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Biophilic design is everywhere, and it’s no surprise.
As we constantly reevaluate what is important to us in our work-home balances, we strive for comfortable and adaptable places.
We talk a lot about the post-covid landscape, and that’s because it is having such a dramatic impact on the way we live both our home lives and work lives. With many people having never returned to a traditional workplace and many companies keen to get employees back on-site, it is equally essential for our workspaces at home and our traditional away-from-home workplaces to be places where we feel well.
Office spaces are becoming increasingly homely, and an astonishing number of our homes have been adapted to include workspaces.
Biophilia is priceless when it comes to creating a space that promotes wellness, happiness and productivity.
It’s a prevalent source of inspiration for many of today’s architects and designers who are tasked with creating these wellness-boosting spaces, which are also mindful of their projects’ long-term impact on our planet and its resources.
Bringing reclaimed wood into space is a wonderfully respectful way to create a biophilia-rich design.
Biophilia in workplaces
Biophilia is about the human instinct to connect to the natural world and how much happier and healthier we feel when we are in nature. We are instinctively driven to seek out these connections, but this can be difficult when such vast amounts of our time are spent indoors.
Design trends of the past 40 years have been heavily built around man-made materials – the plastics, metals and shiny surfaces of the 1980s and 1990s, though, are a far cry from what we now know is good for us.
By incorporating more nature into spaces that traditionally felt cut off from nature, satisfaction and performance will improve.
Wood and plants breathe oxygen into spaces, boosting brain power and concentration and helping us to feel better and relaxed.
By removing the toxic plastics, polyurethanes and concrete popularised by the 1990s and eradicating the minimalism of the early 2000s and 2010s and replacing them with reclaimed wood, stone and glass which look out to nature, spaces can become good for our physical and mental health.
People seek out opportunities to be in spaces which make them feel well.
When biophilic designers create built environments – shopping centres, hotels, hospitality complexes – they have nature at the forefront of the design process.
Natural materials create sensory engagement without overstimulation, essential to feeling well and productive.
The Sensory beauty of reclaimed wood
Reclaimed wood’s beauty gives it a tactile appeal unrivalled in other materials, but it has more to offer designers than just its sensory appeal.
It’s robust and versatile and helps us to feel connected with nature.
The grains, colours and patinas of reclaimed wood can be mesmerising in their complexity; the subtle warm smell wood gives off is reminiscent of walks in the woods and is warm to the touch.
These qualities add to the wellness that reclaimed wood brings into a biophysically designed space but are not its main benefits.
Health Benefits of biophilic design
Biophilic design can help boost human wellness by incorporating so many soothing patterns in nature.
These patterns, or fractals as often referred to, are shown to calm and nurture human well-being, which is no surprise.
This affection for natural fractals comes from the same place in our brains that has us absentmindedly doodling swirls and circles while on the phone or tracing patterns in wood with our fingers as we walk past a flat surface as an inherent form of self-soothing.
Studies have been carried out that show that, compared to minimalist design, people spending time in rooms rich with wood experience lower stress levels, better health and higher levels of happiness.
The biophilic design also lowers blood pressure, heart rate and stress responses. This phenomenon is explained by the naturally relaxing effect of being close to nature.
Additionally, the low volatile organic compounds (VOCs) mean that natural materials do not have the same harmful effects on our health as heavily manufactured or manmade design materials do.
Bringing a Human-Nature Bond into Built Environments
Biophilic design uses nature to create emotional connections between people and their built environment.
While wood of all kinds is more likely to provoke an emotional response than almost any other material, reclaimed wood is yet more expressive.
Reclaimed wood’s special and unique character creates a very particular connection with the humans it shares space with.
As well as incorporating reclaimed wood, biophilic design usually features natural daylight and abundant plants.
Large windows are usually a feature, too; where possible, these should offer views of nature.
When these elements are all used together, the built environment will mimic the natural environment as closely as possible, helping all its inhabitants feel calm and well.
Summary
- Biophilic design is used to increase productivity and wellness
- Biophilic design increases connection to the natural environment through the use of indirect nature – such as reclaimed wood products.
- Biophilic design benefits the physical and mental health of a space’s occupants.
Both reclaimed and new wood has their unique charms.
The detail of your project and the aesthetic you want to achieve will help to determine which is best for you.
New wood is new wood harvested directly from trees.
Reclaimed wood has been used before and is being used again.
Using reclaimed wood helps to reduce deforestation and reduce waste going to landfill.
It is usually more robust and has more character, depth and colour variation than new wood.
