Redesigning aged care with a biophilic lens: a call to action
Evonne Miller, Lindy Osborne Burton
Abstract
This paper calls for changes in the way we plan, design and build aged care facilities, proposing a new approach grounded in biophilic design. After reviewing current trends in design practice, including emerging new technologies and best practice initiatives – the Eden Alternative, the Green House model, and De Hogeweyk – we argue that biophilic design, which amplifies the connection that humans have with nature and provides a framework for designing for, with, and from nature, should be at the heart of aged care design. Drawing on an architectural case study analysis of three award-winning residential aged care facilities, we illustrate how biophilic design practice, although not explicitly conceptualised in such terms, is guiding contemporary best practice. Given the well-established public health benefits of contact with nature, and rapid population ageing, this paper challenges aged care stakeholders – from policymakers to planners, architects and designers – to rethink conventional practice and advocate for a biophilic approach.