While homeowners are improving the outdoors to boost curb appeal, businesses are adding landscaping indoors to create better working environments for employees.
While many companies over the years have felt a few plants in a couple of corners was enough to soften office space, more progressive firms are going above and beyond with living walls, green roofs and interior waterfalls, says a story in The Irish Times.
They call this biophilic design — a concept that bridges the divide between the natural and built environments to boost employee well-being.
Businesses are adding more green because recent studies are showing it helps boost productivity. For instance, one recent University of Melbourne study said glancing at a grassy green roof for merely 40 seconds significantly boosted concentration.
As Joseph Clancy, a landscape architect and biophilic designer, says: “Just like people exercise and diet to keep their bodies healthy, we need to experience and interact with nature to maintain our mental and physiological well-being.”
Editor’s note: This article was originally published in September 2015.