New wood is more readily available than reclaimed wood but should come from sustained forests.
Reclaimed wood and new wood are both beautiful in their own right. Both products are warm and can be environmentally sound options for various projects.
Is reclaimed wood better for the environment?
Reclaimed wood can be ecologically superior to new wood because it does not depend on harvesting new trees and is being reused rather than wasted.
The sustainable nature of reclaimed wood makes it the ideal choice for projects with sustainability as one of their core goals.
Responsibly resourced reclaimed wood helps curb deforestation.
When harvested responsibly, reclaimed wood is a renewable resource that reduces landfill waste as well as the use of environmentally hazardous chemicals, which are often used in the manufacture of new products.
Furthermore, many of the steps required to prepare the salvaged wood require 13 times less cumulative energy.
What about provenance?
Designers and architects do not only choose reclaimed wood because of its ecological benefits.
Old reclaimed wood is soulful and rich with provenance, stories and history.
It is a romantic idea but an important one, too, that the history of your materials brings authenticity to your project.
That element of storytelling is vital in creating a groundbreaking design.
When designers choose reclaimed wood for a project, they know it has lived before, bringing a magical feeling into a space.
Does reclaimed wood improve well-being?
Tactile materials like old wood invite us to reach out and touch them.
Their warmth, texture and smoothness add a space’s soothing sensory dimension.
The soothing feeling that wood breathes into space is more than an aesthetic.
Biophilia, the attraction we feel to nature, has a biological basis.
Feeling well when connected to nature and other life forms is human nature.
Is reclaimed wood hardwearing?
Reclaimed wood is usually stronger than new wood, making it an ideal choice for flooring.
Depending on its age, reclaimed wood can be up to 40 points harder than new wood on the Janka hardness scale.
Older wood was more often harvested from the heartwood of old-growth trees, whereas new wood often comes from first-generation forests.
Is new wood easier to source than reclaimed wood?
Sustainable maintained woodlands ensure a steady supply of raw materials to construction, design and manufacturing industries.
This means that new wood is more readily available than reclaimed wood.
Because there is more new wood available than reclaimed wood, new wood can usually be sourced more quickly, making it a predictable and reliable choice for projects with tight deadlines.
As well as being faster to source, more specific criteria can be set for new wood, with more sizing options available when the wood is harvested to order.
If you choose to use new wood for your project, you must choose a reputable supplier.
How do I know my supplier of new wood is reputable?
Many certification options are available, but here in the UK, the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) has a pioneering certification system that enables businesses and consumers to choose wood and other forest products made with materials that support responsible forestry.
PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) is a company which endorses national forest certification systems.
Their website offers a search tool which lets you check the sustainability credentials of companies manufacturing wood products.
Can new wood be made to look older?
Expert craftspeople can mechanically age new wood or chemically age new wood to help it look like it has a history in every grain.
New wood can also be effectively stained and colour treated to help it blend seamlessly into any project.
While the look and, to some extent, the texture of reclaimed or older wood can be replicated in new wood, the strength of old wood is usually far superior to that of newly harvested timber.
It is fair to mention that some unique traits of any reclaimed and antique floor won’t be able to imitate.
Summary
- Reclaimed wood is usually stronger than new wood.
- New wood is more readily available than reclaimed wood.
- Reputable suppliers are key to finding the right wood for your project.
Sources
Ilse Crawford is a human centric designer and is the founder of London Based Studioilse which she started in 2003.
Studioilse is based in Neckinger Mills Studio, a former tannery in Bermondsey, South East London.
Crawford’s work and that of her studio can be found everywhere from Soho House to Ikea.
Studioilse and Ilise Crawford herself focus on functional and characterful design.
Everything in their spaces has a purpose and their designs are focussed on meeting needs.
She never sacrifices functionality for aesthetics.
Ilse is a hugely influential designer who is interested in bridging the gap between aesthetics and real day-to -day functions of a space.
She looks closely at how each of her clients uses the space they live in and designs their projects around this.
She believes that homes need ample storage, that spare rooms are a waste of space and that everybody, no matter their background deserves the same quality of space.
Background
- Elise Crawford’s design career began when she became copy editor at The Architects’ Journal. She went on to briefly fill the role of sub-editor at The World of Interiors, before quickly being promoted to deputy editor.
- At 27, she was the founding editor of Elle Decoration which, at the time, was a free supplement with Elle Magazine.
- Elise Crawford published her first book, Sensual Home, in 1997.
- Crawford then moved to New York and took up a post as head of Donna Karan’s new home division.
