Hospitality Design - December 2016 - 98

trendspotting
"It's fascinating that labels, which become
assigned to what we do intuitively, and indeed,
many times scientifically, become a means
unto themselves," says Gordon R. Beckman,
principal and design director at John Portman
& Associates, who explains that biophilic design
is more than just bringing the outside in, but
rather making and strengthening a connection
to nature through natural light and materials,
views and patterns, plants, and textures.
"While the ideas are not necessarily new, this
reawakening, reimagining, and renaming
heightens the awareness of the innate humannature connection-which, from a design point
of view, offers tremendous potential to enhance
our way of living, working, and learning."
In fact, Bill Browning, founding partner

Photos by PATRICK BINGHAM-HALL

> Biophilic Design

All images of Singapore's
Oasia Hotel Downtown

firm that crafted the city-state's Parkroyal
on Pickering hotel (which features 161,400
square feet of sky gardens), Oasia's unusual
design-with several of the floors in the center
of the 27-story structure left completely open
to the elements-delivered on the client's
request to "create an alternative imagery for a
commercial high-rise, mixed-use development,
combining innovative ways to intensify land
use with a tropical approach," says Phua Hong
Wei, an associate at the locally based company.
(Patricia Urquiola handled the interiors.) That
approach includes deliberate and dramatic use
of plants-33 species of trees and 25 species of
flowering vines and creepers-on the building's
façade and throughout various open spaces,
creating a vertical garden in the center of the
bustling metropolis. Wei says the goal was to
"give greenery back to the city, both vertically
and horizontally through the sky gardens, sky
terraces, and vertical green screens. Set against
an urbanscape of concrete, steel, and glass, we
wanted the building to stand out as a distinctive
silhouette." Not only does all this greenery act
as a calming force for guests and, Wei claims,
occupants of surrounding buildings, the foliage
has attracted a fair share of bees, butterflies,
birds, and even squirrels.
Photo by ALBERT LIM KS PHOTOGRAPHER

of environmental consulting firm Terrapin
Bright Green (along with carpet manufacturer
Interface), is trying to prove through a four-part
study that biophilia has an ROI in addition to
higher guest satisfaction in terms of experience.
Highlights from the study include the fact that
hoteliers can charge a 2 to 16 percent premium
for rooms with a view, with water vistas for
both urban and resort locations affording the
highest upcharge (from analyzing bookings
on hotels.com). More importantly, perhaps,
is how guests interact with a biophilia-based
hotel. Onsite studies of six Manhattan lobbies
(three biophilic and three not) found that 36
percent of occupants were active users of the
biophilic-focused spaces compared to 25 percent
of occupants in the conventional hotel's lobbies.
Plus, biophilic hotels tended to attract more
locals, while also impacting online reviews.
"Commentary of the biophilic hotels was more
about the design and the experience, when
the non-biophilia responses were about all the
basics you would expect," Browning says. "If you
make this part of the experience, people will
remember you and respond positively."
The new Oasia Hotel Downtown in
Singapore is a prime example. Designed by
WOHA, the same visionary architectural

Photos by K.KOPTER

098

December 2016 hospitalitydesign.com
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Hospitality Design - December 2016

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