Bridging Nature and Work: A Landlord’s Guide to Green Workplace Design

Creating a pleasant and productive working environment is at the heart of contemporary workspace design. A work environment’s physical space is hugely impactful on the well-being of the employees and necessitates mindful design to enhance satisfaction.

As a leader in contemporary workspace design, Gray Puksand creates sustainable projects featuring biophilic design principles, involving the integration of nature into a space to enhance human connection to the environment.

The presence of plants is proven to have positive effects on employees. Workspaces that incorporate high levels of natural materials report a 15% higher wellbeing score and 6% higher productivity score compared to offices that feature little to no natural materials. Creativity, concentration, and critical thinking can also be enhanced through biophilic design. Furthermore, interactions with plants can reduce employee’s levels of stress and anxiety, with higher levels of stress relief strongly linked to a greater presence of nature in the workplace.

Our Melbourne Partner, Dale O’Brien recently appeared on the Well(beings) at Work panel at Saturday InDesign to share his thoughts about biophilic design trends and the benefits of improving employee wellbeing through design.

“Biophilic design principles breathe life into spaces, forging a profound connection between nature and architecture. Through this harmonious dance, we craft spaces that not only exist but truly thrive; a testament to our innate desire to create a sense of place that resonates with our needs.

“We have always known the role design has to play in creating a sense of place and, this needs to speak directly to the organisation’s purpose,” said O’Brien.

Beyond the emotional benefits, biophilic design principles also provide practical solutions to common workspace issues.

Whilst flexible open-plan working environments are not a new concept, this is proven to provide greater opportunities for collaboration and community connection. However, while such designs can offer many benefits, they often result in increased levels of noise, leading to a distracted and frustrated workforce.

“We can demonstrate a serious uptick in employee engagement when we consider the employee experience through careful selections of materials, an empathic approach and reflecting nature design response.”

The incorporation of organic materials helps absorb and dampen excess noise, while strategic space planning can create organic delineations between different areas without compromising the flow of an open-plan workspace. This also creates natural breaks and undulations in the space, breaking up the airborne sound.

As part of our commitment to creating sustainable and dynamic workspaces, Gray Puksand has implemented biophilic design principles across many of our projects. Our design for Abacus Property Group’s Sydney head office, recently shortlisted for the 2023 IDEA Awards, prominently features greenery in the workspace, while timber finishes are utilised throughout the flooring, ceiling, and furniture choices.

Bridging Nature and Work: A Landlord’s Guide to Green Workplace Design

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