- In New York, Crawford’s work caught the eye of the Design Academy Eindhoven’s chairwoman Li Edelkoort. Edelkoort invited Crawford to set up and run the design academy’s Man and Well-Being course.
- Eight years ago, with her company Studioilse, she launched a sustainable range for Ikea, including her (now world famous) birdcage-like bamboo lamp.
- In 2016, Crawford redesigned Cathay Pacific’s network of first- and business-class lounges. The airline had been keen to eliminate areas where guests would nap but Crawford’s human centric focus saw the inclusion of designated nap rooms with low lighting and partitioned daybeds.
- Recently, Netflix design documentary Abstract featured an episode following the Studioilse team setting about a redesign of the Ikea cafe, balancing beauty with functionality.
- Ilse Crawford and Studioilse continue their work on private residences and business premises as well as offering consultancy services.
StudioIlse
Established by Ilse Crawford in 2003, design studio Studioilse employs around 15 people including journalists, strategists, interior designers, architects and product designers who work together on projects all over the world.
They design furniture and take on residential commissions across Europe and even farther afield.
Humanistic Design
Ilse is a pioneer of humanistic design.
She is interested in meeting the real needs of people through her designs with need rather than appearance at the centre of all she does.
Crawford’s designs are always designed for positive mental and environmental impact by thinking about cause and effect.
She audits her clients’ use of space before even beginning to consider the finished look which makes sure the spaces are perfect for the lifestyles of those lucky enough to inhabit them.
Crawford is a champion of well made furniture which works and lasts.
In her own words, her spaces are filled with “things made from better materials that have real character.”
Philosophy
Ilse Crawford encourages us all to audit our spaces before embarking on a design project and says we should, “give most space and the most money to the things you do most.”
She goes on to add that, “if that happens to be bed, fine.”
When designing any space, Crawford is focused on the well-being of the people who will use it.
The focus of her work is to make people “feel comfortable, confident and at ease” in the spaces she designs for them.
Crawford’s obsession with well-being and wellness is evident in her choices of materials.
Her spaces use natural wood, stone and undyed linens but, perhaps more unusually, are packed with storage.
Crawford believes that at least 15% of a home should be dedicated to storage space in order for it to be functional.
This functionality is key in allowing a space to evoke wellness in its users – things need to work properly in order for people to relax into them.
Projects
Since Nick Jones, the owner of Soho House, became Ilse Crawford’s first client when he asked her to do the interiors for Babington House, in Frome, Somerset, Crawford’s reputation has soared.
Ilse has continued to work with Jones on projects such as Cecconi’s restaurant in Mayfair, the Electric Cinema in Notting Hill and Soho House New York.
More recently, Crawford’s public spaces have included the Anna Freud Centre, a child mental health organisation in London.
Studioilse set about “deinstitutionalising” the spaces in favour of fostering feelings of warmth, calm and safety which are so important to the space’s users.
This is where Crawford’s philosophy that “We’re all human, and the space that brings people together should be dignified and human,” seems so important.
This same philosophy is evident in her work at St Cuthbert’s drop-in centre in Earl’s Court, London.
Here, she created a ‘dignified dining space’ for a community kitchen that provides healthy meals for those in need again emphasising her belief that everybody deserves the same quality of space.
As for private spaces, the international homes Studioilse designs are exquisitely cosy with maximalist elements but with a notable absence of functionless objects.
Real life is on display and is centralised by their functional and characterful design, rather than being tucked away behind seamless cabinetry.
Petrified wood is essentially mineralized wood; it’s the fossilised remains of wood, sometimes found in the tree’s original shape.
Petrified wood is the remains of trees which have been fossilised over thousands of years. During this fossilisation process, the remains of the wood are replaced by minerals meaning fossilised wood is a mineral build-up which has replaced the original wood.
Very occasionally, petrified wood specimens are found that look so much like the tree they have been formed from that it is hard to tell them apart from actual wood by sight alone.
The main giveaway with these examples is the weight of the fossils, being significantly heavier than the wood they were formed from. It is unusual to find examples with this level of near-perfect preservation, but many specimens have clearly recognisable bark and woody structures.
How do you get petrified wood?
For wood to become petrified, it must be buried quickly under mud, silt or volcanic ash before any rotting can set in.
It must remain buried in this sediment for thousands of years.
The ground where the wood is buried has to be incredibly well compacted to prevent decay.
Less well-compacted wood would allow oxygen or bacteria to get to the wood, and the wood would begin to decay.
