INTERIORS 51 The growth of biophilic offi ces
Laura Light, Concept Design Team Leader at Interface, explains how incorporating biophilic design in the workplace beyond planting alone can not only promote wellbeing for staff, but also nurture productivity for clients.
O
rganisations are increasingly acknowledging that workplace design plays a critical role in
employee wellbeing. With a growing focus on supporting neurodiverse colleagues, many businesses are now acting on this insight by rethinking their offi ce environments to better accommodate diverse needs.
Bringing the outside indoors People spend up to 90% of their lives indoors, with most jobs being done indoors onsite. Offi ce workers are expected to see less than an hour of sunlight each day in winter, with a lack of sunlight causing issues ranging from interrupted sleep to Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). SAD can lead sufferers to have low mood and energy, as well as diffi culty concentrating, and with stress-related illnesses accounting for 22.9 days of sickness absences from work in 2024/25, tackling poor mental health is paramount for organisations. In urban environments it can be
diffi cult to access serene, natural spaces – with 68% of the world’s population predicted to live in urban areas by 2050, this issue is only set to increase. Access to nature is proven to improve mental health, as being outside in nature can aid in regulating the nervous system. With this consideration in mind, it is necessary for businesses to look inwards at the design of their workplaces to understand how they can best remedy their employees’ lack of time in nature, as this can greatly aid in promoting wellbeing and staving off stress- related absences.
Biophilic design
Biophilic design is all about integrating natural elements into the built environment to improve wellbeing, productivity, and sustainability. Adapting the built environment with biophilic principles can be approached in different ways, including:
ADF FEBRUARY 2026
• Direct contact with nature • Maximising natural light • High air quality • Natural analogues (indirect connection forms such as patterns, textures and colour)
• Prospect (creating enticing sight lines throughout spaces)
• Recuperative spaces to retreat into
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