Today I had a very thought-provoking conversation with biophilic expert Heidi Lenaertz. We primarily discussed different ways to approach targeting thes senses in applying biophilic principles to hospitality venues, alongside touching on technobiophilia. The main points I took from the discussion can be found below, as well as the audio recording of the discussion.
Discussion:
- Opening up the senses – start with scents to target the smell, as this is attached the the oldest part of the brain in evolution meaning once smell is evoked it is easier to open up the other senses.
- Take into consideration that some people can’t smell
- See the impact of this on the other senses and compare against evoking a different sense to smell first
- Could begin with scents that are familiar eg: mint or lavender so people recognise them and compare against less familir or recognisable scents
- Measuring
- Ask people what they think/feel/ see when they smell certain things eg; vanilla, pine or coffee
- Body metrics – blood pressure/ pulse
- Perspiration of skin – could compare against research with introvert vs extrovert as one’s skin has been found to perspire more than the other – can help to determine how at ease they are
- Record/ observe facial expresssions eg: smiles/ relaxed/ tense – video reactions and evaluate them
- Asking participants to choose a colour to represent their feelings – can analyse what meanings can be found behind different colours
- Could reveal what change or mindsets have occured before and after the experience
- Self awareness revealed if you ask why they chose that colour
- Be aware some may be colour blind – could instead chose a texture, possibly of a plant eg: round leaves or spikey
- Diffusers for smells in technobiophilic experience
- Blind fold people to heighten their sense of smell?
- Compare the smells from real herbs vs diffusers – see which people like the most/ what is more agreeable to them
- See the extent to which people are comfertable with technology/ processed scents eg: if the plants are unable to be utilsied do they feel artifical scents can provide the same benefits?
- Testing biophilic elements around the experience of having a cup of coffee – low threshold ways to test out biophilic elements
- Coffee corner – ask people to try the coffee from different tables 1/2/3 and compare – to determine which lighting and visual positioning is best
- Could even test visuals from the shape of the milk eg: leaf/ heart/ circle
- Coffee plant – testing real vs plastic plants
- Vision of coffee beans – either in person or on a poster or even showcasing a video of their production – allows opportunity to showcase any sustainbel actions they are taking eg: transportation
- Test differnet beans for changes in scent
- Pour coffee in different cups – modern vs more natural/ leaf shaped or wooden
- Artificial vs natural light – how to position things within the light
Reflection
I think this disucssion rasied some very interesting differing concepts and ideas. Especially aorund how to measure changes in connection such as recording reactions or asking feelings to be expressed through colours. I also thought targeting senses in differing orders was a concept to look at further the future.
Testing differnet elements in such a simple format in around how people enjoy a cup of coffee could allow for a path/ modle of how to best implement these biophilic elements into hospitality spaces. I think the small scale of this idea to test around the coffee is a very clever one. However, I think the exact details of this type of intervention would need to be refined for the context of my work. This is because at present the ideas around the coffee relate quite heavily to all encompassing upheavals of hospitality spaces if to be scaled up as they resemble testing elemnets of more common biophilic schemes, which is a key factor I am looking to overcome with this project.