When the conditions are just right, the organic material becomes fossilised. During this mineralisation process, groundwater flows through the dead tree, and its wooden remains are replaced over time by the dissolved mineral solids in the water.
The result is a fossil of the original woody material that often exhibits preserved details of the bark and wood but is made entirely of minerals, including silica, calcite, pyrite and, occasionally, other inorganic materials, such as opal.
What is the difference between wood and petrified wood?
Wood is an incredibly versatile and beautiful material we are all used to seeing and using.
Wood is harvested from trees and used widely in all kinds of construction projects, from whittled spoons to enormous ships, buildings, and everything in between.
Although called petrified “wood”, petrified wood is not wood at all. It doesn’t share any of the qualities which make wood such a valuable mainstay of the industry.
As petrified wood is a mix of minerals which have replaced the wood that was once there, it is more closely related to stone than wood. Unlike wood, it is inflexible, difficult to work with, can shatter, and is incredibly heavy.
Despite the differences between wood and petrified wood, in some cases, petrified wood can be, visually, an almost replica of the original wood.
The original tree’s ring patterns, bark and wood grain are usually clearly visible.
Patterns are occasionally so precise the specific variety of trees can be identified from a sample of petrified wood.
Is petrified wood rare?
In many parts of the world, petrified wood is not rare.
Petrified wood is often found where volcanic activity has covered plant material with lava and ash or where a mudflow had occurred in the past.
Petrified wood is especially abundant around coal reserves, too.
Many of the world’s most famous petrified wood localities are in exposed sedimentary rocks that were once ancient floodplains or lake systems where low dissolved oxygen levels prevented decay.
While it takes between tens of thousands and millions of years for petrified wood to form in the natural world, scientists have discovered ways to replicate the necessary processes and can now artificially create petrified wood in days making it less rare now than it was previously.
Is petrified wood a rock?
Because the word petrified means ‘turned to stone’, it is sometimes believed petrified wood is the original organic matter that has turned to stone, but that’s not the case.
In petrified wood, minerals have replaced all of the original organic matter from the tree over thousands of years.
It would be more accurate to say petrified wood is a mineral compound than a rock, though it shares more qualities with rocks than wood.
What is petrified wood used for?
Petrified wood is solid and polishable to a high shine.
Because of its polishable surface and its beautiful colours and patterns, petrified wood is used as a semi-precious gemstone in jewellery.
It can also be used alongside wood as an ornamental stone in trinkets, ornaments, furniture and clocks.
Summary
- Petrified wood is formed over thousands of years when minerals from water replace wood from dead trees.
- Petrified wood is not wood, and it is not rock.
- Petrified wood can look just like wood but is made of minerals.
Sources
Otto Schulz (1882-1970) was a German-born furniture designer and interior designer in the early 20th Century.
After working for several years in design, Schulz established the renowned furniture and interior decoration firm Boet in Gothenburg, Sweden.
He owned and ran for 30 years, from the 1920s to the 1950s.
In its time, Boet was an inspiration centre as much as a store; its authority in the design world helped to secure Schulz’s reputation as one of the forefathers of modern interior design.
Alongside his Boet store, Schulz branched out into publishing, creating a design magazine of the same name.
In sharing a name and founder with one of Sweden’s most prestigious interior design names, Boet Magazine became a highly influential publication featuring reviews by high-profile designers and architects.
This design brand’s momentum was further capitalised on with the publication of Schulz’s book ‘Möbler Och Inredningar 1910-1950’ which gives a comprehensive look at Schulz and his work.
The book is about Schulz and Boet.
It illustrates the story of the design store and its owner with contemporary and historical pictures and many watercolours.
Schulz’s Aesthetic
Schulz often used unexpected combinations of materials and techniques and developed a style that was sometimes traditional, sometimes modern, inimitable, and often striking.
Famous for his deep, wrap-around easy chairs and mid-century-looking cabinets, Schulz was a designer who made essential contributions both to Swedish Grace as well as Swedish Modern styles.
Schulz’s designs are a mixture of modern and baroque styles.
His chairs are deep, with backs which curve around to envelop their users, creating snug spaces wherever they are placed.
These soft, deep chairs contrast fantastically with his sleek, slim-legged wooden cabinets.
Much of Schulz’s cabinetry worked as modular pieces which could be converted or assembled in different combinations to suit any space.
Otto Schulz Biography
Schulz attended several architectural schools in Germany, including the Technical University in Charlottenburg and the Architectural School in Berlin.
