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Future Ideas/ Invertention Iterations

Below I have included images of my ideas notebook, which showcase the journey of my current thinking to iterate the interventions I have conducted. The pages at the bottom are my most recent thoughts, to try and demonstrate the evolution of my thinking. Further on in the blog post I demonstrate synthesising some of these ideas into next step progressions for my project.

Ideas Journey for Iterations of Interventions:

From these ideas, I see future iterations of my work being split into almost 2 tracts to achieve the goals of improving connections to nature through hospitality venues (see below).

I am still going to pursue interventions with Chelsea College of Arts and The Marylebone Hotel, which offers amazing sites to test my interventions in. However, they may have slight restrictions on the extent to which I can experiment in technological events. Chelsea is more open to trying out an experimental idea and so I will begin trying to implement new ideas there over Marylebone. However, I am interested in exploring whether any unusual/ unused spaces may be available to test out the more experimental and risky technological interventions. For instance, cafes that are otherwise closed in the evenings or an unused backroom in a venue. I am also interested in exploring an experiment whereby participants blood pressure is measured before and after the event in a fun way. Possibly this smaller unusual space idea is better suited to that type of experiment, which can yield strong empirical evidence on the power of these events to increase connection to nature.

Experimenting with Nature and AR

I have recently been researching and explore further into the world of AR and projections in technology, as I have no current experience in the field but have a keen interest in technological advancements. I have begun experimenting with Abode Aero software and created this very rough initial mock-up to consider how nature can be utilised in a virtual AR experience (see below).

Reflection

I feel full of new streams of thought at the moment and a multitude of different ideas to explore and build upon further, especially after the recent conversations with Kristina Libby and in my 2nd Panel discussion. I am very excited to get stuck into exploring what is possible in the realms of technophilia over the coming weeks and gain added insights into the field after my scheduled conversation with Sue Thomas who is a pioneer in the field. I need to look to bring together the many strands of ideas I now have running around in my head into some actionable adaptions of interventions that I can introduce into venues to test out the effectiveness of the concepts in improving connections to nature.

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Outcomes of 2nd Panel Discussion

The panellists provided great insights into how they would expand upon and alter the methodologies I have so far employed in my interventions. This was very interesting to witness alternative points of view, many of which were very insightful and can be adapted in looking to future iterations of my events. However, some feedback was possibly less suitable for the niches of my project, with some such as designing full rooms, all be it small rooms, possibly out of the scope for what can be achieved under the timescale of the masters.

Some panellists also felt stronger towards the concept of nature and technology being combined than others. Some panellists felt that nature is the inspiration for parts of technology (not wrong look at ‘I’m saving this to the cloud’ in the tech terminology). Also views that if you are to utilise technology in this way that it may need to be hidden or disguised from the consumer, were raised. However, I felt in parts that this mindset might close you off from future possibilities of how tech can aid the future of human’s relationships and differing experiences of nature. Almost adding another link to the chain with it starting:

nature inspiring tech – tech mimicking aspects of nature – nature and tech together to create new ways to experience nature

Only a couple of panellists felt they were positioned more of the viewpoint towards nature needing to be recognised as the superior as it were, and feeling that to create natural connections perhaps technology needs to take a back seat. However, even this group were not 100% against the idea. But, the other panellists did provide positive ideas and contributions around how technology can be utilised in this way, which is something I definitely want to explore further. Especially after seeing the ideas and support this way of thinking can have amongst experts.

The key interesting points discussed are as follows:

