Nurturing Biophilic Design and Nature-Inspired Design in Furniture Design Projects

Abstract

Nature provides a plethora of inspiration for designers and artists towards the
generation of ideas in a design process. The biophilic design focuses more on the need
of human beings to associate with nature in the built environment. The main concern of
this study is to focus on natural inspiration, analogy and the application of natural
materials rather than the application of bio-inspired approaches towards the bionic,
biomimetic or biomimicry. This paper also provides enhance deliberation towards the
nature-inspired design projects with the attributes on the indirect experience of nature
in biophilic design elements. To validate the nature-inspired design projects with
biophilic design elements, the attributes were cross-referenced and tabulated.
Apparently, the use of natural materials, colours, and shapes, forms and natural
geometries in the designs produced have a relation to biophilic designs. Furthermore,
the knowledge and understanding of the respondents towards biophilic design and its
relation to nature-inspired design were also analysed and deliberated. Moreover, it is
hoping that more furniture designs can be produced in the future by utilising more
locally source natural materials as these materials can be expanded and have potential
to be used whilst also could help to generate local community income.