From Berlin, he relocated to Gothenburg in 1907, when he had completed his studies. In Gothenburg, Schulz found work as a draftsman at the furniture company Selander & Sons, where he worked for three years.
After leaving Selander, Schulz worked as an independent consultant on various construction and interior design projects for hotels and restaurants.
As his name became synonymous with luxurious interiors, Schulz was employed to design interiors for several notable ships in the harbour town of Gothenburg.
It was in 1917 that Schulz’s career turned the corner that would establish him as a design stalwart. After creating a gorgeous interior for the famous Bräutigams Patisserie, the head of Nordiska Kompaniet’s design offices in Stockholm, Adolf Nordic Borg, set up a meeting with Schulz.
Together they established Boet in 1920. After parting ways in 1926, Schulz set up his innovative, fully furnished showroom at Boet and his monthly magazine to show off his work and that of contemporary designers.
As well as being published in his book, many of Schulz’s inventive designs are archived at the Rhösska Museum in Gothenburg.
During his lifetime, Schulz patented some of his invented techniques to prevent imitation.
By far, the most famous of these was ‘Bopoint.’
Bopoint is the use of decorative nails as part of a design.
Sometimes Bopoint was used as edging on side tables.
Still, some of its most impressive examples are where it has been used to create elaborate and intricate illustrations and designs on leather-covered cabinets.
Otto Schulz’s pieces for contemporary homes
We would recommend seeking an Otto Schulz piece for a modern home for many reasons.
- Schulz’s unique blend of styles means his pieces will complement almost any interior design.
- Schulz pieces are vintage and are, therefore, more ecologically sound than most newly manufactured furniture.
- Buying vintage design allows you to own a piece of design history.
- Schulz pieces are ideal for the current maximalist trend, especially in a snug or home office where they can ooze understated opulence.
- Schulz’s wooden pieces are available in all shades imaginable ranging from light to deep dark tones, with everything from simple finishes to incredibly intricate designs.
If you want to bring an Otto Schulz piece into your home, look at pamano.co.uk for pieces available in the UK or 1stdibs.com for worldwide shipping.
William Hefner is a Los Angeles-based designer and architect.
Hefner’s self-named studio, Studio William Hefner, has been creating vastly proportioned homes since the late 1980s.
The typically Californian but architecturally varied properties are designed around the particular ways their owners live.
Many of Hefner’s designs are built around natural elements, making biophilic benefits the beating heart of the homes.
Studio William Hefner
Everything Hefner and his practice create is designed to fully integrate architecture, landscape, and interiors into holistic design experiences for their clients.
Their designs don’t simply bring the outside in; they are frequently built around an existing element of their surroundings.
From courtyards enclosing ancient trees to having many different garden spaces, each setting the tone for a zone of the home, landscapes are integral to the homes’ designs.
While most of Hefner’s designs are characterised by his distinctive inclusion of nature, the rest of his portfolio is architecturally and stylistically diverse.
Hefner’s projects are distinguished by regionally specific architecture; just like their residents, his SoCal homes range from impressively modern and contemporary to completely traditional.
Hefner’s philosophy is that, whatever their style, each project has a “spirit of warm livability with a luxury of details and materials.”
Design Philosophy
Studio William Hefner’s approach to design is centred entirely on its clients and how they live and use their homes.
Hefner works to create homes and spaces that embody their clients’ practical requirements and which, as they explain in their philosophy, ‘listen to their dream.
The design process at Studio William Hefner involves observing how their clients live, discussing options and testing these ideas to see how they will impact their clients’ lives.
The process is not a hurried one – time is taken to make sure every detail is exactly right.
They design spaces from the inside out, starting with how the client will use a space.
The process “builds on that vision to create environments that will enrich life in intuitive and meaningful ways.”
Not surprisingly, when we hear of homes enriching lives, kitchens, flooring and furniture are often crafted from wood.
Simple finishes and the absence of elaborate detail allow exceptional materials to speak for themselves.
Studio William Hefner’s Aesthetic
For more than 30 years, Hefner has been creating homes on vast scales which create a seamless bridge between a home’s natural landscape and its design.
With expansive spaces and unfathomably high ceilings, Hefner makes use of vast pieces of bespoke furniture.
These massive pieces could seem imposing in smaller places, but here, they magically make massive spaces feel intimate.
Textured walls, soft lighting and natural materials, including stone and wood add to the homely feel of these breathtaking spaces.
With wood floors sweeping through our homes, joining spaces, bringing warmth and breathing life into every corner, wooden staircases are now enjoying the same appreciation and desirability that wood flooring has been wanting over the past decades.