  • Utilising special natural papers for items such a menus
    • eg: flower paper or paper made from herbs
    • these papers could also have their natural scent and will have differing textures, providing greater connections to nature in very small and simple ways
  • Nature inspired hospital rooms
    • They utilise heart rate monitoring to assess impact of biophilic space – proved 60% reduction in stress and anxiety
    • Spent 15/30 mins in the room
    • Also utilsie measuring blood pressure
  • Future events
    • Focus on ensuirng there is a loop or very clear before and after measure Could assess which sense has been stimulated the most?
    • Reduce randomness – exploit opportunity as student to conduct academic mini experiment to create strong imperical eveidence to presnet to hospitality businesess
    • More functionalty – eg: maybe blood pressure measuring
  • Looking at different spaces within hospiality venues
    • Create a destress room? – maybe out the scope of the masters
    • Utilsiing unusual spaces – storage closet bar event in New York – repurposing of the space once the venue has cosed for its usual businesses
    • Storage spaces or unutilsied rooms
  • Utilsing platforms to share the information around biophilia
    • Instead of facebook now the focus is on instagram but can push it further
    • Look also at pintrest – position with biophilia and hospitality but also look at other industires that you can tie into it eg: florists and floral installs in hospitality spaces
    • Look at LinkedIn – creating a company page, helps to reach professionals in the industries and great for sharing roles
    • Look at Clubhouse – stream audio and people listen to it
    • Look at what platforms large assocaitions are utilsing to share their messages eg: international facility management
  • Idea of utilsie what spaces alreayd have and seeing what can be done with that to link in biophilia
  • Idea – if something on the menu is unknown and you are ordering through QR code, why can’t the items be hyperlinked to explain extra info of what it is and where it is from – linking to sustainability
  • Idea – getting rewarded for choosing to not take disposabel cutlery when ordering takeout eg: flower added to their virtual projection wall or phsyical natural artwork piece. Helps to build relationship with customers as they can come back and see their imapct and contribution to the space
    • Or, utilise the small money saved from cutlery to plant a seed
    • Could also reward for other sustainable decsions eg: ordering veggie or vegan? – have to be careful that the resturnat would want this however as they may be making more money off meat dishes or the meat being more locally sourced, and so they may want to encourage customers to order meat instead.
  • Ideas in current spaces:
    • Living light – concept that utilises photosynthesis to create light – when you touch the leaves lights go on
    • Digital vegetables – art glass house in Tokyo, similar principle to living light – touch and differnet coloured lights and sounds fill the greenhouse
    • Hotel group – kids spaces to make kids connect with nature – kids plant seeds and with a QR code they can watch that seed grow even when they are no longer staying at the hotel – could apply to butterfiles as they could grow and be able in a 7 day stay in the hotel
      • Emotional attachment and caring for sometging gives a greater sense of connection
  • Idea – full ecosystem spaces – similar to the book/ film DUNE
  • Idea – hopsitality spaces with historical significance – utilise tech to provide info on this/ its environment or different garden sections etc.
  • Idea – restaurants with local supplies and herb gardens – organise events to see how they grow the herbs and how the utilsie local producers
  • Block chain – this tech can allow us to track where food is from – play on this to demonstrate sustainability
  • Consider the plate that the food is on – what is it made of? – plates made of egg shells or bamboo straws etc – just small actions

Recording:

Unfortunately, there were a few technical problems in saving the video of the panel recording to the Nature.In YouTube channel. However, I did manage to record the audio of the majority of the conversation (minus the first 5 minutes) which I have uploaded to the YouTube channel with a still image of the panellists so that the conversation can be referred back to at a later stage.

The prompt slides utilised in the discussion can be viewed below:

Reflection

The panel was incredibly useful to gain feedback from a key group of stakeholders. Their feedback was honest and insightful into the positives to take from my work and perhaps the shortfalls of parts of my interventions so far and how to push them further now. The panellists also provided information on projects they have currently been working on such as kids rooms in hotels offering plants to plant and they can watch it grown over their stay and even come back to see it in the future. I feel that the audience members enjoyed these insights into other ways nature is being utilised in the hospitality industry. However, unfortunately, the live audience didn’t ask any questions.

A vital angle that was discussed was around the utilisation of different online platforms to educate around biophilia, especially the power of LinkedIn, Pinterest and clubhouse. Subsequently, I will look to utilise these platforms in the future to create real change and reach a lot of people with my work.

