Environments that inspire, promote well-being and stimulate a connection with nature. Biophilic landscaping in education spaces recognizes the importance of this bond for student development, as it benefits well-being, academic performance, and people's health. We have selected eight projects that bring natural elements to the classroom or that place students directly in nature to illustrate the qualities in these spaces.
Incorporating biophilic elements, such as vegetation, water, natural light, and natural materials, makes educational spaces more stimulating and conducive to learning. Contact with nature inside and around learning spaces provides a range of benefits, including increased creativity, concentration, productivity, and air quality.
There are several ways to implement landscaping. In the YueCheng Kindergarten, designed by MAD Architects, outdoor green spaces are emphasized. Recreational areas with abundant vegetation bring nature closer to students' daily lives, combining "old trees and an infinite sky," to create "a surreal setting that inspires children to think, reflect and seek infinite possibilities."
"A more than human assembly as the heart of the school." This was one of the goals of the Reggio School, designed by Andrés Jaque / Office for Political Innovation, in which "the second floor is a large void opened by landscape-scale arches to the surrounding ecosystems - intended as the main social gathering space of the school. Here, architecture encourages teachers and students to participate in school management and interact with landscapes and the surrounding territories. (...) Ecologists and soil scientists designed small gardens specifically to house and nurture communities of insects, butterflies, birds, and bats." A space in which students and teachers "can connect with the ecosystems they are part of."
Natural light also plays a crucial role in biophilic landscaping. In the Technology and Environment Laboratory Mencoriari, the Semillas architecture team provides a feeling of connection with the external environment by keeping the space open and with translucent polypropylene sheets so that natural lighting benefits students' visual health and circadian rhythm.
Located next to a forest, LUISS Guido Carli University Campus Hub, designed by Alvisi Kirimoto + Partners + Studio Gemma, seeks a connection with the outside through large glass planes on the upper floor or by creating a conference room on the ground floor. Thus, conceiving a space protected from the weather but with trees and the whole synesthetic experience they provide.
Natural elements in construction materials contribute to harmony with nature and reduce environmental impact. Straw, bamboo, brick, and wood are among the materials utilized to compose the architecture of the Elementary School in Santa Cruz de Villacuri Community in "Barrio Chino," by Betsaida Curto Reyes + Atelier Ander Bados. In addition, landscaping maintains "a careful continuity of the context: olive trees, bamboo, yuccas, earth... the soul of Villacuri."
Vin Varavarn Architects designed the PANNAR Sufficiency Economic & Agriculture Learning Center in "compliance with traditional concepts of rural dwellings of bamboo huts or temporary shacks". A "large, open pavilion facilitates flexible use of functions with natural light and natural ventilation, in which "the large and prominent roof made of locally grown bamboo helps collect and drain rainwater into small canals around the building and, in turn, redirect water to feed other areas of the land before reaching natural reservoirs for use during the dry season."
The Korea National Arboretum Children's Forest School seeks to teach children the importance of forests and the environment in a fun and easy way by building and displaying outdoor spaces. To this end, the GEEUMPLUS team preserved the old firs and cypresses and organized the construction around these trees. "Considering that the building is a treehouse in the middle of the forest, the exterior finish is made of ecological wood to create an elevation that corresponds to the surrounding trees”, according to the architects.
Finally, in the Shanghai Fushan Tangcheng Foreign Language Primary School (Peide Campus), a "series of patios and stairs connect the upper and lower public spaces, forming a rich spatial location." The architects of Huajian Group Shanghai Architectural Design & Research Institute also thought about the floor height and the radius of the holes in the upper part to design protected spaces that ensure the entry of sunlight. The second level is an open outdoor public space, with a rooftop garden dominated by green spaces."