A wooden staircase can make an imposing focal point in any home.
The incredible versatility of wood means staircases can take a form as simple or intricate as the homeowner wishes, all at almost no cost to the environment.
No wonder any home’s beautiful and practical features are being celebrated the way they deserve to be.
Connecting living areas to our more private spaces in no subtle way, the sheer size of a staircase makes it a dominant presence in a home.
If something draws the eye, we should do all we can to make the object of our gaze as beautiful as possible.
Glass and metal staircases have recently enjoyed a heyday. Not only are these materials less ecologically sound than their wooden counterparts, but they are also prone to dating more quickly.
As they are less adaptable than wood, generally, the style you choose is the style you will have until the piece is replaced.
That is not to say that there is no place for more modern materials on our staircases; some of our favourite architects make stunning use of glass features in their interiors, but nothing beats the feel underfoot of warm, aged wood, bringing its history and stories into our homes.
Combining wooden staircases and glass or metal balustrades can create a stunning focal point and highlight your home’s spatial forms.
Incredibly ecological
Wood is almost endlessly reusable, but it is not just this that makes it such a climate-friendly choice.
It’s the potential to be not just carbon neutral.
Still, carbon negative, the minimal disruption of many manufacturing processes, and its longevity in situ makes it one of the most environmentally safe materials to bring into our homes.
Styles and shapes
When in expert hands, wood can be crafted into any shape and style and match any interior landscape.
Our expert craftspeople can help you materialise any design in our specialist colours and finishes.
Wood has a timeless style that adds value to your home when beautifully crafted for the space it will inhabit.
Another glorious benefit of wood floors is that many can be refinished, should you wish to change the style of your home.
Maintenance
Wood staircases, like wood floors, are wonderfully durable.
They are hard-wearing enough for the highest traffic areas of our homes.
Unlike carpet, as wood ages, it becomes even more beautiful, with patinas deepening, colours becoming richer and telling the stories of our homes and lives.
Stairs made of wood are also refreshingly easy to clean.
They can be vacuumed and washed as often as you like.
Colour matching
Close collaboration is tremendously essential in all areas of project specification and design.
For this reason, we offer the opportunity to customise stairs and other bespoke joinery to complement or match our wood flooring.
Should you want your stair treads and risers to be colour matched to our wood floors, we can provide this service for you.
Our expert craftspeople carry out colour matching and use bespoke colours and hard wax oils, which are air-dried slowly to ensure they have a perfect finish to match the floors and joinery elsewhere in your home.
Design Process
Whether straight cut or curved, all stair pieces are templated on-site before manufacturing for maximum precision.
Unlike other bespoke furniture pieces, a staircase can’t simply be moved a few inches if it isn’t quite right.
Our meticulous design process involves all of our client’s requests, ensuring the piece they receive is everything they dreamed of.
In summary:
- Wood staircases are hard-wearing, timeless and beautiful
- They can be matched to other joinery in your home
- The wood will stay looking beautiful and age along with your family.
Sources
No wonder wood floors bring warmth, luxury and well-being into our homes.
As with all design choices we make these days, we need to balance our desire for gorgeous aesthetics with the environmental impact of the resources we consider using.
Wood flooring has a shallow environmental impact.
Because of the reforestation initiatives, the benefits trees bring to the world during their lifetime, and the end product’s reusability, wood flooring can have a negative carbon footprint at its best.
This claim is supported by the Royal Danish Academy’s Center for Industrialised Architecture (CINARK), which developed the Construction Material Pyramid.
This infographic has been created to highlight the environmental impact of the most used construction materials.
It is designed to be easy to understand and, therefore, can help designers and architects communicate the environmental impact of consumers’ choices with their clients.
Clients can use this information to make informed decisions from the planning phase of their design on the environmental impact of their choices, starting with the extraction of raw materials through to the impacts of transportation and manufacturing.
The study looks at each product’s ecological and environmental credentials and measures them in several categories.
The study shows the minimal impact wood has on its environment and, in many cases, how it benefits the environment.
Global Warming Potential
The GWP is another way of referring to a product’s carbon footprint.
CINARK tell us, “When it comes to the potential to cause future harm to the health of our planet, organic materials have been shown to have negative rates, which means they absorb more greenhouse gases than they produce during their manufacturing.”
The positive impact of wood flooring doesn’t just impact the external environment – our homes are benefitted too.