The key point brought up to make my research process more robust was that I should consider developing a control experiment where I don’t rely on the chance of passersby and their arent so many random variables in my events. Although, for the purpose of my Herb Event, I did wish to utilise passersby as I wanted it to replicate normal customers coming into a hospitality space who had no prior knowledge of me or my work so that I could gather fair and reliable data on whether there is an audience for such events in the wider public. However, now I have conducted that event and gained that assurance in my data, I think it could be interesting to try and develop a form of controlled intervention whereby a fully imperial measuring tool is employed such as measuring blood pressure, as was suggested in the panel. This could then provide undeniable hard data to present to other hospitality businesses that adding these types of natural events and experiences into their spaces positively impacts their customers and that people would be keen to come to their space if they offered it. Something like this could be set up in a smaller context of perhaps a small pop up bar in a space that might have otherwise been closed eg: a cafe that only sells lunch and gathering a sample of 10 or more people to take part and visit the event. Their blood pressure would be taken upon arrival and as they left to measure the change.

At present these are all just in the ideas phase but I feel there are strong ways that these ideas can be applied to hospitality settings, as now that I have a site such as Chelsea where I can get experimenting, I feel there is a very interesting future ahead for this project.

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Meeting with Kristina Libby – Discussing Technobiophilia

I had an incredibly interesting and creative conversation yesterday with Kristina Libby. Kristina took part in my first-panel discussion and we have kept in touch ever since. She is an expert in biophilic design having run projects looking at biophilia in the workplace and utilising biophilia concepts in creating a covid floral memorial. Kristina is also involved in technology in her work and she raised some very innovative points around utilising technology and nature together in the first panel discussion. Therefore, I was very keen to talk with her about how she feels technophilia could be applied in hospitality settings.

The key points of the discussion are below, or you can listen to the discussion by clicking the above video.

The Discussion

  • Considering an individual’s impact on the environment
    • Developing responsive spaces to demonstarte the message of individual’s impacts on the planet, similar to those utilised in ad campaigns
      • Can demonstrate climate change data eg: wildfire data
      • A part of biophilia that is missing – intellectual engagemnt with the environment
    • Utilse data emitted from phones to determine individual’s impacts?
    • How to make climate actions beautiful so that people feel the topics of sustianable actions are more approachable and allows them to realise their own power.
    • ICCP report – 10 years to impact climate change
      • All industries have some sort of responsibility
      • How do you emotionally encourage people ot act? – educating, entertaining and reconnecting people to the world
  • Technical spaces responsive to your immediate actions eg: flower grows as you move your hand
    • As people move they could develop a seemingly blank space into a more biophilic one – active participatory role in the environment
    • Utilsie Microsoft Kinect software – utilised in responsive art pieces – look to see if there are any collaborators interested to work on this – Kristina has a contact she is going to reach out to and ask if he would be interested in getting involved in developing something like this
      • Be careful of too much light in these spaces for projections as then projectors need to be of a very high calibre
    • Living walls that change and grow as you are in front of it?
    • Climate data projected in black and white in a space that is otherwise biophilic – the projection responds to the room in unexpected ways.
  • Utilise tech to demonstarte the importance of small actions in aiding nature and the climate crisis
    • Recycling container – when you throw something into it a virtual leaf grows in the projection onto the bin and adds to the tree/ forest – you can see your small addition to the bigger picture resultant from your sustainable efforts
    • Contextually responsive spaces can help to combat ‘ad blindness’ and will engage more people through its unusual form
    • Interative art pieces are typically modern and contemporary (espeically in New York) and so bringing a type of natural form and wonder into this arena could be really interesting
  • Parts of biophilia seem almost backward wanting things to turn away from tech, but there are ways that tech can be utilsied to move the efforts to connect people with nature forward
  • At the moment there is a void between ideas that are all biophilic or all modern, tech could help bridge the gap
    • Herb farm – every inch it grows the screen changes? or as people reach to touch the plants something chnages in the projections
    • Showcasing the benefits of interacting with physcial forms of plants eg: lavender has this positive impact on you/ farming lavander has these imapcts – when you hover your phone over a plant it showcases facts about the plant?
    • Vitrually growing a plant on a wall projection form the start of your meal/ when you arrive until the end – when you re enter a space and scan your phone the projection comes back up of your exact plant and begins to grow again – returning to the spaces continues your presonal expericene and connection to nature.
  • How do you create a space to be more than a space? what can the space teach us?
  • Chefs are often egar to educate through their food, but the restaurnt setting itself can also be a space to educate and connect people to the offering to translate their ethos
    • QR codes to order – create an AR experience for when people order, information about the food comes up as does a fitting experience of nature for the spaceeg: animals and trees or butterfiles across the screen
    • Communicate the ordering data back to people in the venue eg: X amount of people ordered the salmon today, salmon farming has this impact on nature.
  • Gamification to communicate natural experiences
    • AR/VR isnt full adpoted by people yet, so we can’t expect them to utilise it in a space of their own accord – we have to integrate it into an expericne that they are already familiar with if we want them to use it eg: menu ordeirng utilsing phones creates AR experience or instagramming food in places with specialised AR filter?
    • Gratitude for sustianbility posistive actions eg: utilsing a reusabel water bottle to fill up from a fountain could add a natural elemnt to a bigger piece of virtual projection artwork eg: grows a flower on the tree

