2. Execute — Applying Biophilic Design in Practice and Prototyping with AR

Introduction

To move from understanding biophilic design to applying it, learners must explore how nature-based strategies can be translated into real-world urban spaces. Biophilic design is not just a set of ideas; it is a design approach that requires thoughtful integration of environmental systems, materials, and technologies into the urban fabric.

This part of the training unit takes a hands-on, creative, and digital turn. Learners are encouraged to think like planners, architects, and urban ecologists by proposing new ideas that embody biophilic principles. At the same time, digital tools such as Augmented Reality (AR) are introduced as supportive platforms that allow learners to visualize and prototype their designs. AR provides an interactive layer to the learning experience, bridging conceptual thinking and spatial planning while encouraging experimentation in a virtual environment. Recent studies confirm that AR tools enhance learners’ spatial awareness and design thinking when engaging in sustainability and STEM projects (Wu et al., 2020; Bower et al., 2017).

This section fosters technical and creative growth by combining case-based analysis, design prototyping, and AR-driven modeling. It helps bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application, a crucial step in empowering young learners to envision cities that are greener, healthier, and more human-centered.

Design Thinking Challenge: Rethinking Urban Spaces with Biophilic Principles

The creative application of biophilic principles begins with the ability to observe, critique, and improve spaces through a problem-solving lens. Design thinking, a structured, human-centered methodology, offers a robust framework for this task. Widely used in education, engineering, and architecture, design thinking fosters innovation through empathy, ideation, prototyping, and iteration. Sustainability and built environments encourage learners to address complex challenges by combining ecological knowledge with creative exploration (Leal Filho et al., 2024).

This activity guides learners through a design thinking cycle as they reimagine an existing urban space, whether in their local environment or a fictional context. The process begins with a critical assessment of the site’s current limitations. These may include heat exposure, poor ventilation, lack of vegetation, impermeable surfaces, or low biodiversity. Drawing from this assessment, learners define a set of needs or design challenges that reflect environmental and human priorities.

The ideation phase introduces biophilic solutions: strategies that draw inspiration from nature to solve problems such as overheating, poor air quality, or social isolation. Drawing on principles outlined in 14 Patterns of Biophilic Design(Browning et al., 2014), learners are encouraged to consider direct and indirect connections to nature, including greenery, water features, material selection, and spatial configurations promoting a sense of refuge or prospect. Solutions may involve introducing shaded gathering spaces with tree canopies, integrating green walls to improve air quality and thermal comfort, or incorporating water channels to absorb and manage rainwater.

As part of their creative output, learners develop a conceptual plan for the redesigned space, focusing on daylight access, natural airflow, biodiversity corridors, and sensory interaction with organic materials. These ideas are informed by biophilic principles and STEM-related analysis, for example, applying geometry to optimize layout, biology to select appropriate plant species, and physics to plan passive ventilation strategies.

To further guide this process, the Global Wellness Institute (2018) provides a practical framework on how biophilic design can improve community well-being through access to nature, enhanced mobility, and sensory diversity. These guidelines encourage designers to think holistically, seeing urban spaces not just as physical infrastructure but as places for health, emotional connection, and environmental resilience.

Ultimately, this challenge cultivates an understanding of biophilic design as a scientific and human-centered endeavor, one that requires technical reasoning, empathy, and creativity to solve real-world urban issues.

AR Prototyping: Visualizing Nature-Inspired Urban Futures

After developing a redesign concept through the design thinking process, learners move on to prototyping their ideas using Augmented Reality. AR offers an exciting opportunity to bring biophilic visions to life, enabling learners to place natural features within a digital replica of the selected urban space. This stage reinforces spatial reasoning and allows deeper engagement with previously conceptualized design elements.

Using platforms such as CoSpaces Edu or Assemblr EDU, learners create interactive 3D visualizations that include key biophilic components. These might consist of tree-lined promenades, rooftop gardens, reflective water basins, naturally ventilated corridors, or leaf-patterned canopies inspired by fractal geometry. The goal is to model the redesigned space with precise attention to environmental performance and user experience.