Wood floors remove toxins from the air once inside our homes, meaning the protection provided by trees can continue and look after our families’ wellbeing when we bring wood floors into our homes.
Ozone depletion potential – ODP
In addition to measuring the carbon footprint of materials, CINARK’s analysis also considers the products’ potential to damage our ozone layer.
Those of a certain age will remember the banning of CFCs in the 1990s once the discovery was made about the damage they were causing.
Nowadays, products causing the most harm to our ozone layer are thermal insulators.
At the other end of the scale, materials that require low processing, such as wood, stones and copper sheets, have virtually no potential for ozone depletion.
Photochemical Ozone Creation Potential – POCP
We have often discussed the biophilic nature of using wood in our homes, and POCP can help us understand the science of biophilia.
In high concentrations, ozone can affect the health of humans and nature and may even affect breathing.
Wood has the lowest POPC level of all analysed building materials, which could help us understand why we feel so much better in homes built from materials that absorb carbon rather than produce it.
Acidification Potential – AP and Eutrophication Potential – EP
Measuring Acidification and Eutrophication helps us understand how soil nutrients are affected.
By looking at how specific materials’ production and manufacture impact ecosystems, we can make choices which safeguard their finely balanced nutrients.
Unsurprisingly, wood floor products have very low AP and EP.
These low levels help to safeguard soil health which is vital for our agricultural industries and food production.
Products, such as wood and straw, which are nestled at the pyramid’s base, ensure this bedrock remains safe.
Keeping the impact low
Unsurprisingly, oak trees, modified wood, construction timber and plywood are at the bottom of this pyramid, alongside other natural resources such as straw and manufactured products, including MDF.
This study shows how much lower wood flooring’s environmental impact is than those of concrete, lime sandstone, glass and even brick, which all appear at least two rungs higher on CINARK’s Construction Material Pyramid than wood.
Most beautiful of all, wood can have negative C02 rates from its first use, but the carbon footprint of building materials reduces even further, and the benefits increase even more with each subsequent reuse.
Long-term impact on our homes
Wooden or hardwood flooring also comes with the added advantage of improving indoor air quality by absorbing and storing carbon from the air.
Helping more than just our air quality, wood flooring’s naturally insulating properties can also help your home to consume less energy.
Since you save on energy utilisation, you directly contribute to energy conservation, which contributes towards a greener environment.
With their potential to be refinished to keep up with your evolving home design choices and personal style, wood floors can reduce waste as they are far less likely to need to be disposed of.
Even after you have exhausted the use of hardwood floors, they can still be reused time and time again.
Summary
- Wood flooring has a shallow impact on the environment
- Wood floors can be carbon-neutral or even carbon negative
- Wood flooring helps keep homes energy efficient
- Wood floors can be reused and recycled, contributing to green and circular economies.
- Wood floors are suitable for individuals and have a minimal impact on the planet.
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With a strong focus on sustainability, the circular economy is involved in creating new or improving existing offices and workspaces.
Circular design companies build the concepts of reducing waste, repurposing existing products and reducing carbon emissions in every aspect of the process, from planning to production.
The circular design focuses on its responsibility to reduce waste and improve well-being with every step.
The circular economy is concerned with using and repurposing existing waste and designing out waste from the very beginning and at every stage of the interior design process.
When designing our workspaces, we should all be considering how circular economy and circular design can boost not only environmental health but also our health.
Circular Economy: Why now?
Over the past few years, we have all been forced to rethink how we work, and as we are now getting comfortable with being back in our workplaces, we have new opportunities to find better ways of using these spaces.
The importance of maximising our own well-being and the well-being of our environment has never been more evident.
We have become acutely aware of how our workspaces can influence this.
Many of us will well remember having to suddenly repurpose our existing home offices to work harder than they ever had done before during the challenging times presented to us in early 2020.
We now have the luxury of time. We can take time to design more slowly and in a more considered way than ever before.
We also see the benefits of sustainably designed and expertly crafted spaces on our well-being and productivity.
Certifying circular economic principles
The industry has been catching up with our consciousness about circular design.
While, as individuals, small companies and cottage industries, we have looked at repurposing, reclaiming and upcycling materials for centuries, C2C certification has been available to designs which consider the ‘cradle to cradle’ approach since the early 2000s.
The C2C certification is a globally recognized measure for safe, circular and responsibly made products.
For example, where wood products are used, C2C certification is reserved for companies whose new wood comes from controlled and reforested woodlands.
Good for our businesses
Being able to spend precious time using the circular economy principle of waste to resource gives us new ways to approach traditional design principles.