Reflection

I am very keen to explore the ideas I discussed with Kristina further, as I believe they could result in some incredibly engaging, novel and original adaptations of nature into hospitality businesses. One of the ideas I am keen to research further first is the idea of utilising Microsoft Kinect to track movements of people interacting with projected images and then the images respond to their movement. If this is possible to do in the time frame, I feel it could reveal some very strong data around improvements to connection to nature in hospitality settings. The technology could be applied whereby natural elements grew from performing certain actions, or information about nature or ways in which the business are acting sustainably were projected on a wall as you walked past it. There are many applications if the technology can be harnessed to cater for hospitality spaces in the time.

I am also very keen to explore the AR ideas of making natural elements pop out as you get the menu up when ordering through a QR code. Seen as mobile devices are being readily used to order now after covid restrictions, it makes sense to incorporate nature into the ordering process and it could provide facts about the food or natural elements involved in the food-making process, as well as showing virtual nature around the venue.

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Question Evolution

During the course of the independent study, my project has adapted and expanded slightly upon my initial broader thinking. However, the aims and goals of my work are still very much the same, so there have only been slight changes in the evolution of my question over the course of this work period, which can be seen below. I have kept the aspect of my question to be ‘hospitality businesses that serve food and drink’, because I still feel this best describes my target area as it removes other hospitality spaces such as hotel rooms from the project and focuses upon spaces like restaurants, pubs, bars, pop-ups, supper clubs etc.

Starting question at the beginning of the independent study:

How can nature be applied to hospitality businesses that serve food and drink to re-connect people with the natural world? ïƒ 

Adaptations of Question:

How can natural designs, events and experiences introduced into hospitality spaces that serve food and drink improve customer’s connections to nature? 

How can customers become connected to nature through visiting hospitality spaces that serve food and drink in cities?

How can customers become better connected to nature through visiting hospitality spaces that serve food and drink in cities? 

Current question:

Reflection

I wish to inspire change in approaches to nature, to allow for increased connections to nature through unique methods within hospitality settings. 

I feel my question now better communicates the scale of my work, within busy cities such as London, to target those customers who are feeling disconnected from the natural world due to the city life. Therefore, bringing nature into spaces that they are already frequenting, in hospitality spaces, can easily assist them in improving their connections to nature. This is directly based upon feedback from customers during the herb Event at Chelsea College of Arts. Even those who may be opposed or disinterested in nature can feel the benefits of nature in the spaces. The applications of nature aim to be so innovative and novel that people will want to get engaged with them and subconsciously or resultantly they will feel the impacts of nature and may then hopefully seek out nature in the future.

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Update and Iteration of Online Sharing Group

The online sharing group I have developed via Facebook aimed to provide a space for customers of hospitality spaces to post applications of nature that they like or dislike accompanied by short comments as to why they hold this opinion. The change was to be created by this intervention utilising the data to develop applications of nature that are attractive to customers.

However, recent results from the group have been limited in regards to user posts as it has predominately involved posts just from myself that people have then liked or reacted to. This may be due to people being fearful to post in a new group or it may be a factor of people moving away from utilising Facebook as a key channel of social media. The group has gained a few members suggesting that there is an audience for this type of space/ community or conversation but perhaps Facebook isn’t the best way to access this audience. Therefore I review forming this Facebook community as a FAILURE.

