2.2.7BIOPHILICDESIGN GUIDEBOOK

The BiophilicDesignGuidebook is a resource put out by the International Living Future Institute as a way to help teams participating in the Living Building Challenge to comply with the requirements of the biophilic design imperative, Imperative 09, and to design more biophilic projects in general. It includes a general overview of biophilic design, along with tips, topics, and content related to this subject, with the overall goal being to take the practice of biophilic design from a theory to a reality. 57 The guidebook starts out by defining Imperative 09 of the Living Building Challenge, which states that each project must be designed to include elements that nurture the innate human-nature connection and each team must explore the topic of biophilic design for at least one day, resulting in a biophilic framework and project plan. 58 The biophilic exploration is broken up into three recommended steps in order to help advise those who want to participate in the challenge: Preparing for the Exploration, Holding the Exploration, and Developing Key Documents. During the “Preparing for the Exploration” phase is when you would research the site, ecology, and stakeholders of the project, complete design exercises and determine the agenda and homework, such as gaining a basic understanding of the topic. The phase where you hold the biophilic exploration consists of facilitating introductions to the topic, agreeing on goals, exploring context, completing an initial exercise, and investigating and integrating the topic of biophilic design. The final phase, Developing Key Documents, is where you will document the exploration, create the biophilic framework and plan, and implement the framework. The framework is described as a goal-oriented document that summarizes the approach toward the integration of biophilic design in the project. 59 It is a reference document that includes the project introduction, reference information, project goals, stakeholder priorities, and biophilic design strategies. 60 The biophilic design plan is also a reference document that outlines the important information the team needs to implement the decisions of the framework and includes deliverables, responsible parties, action items, the decision-making process, example stakeholders, communication methods, tracking methods, and reference studies. 61 The guidebook overall provides a reference that helps break down an approach to implementing biophilic design in a project, giving a step-by-step process that will aid, not only in meeting the requirements of Imperative 09 of the Living Building Challenge, but also in the general application of biophilic design in any project.