in offices.