Subsequently, I have adapted the Nature In Instagram page to move away from the initial idea of using the page to post a curated version of the posts from the sharing group. Instead, I have moved the Instagram to focus more upon the aspect of promoting hospitality spaces that are showcasing nature and improving connections to nature through directing people to spaces that incorporate nature already. This page is gathering a steady following which is currently at nearly 70 followers. However, no one has truly engaged conversation in the comments section so far meaning this type of content may be gauged towards one sided sharing of spaces rather than a community engagement in people sharing if they visit the spaces I display.

Posts

Below is a link to the Instagram page, as well as links to different posts on there showcasing different venues utilising nature:

In this below post I actually received a like and comment from the hospitality venue I was promoting. Suggesting that in the future, venues may wish to be featured on the page and it could add to the business’s aims to meeting sustainability targets if there were featured on a page promoting unison with nature.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CSEQgO_lEuu/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

More examples of posts featuring nature in venues:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CR8nKS6jBYq/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

https://www.instagram.com/p/CSEVB90FCjv/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CS87LNxI6ut/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

I have also been utilising the page to post natural images and videos (see below) asking questions in the caption, like how do you get your inspiration? and informing people that connecting with nature aids creativity.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CS6zHngIcgB/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Reflection

As the next step and iteration of this intervention, I will continue to spread the word and raise awareness for hospitality venues showcasing nature in innovative ways, to hopefully attract customers to chose to visit these spaces and improve their connection to nature. I will also post short facts on this page of the benefits of connecting to nature to add to the persuasion that it is vital to health to have connections to the natural world.

Furthermore, I will also look to other forms of social media and websites to get people engaged in the conversation around biophilic designs in hospitality and change the messaging that it is simply just about adding plants into spaces. This will also aim to make biophilic design more engaging, fun and novel for the customers, consequently aiding businesses through added customers. This intends to create a buzz around the use of Biophilic design in hospitality spaces which will, in turn, provide greater reception for the natural events and experiences I plan as iterations of the herb intervention I conducted at Chelsea.

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Reading ‘Rewild Yourself’ to Help Formulate a New Stream of Ideas

Unlike many academic papers I have read and analysed to form the foundation for my work, recently I have looked to other sources of secondary information to help formulate new ideas and takes on how nature can be effectively introduced to hospitality settings. 

Barnes, S. (2018) Rewild Yourself, Simon and Schuster, London.

Consequently, I have been reading ‘Rewild Yourself’ by Simon Barnes. This book isn’t to do with bringing nature into spaces at all, rather it is centred around people taking themselves to the outdoors to interact with nature. Resultantly, I found reading the text a very interesting experience to get my creative juices to flow in following the suggested ideas to ‘rewild’. I have found myself critically analysing and adapting these suggested methods of rewilding to discover how they can be utilised within the context of my work. This has led me to revert many of the ideas and working backwards with them to try and invent new ideas or ways in which similar forms of interacting with nature could be introduced into hospitality settings. 

For instance, a suggestion to invest and utilise a good pair of waterproof trousers may seem meaningless in regards to my work. However, the book goes on the explore the new world and environment a pair of waterproof trousers helps you to unlock. Whether this be seeing new species that you would have otherwise missed as you wouldn’t have wanted to immersive yourself in the wet environment, or simply exploring the scenery and woodlands in adverse climates. The point being that the trousers offer a gateway to experience different environments. A similar concept can be applied into an event or experience in hospitality, with a. little thinking and reworking. An expel of this is that an event or experience could be centred around different weathers or climates and in each experience of the climate the customer is able to experience different aspects of nature. Some apparatus could be used as a gateway for each environment, whether this be through ordering a different dish (each pertaining to a new environment) or even in a bar setting thing could be done through different drinks; or even simply in the setting of the restaurants different areas could be presented to explore different nature weathers or environments. Even technology could be utilised to formulate this idea into a technobiophilic experience. These ideas are currently just that, ideas, but read this book has allowed for fresh perspectives to be taken on seemingly obvious parts of natural experiences. 

Below I have included notes of aspects of nature I wish to explore further after reading this book. I will go on to develop these ideas further and look at the feasibility of them as I look to planning my next interventions, specifically my next intervention at the Chelsea College of Arts. 

