Office Flooded with Light
A Sustainable and Biophilic Design Embracing Energy, Aesthetics, and Happiness
My design prioritizes energy, aesthetics, and happiness by strategically incorporating sunlight. Despite limited natural light, I enhanced the space's appeal by utilizing clerestory and glass elements. Glass features transparency and reflection, maintaining privacy with solid walls and four feet of glass on top. This approach fosters openness, particularly in shared areas like the fabrication lab. The modular room structure sparks interest and enhances room identification. Biophilic design connects inhabitants with nature, using wood and stone textures in a brown color palette inspired by the four seasons. Flexible workspaces cater to diverse user needs. Sunlight, vital for well-being, is maximized in common areas. Environmentally conscious material and furniture selection, including FSC certified options, contribute to sustainability. The space accommodates various work styles, from independent workspaces to relaxed collaborative areas.
Rhino, and Enscape used
Client and Site
Living Futures Institute
The Navy Yard 77
They describe themselves as "premised on the belief that providing a compelling vision for the future is a fundamental requirement for reconciling humanity's relationship with the natural world."
Once the nation's most storied naval shipbuilding facility, this firm's clients include developers, architects, interior designers, construction companies, and city officials. They require a dedicated space like a material library and engage in stakeholder meetings, offering guidance and training, while advocating for sustainability and well-being in architecture.
Design Value Pursued by Client
The Living Futures Institute works to educate the public and the building industry in particular about sustainability and wellness issues. They provide a series of “Petals” that their clients can work with to develop the optimally built environment.
The Living Building Challenge (LBC) requires active involvement from building occupants in operations and aims to create positive impacts rather than just reducing harm, unlike many other certifications. It takes a holistic approach to sustainability through 7 petals defined by the International Living Future Institute.
Biophilia Selection for Petals, Place:
Patterns play a significant role in Biophilia design, inspiring the repetition of rectangular shapes in a modular format throughout the room structure.
Material and Furniture Collage
Furniture was chosen based on biophilic design to restore a healthy relationship with nature, using environmentally conscious materials. Natural textures, like wood grains, and furniture patterns, such as hexagons, create a connection with nature. The brown color scheme enhances the sense of immersion in a natural environment. Items are manufactured in compliance with U.S. regulations, made with 70%+ recycled materials, and are 96% recyclable post-use.
