Abstract
An unusual occurrence has taken place as a result of the information technology revolution of the past five to ten years. A learning environment has emerged that has, in reality, been the backdrop against which humans have lived since the dawn of creation. As unusual as it sounds, nature has now become an emerging environment for learning where once it was the key environment where learning took place.
Why is it that the sound of rain on a tin roof or standing around a campfire and watching as it crackles has such a calming effect on people? According to biologist E. O. Wilson, mankind has an innate and genetically determined affinity with the natural world which he termed "Biophilia”. In architectural circles, the term "biophilic design" is used to describe the integration of nature into the built environment. To complement this, the emerging science of biomimicry, which takes lessons from nature and applies them to solve human problems is beginning to make its way into the classroom. The combination of these two relatively new and emerging areas could have a powerful effect across on learning.
This paper discusses the emergence of biophilic design and biomimicry in educational contexts and its potential to transform learning, increase creativity and reduce stress through the deliberate embedding nature into a learning environment.
Keywords: Biophilic design, biomimicry, creativity, nature, learning, school stress
An unusual occurrence has taken place as a result of the information technology revolution of the past five to ten years. A learning environment has emerged that has, in reality, been the backdrop against which humans have lived since the dawn of creation. As unusual as it sounds, nature has now become an emerging environment for learning where once it was the key environment where learning took place.
Why is it that the sound of rain on a tin roof or standing around a campfire and watching as it crackles has such a calming effect on people? According to biologist E. O. Wilson, mankind has an innate and genetically determined affinity with the natural world which he termed "Biophilia”. In architectural circles, the term "biophilic design" is used to describe the integration of nature into the built environment. To complement this, the emerging science of biomimicry, which takes lessons from nature and applies them to solve human problems is beginning to make its way into the classroom. The combination of these two relatively new and emerging areas could have a powerful effect across on learning.
This paper discusses the emergence of biophilic design and biomimicry in educational contexts and its potential to transform learning, increase creativity and reduce stress through the deliberate embedding nature into a learning environment.
Keywords: Biophilic design, biomimicry, creativity, nature, learning, school stress