  • Weather
    • Experiencing different weathers/ climates as a part of a natural experience 
      • Rain – sound and smell? 
      • Heat – step off the plane heat smell? Sounds of crickets/ birds?
    • Just like the weatherproof trousers, I’m aiming to break down the barriers between inside and outside
      • Breaking down the self-imposed barriers to nature
  • Consider wildlife/ animals not just plants
    • Create immersive habitats? – focus them on different species? – creating an elongated meaningful connection to nature through the transfer of knowledge that customers can take into their daily lives, for instance, the names of basic species such as butterflies which they can then identify when seeing them around in their daily lives, consequently allowing them to feel closer to nature even after leaving the event/ experiences. 
  • ‘Open yourself up to the wild’ 
  • Viewing the ocean as a new and mythical world 
    • Lose yourself in a new natural world – replicate unusual/ unique aspects of the ocean that aren’t commonly known 
      • Strengthen connection potentially from the transfer of knowledge about the ocean – people may wish to pursue this information further and explore and learn more about the ocean.
      • Utilise idea of coral reefs – unpack and showcase their environment in an event
        • Aquascope/ bathyscaphe allows you to view the ocean like a snorkel but without getting wet.
  • Rivers?
    • People sat in different spaces like different tributaries (could also be like branches of a tree) – different tributaries would equate to a different natural experience, customers could more through the different tributaries throughout the experience. 
      • Could be replicated for a wine tasting?  – different drink for each tributary? Or a different food dish? 
  • Nocturnal animals – could be referenced in evening experiences or events? 
    • Bats – sonar sounds for communication in any way to play on this? 
      • Utilise sonar tech in an event? – play on bats abilities to feel at home during the dark? 
      • There are devices you can get to convert bat’s ultrasounds into humanly audible sounds – could utilise something similar?
        • Bat detectors, set to around 45khz
  • Stillness to take in wild ecosystem forms around you
    • Could be introduced in some form for a supper club type event, as everyone sits down for dinner and are silent, the projectors/ sounds/ smells of nature and wildlife begin to appear, as if you are sitting still in the natural habitat. This could set the tone for the rest of the natural experience. 
  • Rainforest – most diverse ecosystem
    • Reveal what’s in the canopy/ around you that may be hard to see.
      • Explore the masses of wildlife in the canopy of the rainforest, unpack it and utilise different species in experiences 
  • Hares/ Rabbits 
    • Future idea that could be aimed at spring? 
  • Dragonflies/ ladybirds/ butterflies – the invertebrate world of the small, bringing them into the human eye and world of the big rather than being overlooked. 
  • Hummingbirds/ woodpeckers – represent bringing rare and interesting species inspiration into events that will attract people as it is uncommon for humans to encounter them. So, an event aimed to replicate interactions with racer species could bring the rare into the normal? 
  • Bees
    • Replicate or take inspiration from the process of pollinating? 
      • Create a change in the taste of food before and after ‘pollination’

Reflection 

I have really enjoyed reading this book and it has allowed me to re-evaluate my ideas and perceptions of what nature truly is. I feel it has helped me to consider new forms of nature and ways to introduce these parts of nature into the hospitality settings, allowing for connections with the customer to be formed.

Following the line of thinking reading this book has started, another idea I have been recently thinking about red Hibiscus, which is a flower that is commonly associated with summer. But, with Christmas and winter coming up I have thought of potentially utilising this flower as a theme for a natural event or experience framed towards winter. This would create a juxtaposition between winter and summer and allow for a mixture of seasons to be brought into one space, for an innovative natural experience.

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Finalised 2nd Panel Discussion

I have recently confirmed the panellists and final details for my panel discussion happening on the 26th August at 1pm via stream yard. I am very excited to be hosting my second-panel discussion as I feel it will help to push my current work and future iterations of my interventions and project beyond the realms of the predictable and just my thinking by collaborating and discussing ideas with some of the top experts in the industry. I am also feeling a bit more confident the second time around and have worked on ironing out some of the slight issues that occurred in the last panel discussion. For instance, I am promoting the panel and asking panellists to do the same to try and secure a live audience for the event. I have also been more thorough in confirming how the platform stream yard will work and the time scale of the event. Finally, I have also tried to make the prompts I have sent out slightly more specific and clear to keep feedback accurate to the topics I wish the panel to cover. Images will again be utilised with the prompts wherever suitable to add clarity to the points discussed. For example, images of the Herb Event I ran at Chelsea or the online sharing group.

