Biophilia and Beyond: Reconnecting Nature with the Built Environment

Ar. Sonali Bhagwati

The modern city offers convenience at an unprecedented scale. Yet in the process, many of us have become increasingly disconnected from the natural environments that once shaped everyday life. We move between homes, offices, vehicles, and digital screens, often spending entire days without meaningful engagement with daylight, landscape, fresh air, or seasonal change.

The Urban Disconnect

This growing disconnect is influencing how we experience our built environment. Stress, fatigue, and a sense of detachment have become common realities of urban living. As architects and designers, this raises an important question: can the spaces we create help restore a relationship that has gradually been lost?

The idea of biophilia attempts to answer this. Rooted in the understanding that humans have an inherent affinity for nature, biophilic design encourages stronger connections between people and the natural world. However, true biophilia extends far beyond adding greenery to a building. It is about creating environments where nature becomes part of the experience of space itself.

Natural light, moving air, views of vegetation, shaded outdoor areas, changing patterns of sunlight, and sensory connections to landscape all influence how people feel within a place. These elements contribute not only to comfort but also to concentration, wellbeing, and a stronger sense of belonging.

Learning from Tradition, Designing for the Future

Many traditional Indian settlements understood this instinctively. Courtyards acted as climatic moderators. Verandahs created transitional spaces between indoors and outdoors. Streets were designed around shade, social interaction, and seasonal conditions. These environments worked with nature rather than against it.

Today, architecture has the opportunity to reinterpret these principles for contemporary life.

One example is the Learning Centre and academic campus expansion at Thapar University in Patiala. Designed as a network of interconnected learning environments, the project integrates landscaped courts, shaded pedestrian pathways, naturally ventilated gathering spaces, and open social zones. Rather than treating landscape as a separate layer, it becomes an active part of the student experience. The architecture encourages occupants to remain connected to daylight, climate, and the rhythms of the outdoors throughout the day.

This approach reflects a broader shift in how we should think about the built environment. The goal is no longer simply to construct efficient buildings. It is to create places that support human wellbeing while fostering a deeper awareness of the ecosystems that surround us.

Understanding Biophilia in Design

The conversation, therefore, must move beyond biophilia. Nature is not a feature added to architecture. It is a partner in shaping it.

As cities continue to grow, the quality of urban life will increasingly depend on how successfully we integrate landscape, public space, biodiversity, and climate-responsive design into our environments. The most meaningful spaces of the future will not separate people from nature. They will reconnect them to it.

Perhaps the greatest opportunity before us is to rethink the relationship between architecture and the natural world. When buildings are designed to engage with light, air, landscape, and ecology, they do more than improve environmental performance. They create healthier, more enriching places for people to live, learn, and thrive.

Ar. Sonali Bhagwati, Design Partner, Designplus Architecture