DESIGN & INTERIORS Q
What are some trends within biophilic design that you’ve noticed?
Interior planting is now frequently a fundamental part of the design of a building. Our clients are also increasing the size and quantity of plants but even in smaller spaces we are utilising formerly redundant or poorly used spaces to great effect – display planting built into cabinet tops is a current micro-trend as are bespoke shelving units containing planters that are used to differentiate working areas. There is also a significant shift away from identical corporate planting schemes to carefully considered arrangements focussed on the space and end users.
Q
What are the central challenges with incorporating biophilic design in
a workspace? When planting schemes are not considered early enough in a project, it creates challenges. Ideally, for biophilic design on a large scale to work most successfully, it needs to be integral at an early design stage.
Are interior planting schemes in workspaces usually only used by large companies with large offices?
Not at all, many of our clients are small business - often the ratio of plants to people is higher in a small office! We have many examples of how invigorating and transformative smaller scale planting can be.
Q
What’s the best project Indoor Garden Design has worked on?
It’s hard to say because our latest project always feels like our best, but if I had to choose a personal favourite it would be working with Hassell Studios on the Sky Central project. We designed an indoor planting scheme to create a sense of connectedness with the natural world. Each floor had ‘home zones’ to help shape quiet areas for individual working, but without breaking the connection with the more vibrant active spaces – and plants were an essential part of this.
Plants were also used to define ‘neighbourhoods’ and act as way points – their colour and texture further adding to the aesthetic. It was a tremendously ambitious scheme, with some 28,000 individual plants and 65 different varieties maintained on site, including a huge double stemmed Ficus panda which is over 35 years old. We still maintain it now and it’s a pleasure every time I visit, seeing how it’s flourished. The project went on to win several awards.
Q
What’s next for Indoor Garden Design? Where will the company be heading
over the next few years? Although we cover the UK mainland, the majority of our work is still London based, so we’re looking to develop our regional markets. Another focus will be developing our international consultancy service, championing the beauty and benefits of having plants around us.
www.indoorgardendesign.com
www.tomorrowsfm.com
TOMORROW’S FM | 49
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