Recent studies show that AR can significantly support environmental education and creativity, especially when learners design with sustainability goals (Wu et al., 2020). In this exercise, learners are encouraged to annotate their designs, describing the function of each biophilic feature, the STEM principle it reflects, and the expected benefit for human and ecological health.

Beyond digital modeling, the AR prototypes can be used for presentation and peer review, where learners explain and defend their design decisions. This reflective phase adds a layer of critical thinking and communication skills, reinforcing design literacy and environmental awareness.

School-Based Projects in Biophilic Design: Learning Through Experience in Secondary Education

Introducing biophilic design to secondary school learners presents a powerful educational opportunity to connect theoretical knowledge with real-world ecological challenges. In recent years, several high schools across Europe have implemented biophilic-oriented projects that engage students in reimagining built environments through nature-based thinking. These initiatives foster ecological awareness, promote well-being, and support interdisciplinary learning that spans biology, environmental science, design, and architecture.

Although not always labeled under biophilic design, many of these projects explicitly address core biophilic principles, such as enhancing sensory contact with natural elements, improving air quality, and designing outdoor learning environments. Through such activities, students aged 14–18 gain hands-on experience in rethinking urban and educational spaces, often producing models, drawings, or sustainability proposals grounded in their observations of and interactions with nature.

Putney High School, part of the Girls' Day School Trust in London, launched an innovative biophilic classroom pilot project in 2021 to study how natural elements in learning environments affect student well-being, focus, and cognitive engagement. The project was tailored for older students in Key Stages 4 and 5 (ages 14–18) and developed in partnership with researchers from Oxford Brookes University and Studio P Architects.

The redesigned classroom incorporated multiple elements derived from the 14 Patterns of Biophilic Design (Browning et al., 2014), including:

Natural materials and textures: Timber panels, wool textiles, and raw finishes reduced sensory fatigue and created a calming visual aesthetic.

• Plants and greenery: Indoor plants were integrated not only to create a visual connection to nature but also to improve air quality and offer micro-restorative effects.
• Dynamic lighting: LED systems were tuned to mimic circadian rhythms, supporting attention and mood regulation during various parts of the school day.
• Acoustic design: Sound-absorbing materials and quiet zones were included to limit overstimulation and create areas of cognitive refuge.

Teachers and students who used the classroom reported improved concentration, reduced stress, and a more enjoyable learning atmosphere. In addition to passive exposure to natural elements, students evaluated the classroom’s impact, learning to reflect critically on how environmental design affects health and performance.
“The feedback we received from students using the space was overwhelmingly positive,” said Suzie Longstaff, Head of Putney High. “They felt more relaxed, engaged, and connected to their learning.”

While the Putney project is a leading example of biophilic learning environments at the secondary level, it remains focused on physical environmental design. Future iterations of such projects could greatly benefit from incorporating Augmented Reality (AR) to enhance imagination and interactivity.

AR could allow students to:

• Visualize different biophilic layouts before physically redesigning a space.
• Overlay data such as sunlight direction, airflow, or sound levels in real time.
• Prototype new features like green walls, water elements, or eco-furniture virtually.
• Participate in collaborative urban design projects by simulating biophilic zones in schoolyards, rooftops, or public areas.

This kind of integration would empower students to not only experience biophilic environments but also create and share them digitally, using STEM skills in meaningful, applied ways.

The Biophilic Classroom Project at Putney High School is a successful example of how secondary learners can benefit from immersive, nature-connected environments. As awareness grows about the relationship between environment, learning, and well-being, this model offers a valuable reference for other schools seeking to incorporate biophilic thinking.

By combining such initiatives with digital design and AR prototyping tools, future school-based projects could become even more engaging, personalized, and reflective of 21st-century learning goals, where sustainability, creativity, and technology come together.