Biophilic Design Initiative

Biophilic Design is the practice of connecting people and nature within our built environments and communities.

The International Living Future Institute has seen a demonstrated need among the Living Building Challenge community for biophilic design resources that can take the practice from theory to reality. ILFI has made it a strategic organizational priority to accelerate access to the benefits of biophilic spaces.


Featured Case Studies

  • BETTY AND CLINT JOSEY PAVILLION

    BETTY AND CLINT JOSEY PAVILLION

    Decatur, Texas


    IMMERSED IN PLACE Built to further the mission of the Dixon Water Foundation, the Betty & Clint Josey Pavilion educates its visitors, many of them children, on watershed protection through sustainable ranching and the restoration of damaged farmland to native tallgrass prairie. From the time they first started sketching ideas for the Josey Pavilion, the…


    Building

  • DESERT RAIN

    DESERT RAIN

    Bend, OR


    Desert Rain is a residential compound, located on a 0.7-acre parcel on the edge of a historic downtown neighborhood. The focal point is the building called Desert Rain: a 2236-square foot, one-story residence with a stucco exterior, graceful rooflines and a striking curved wall which greets visitors on approach. The wall threads through the building…


    Building

  • VANDUSEN BOTANICAL GARDEN VISITOR CENTRE

    VANDUSEN BOTANICAL GARDEN VISITOR CENTRE

    VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA


    A FLOWER IN THE GARDEN Built to increase visitorship and to promote human-nature interactions, the VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre serves as the hub for a mature 55-acre botanical garden located in the heart of Vancouver, British Columbia. The Center includes a café, an expanded library, volunteer facilities, a garden shop, office space, and flexible…


    Infrastructure + Landscape


The Biophilic Design Toolkit

The Biophilic Design Toolkit is a robust collection of resources to help designers explore biophilic design and promote human-nature connection in the built environment. The toolkit provides guidance, inspiration, and support for key activities from introducing biophilic design to teams, to the planning and design stages, all the way through construction and occupancy. 

The Biophilic Design Toolkit includes: Fundamentals of biophilic design, success stories, design guidance, biophilic design map, biophilic design activities and guidebook, and opportunities to go further.


Ready To Start?

What if we could experience the same physical, psychological, and emotional benefits moving through an urban landscape that we experience walking through a forest?

Get inspiration from award winning biophilic design projects by viewing the Stephen R. Kellert Biophilic Design Award winners.

Start your biophilic design journey by taking an online course and becoming certified in biophilic design.