Specialist design companies will consider the lighting, acoustics and flow of our workspaces, allowing us to create spaces that minimise our environmental impact while maximising the space’s impact on those working within it.
Circular Economy’s respect for resources affords us increased opportunities to incorporate biophilic design, which we know improves our quality of life incredibly.
When we feel well, we can work better.
Good for our planet
The lifespan, reusability and potential for reuse of every product are carefully considered.
Mindfully, expertly produced and repurposed materials are used in careful and considered ways, knowing that their lifespan won’t end with this project.
Materials are respectfully used, preserving their characteristics so they can be used again.
However, finishing materials and fittings are most frequently replaced and discarded, and, disappointingly, waste reduction here is less incentivised than in the construction industry.
This is why we must each consider the waste consumption and carbon emissions of our new office design projects.
In that case, a growing number of circular design companies are taking on increasing numbers of clients as our collective consciousness around preservation, sustainability and respect for our world’s finite resources increases.
Circular Economy Designers we love
Kard Architects
This Greece-based architectural firm takes sustainability seriously. Circular economic principles are the beating heart of their designs, using reclaimed materials to create stunningly modern buildings and interiors.
TP Bennett
Award-winning London-based architects, TP Bennett, use Passivhaus concepts to reduce energy consumption when creating beautiful designs. Their spaces feature neutral tones and lots of glass of pale wood to bring a natural feeling to contemporary design.
House of Grey
London-based House of Grey is a Pioneering Circular Salutogenic design studio. They provide clean, sophisticated, private interiors, hospitality venues and bespoke pieces, and selling products directly to the public. They are rightly proud of their symbiotic approach to human and ecological health in interior design.
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For our interiors to be as sustainable as possible, we must consider and build sustainability from the very start.
Far from being an add-on or an afterthought, sustainable payid deposit casino australia design processes are more widely available now than ever before.
We can do many things to ensure that our interiors don’t negatively impact the environment but actively contribute to environmental wellness.
Sustainability is more than just the ‘reduce, reuse, recycle mantra that we have become familiar with over the last decade.
It is a social project aiming to improve human quality of life through the preservation of materials and conscious thought about our choices’ impact.
Truly sustainable spaces with biophilic characteristics boost the wellness of their inhabitants by bringing them closer to nature.
Materials and products
As far as possible, our interiors should use natural materials such as wood, marble, ceramic, linen and wool.
The fewer industrial-scale finishes applied to these products, the more sustainable they are.
This keeps more chemicals out of our environmental systems and preserves the reusability of the products we choose.
When choosing products, it is also essential to consider the impact of transporting them to our site.
Using less material produces less waste, lowering transportation’s impact.
This can be harnessed by choosing one supplier for more than one design element in our design, as more suppliers will bring a higher environmental impact.
Environmentally responsible suppliers
One of the key tools in ensuring our interiors’ sustainability is verifying our suppliers’ environmental credentials.
Many organisations offer certification for those businesses that have proved the sustainability of their materials and procedures.
The following three are internationally recognised certifications worth looking out for.
BREEAM
BREEAM is the world’s leading science-based suite of validation and certification systems for a sustainable built environment.
Planet Mark
Planet Mark is a sustainability certification which recognises continuous improvement, encourages action and builds an empowered community of individuals who make a world of difference in the field of sustainability.
C2C
Cradle to Cradle Certified assesses the safety, circularity and responsibility of materials and products across five categories of sustainability performance.
It looks not only at the sourcing of products but also at the impact of sourcing and reusability of materials.
Designing for waste reduction
One of the newest approaches to sustainable new projects has been to flip the entire design process on its head.
We can build out waste by asking which materials are already available and using those materials as a starting point.
This novel way of considering the impact of our interior projects from the beginning of the design process not only vastly reduces waste produced by the project but also takes existing waste out of the industry.
Reuse is far less harmful than recycling.
By seeking reclaimed products and ways to incorporate existing structures and materials, our projects will be as unique as they are sustainable.
Second-hand furniture
The simplest way to minimise the environmental impact of our new project is to bring in second-hand furniture.
Stunning pieces can be found to work as statement objects or to blend seamlessly into our existing designs.
A creative interior designer can help you source the perfect focal points for your room or design around an existing piece you already own.
Design for longevity
Projects with aesthetically timeless and highly durable pieces that will retain their value over time are increasingly popular.
Choosing products that will last longer, do not need to be replaced as frequently and can be repaired or upgraded will ensure our new projects are sustainable as they are not sending any waste back into the environment.