We spend 90% of our time indoors. Here’s how Biophilic Design can make that healthier.
From Journal of Biophilic Design by Vanessa Champion, editor, Journal of Biophilic Design
March 3, 2026 · 58 min
About this episode
The episode discusses the importance of Biophilic Design in improving health and well-being in indoor environments.
We spend about 90% of our lives indoors, yet our cities, offices and homes are rarely designed with the biological reality of that fact in mind. That disconnect between humans and the natural systems we evolved within is becoming harder to ignore. Biophilic Design is a growing movement in architecture and planning, which argues that bringing nature back into the built environment is not a luxury or aesthetic flourish but a public-health, economic and social necessity. Alexandra Bowen, founder of the Biophilic Design Community on LinkedIn, puts it bluntly: “Our minds and bodies evolved over thousands of years to thrive in nature. If we’re indoors almost all the time, we have to be deliberate about reconnecting with it.” Her argument echoes a growing body of research suggesting that the benefits are measurable. Studies cited by designers show that access to daylight and views of nature can improve cognitive performance and memory recall by around 15%, while hospitals with natural light have reported 41% shorter patient stays. In schools, improved ventilation has been linked to 14% better maths scores and significantly reduced sickness absence.
People in this episode
Host: Vanessa Champion
Guest: Alexandra Bowen
Topics covered
- Biophilic Design
- indoor living
- public health
- architecture
- nature connection
Keywords
- Biophilic Design
- indoor health
- natural light
- cognitive performance
- architecture
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Biophilic Design Community
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