Details for the Panel:

The panel will run at 1pm UK time on the 26th August via Stream Yard, where an audience can view the discussion live via the link to Nature.In’s YouTube channel and comment any questions they have. Panelists have been asked to invite anyone they know that might be interested in viewing the panel online via the link to the Nature.In YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqNK8rZOlsj1UFpzT3pfuCQ

Panelists:
Leonardo Binetti – biomimetics expert
Kristina Libby – biophilic expert
Hedi Lenaerts- biophilic expert
Vanessa Champion- biophilic expert

Pannel Aim:
Discussing the most effective and impactful adaptations of the events and experiences that have already been conducted as a part of the Nature.In venture to re-connect people to nature in hospitality venues. Additionally, discussing new ideas and approaches of how to innovatively and dynamically introduce nature into hospitality venues, to target the senses and develop a personal connection to nature for each customer.

Prompts for the Panel:
The panel will consist of working its way through the three main topics, these being the events and actions conducted so far as a part of Nature.In; followed by a final section of added thoughts of new ways in which to effectively bring nature into hospitality venues. The questions below are simply a guide for the discussion and we will spend as long or as short on each topic depending on the amount of feedback from the panellists.

  1. Chelsea Collage of Arts Herb Event
    • The outcome of 2.5% improvement to people’s connection and 85% of participants stated that they would actively visit a hospitality venue if it was offering a natural event or experience are very promising.
    o How can we build on this? How can we make future iterations of similar events more dynamic and engaging?
    o How could it be ensured that interactions to nature were elongated, to improve the increase in connection to nature, as the shortness of the interaction was the most prominent feedback for a poor improvement in connection to nature?
     For instance, having herbs on tables as table decorations? Or through the transference of knowledge through providing plants names or species typed?
    • Utilising of inclusion of nature in self scale (Schultz, 2002: Kleespies et al., 2021) to measure changes in connection was useful in it being a simple and short way of measuring connection, allowing for a multitude of respondents.
    o But, what other ways be utilised to better measure changes in connection to nature in a similar context?
    o Could there be a way to measure connection that doesn’t rely on self report activity?
    • How could other aspects of nature, not solely plants, be introduced into similar events to develop a connection to the natural world?
  2. Online Sharing Group
    • This is currently being run via a Facebook group page to target the existing users of the site as a customer base.
    o Is there a more effective platform to utilise?
    o Are there more effective ways to grow the page and reach out rather than just posting it in various places?
    • The page is accompanied by an instagram page which is steadily growing its following.
    o Is this possibly a better space to collate peoples views on different applications of nature?
    • Are there any other ways to get discussions going online that can reach a large number of people to develop rich data into people’s views around applications of nature in hospitality spaces, that I have possibly overlooked?
  3. Utilising technology to connect people to nature
    • Do you feel that technology can be utilised to aid the connection to nature rather than hindering it, as many feel we need to step away from modern technology to feel the benefits of nature?
    • I am looking at utilising projectors to display natural images around the canteen space of Chelsea Collage of Arts, as well as utilising diffusers to add the accompanying natural scent and speakers to add sound. For instance, creating a woodland experience involving moving woodland images, with diffusers projecting smells of pine and sounds of moving trees and birds. Or, if the food offering is Italian for instance, projecting images of tuscan hills, with the accompanying sounds and smells.
    o Do you feel there are any ways to improve this idea?
    • Do you have any other ideas of how to utilise technology to connect people to nature in hospitality spaces?
    o For instance, utilising existing technology that most hospitality spaces have?
    • I have considered how to utilise personal technology devices such as sports watches to measure heart rate changes in connection to nature, but this would involve a controlled group of participants taking part in a hospitality space.
    o Do you now of any other ways to do similar that overcomes this issue?
  4. Thoughts for future ways to connect people to nature in hospitality venues
    • Any innovative, dynamic and engaging ideas or thoughts you may have to connect people to nature in meaningful ways within hospitality spaces.

Stream yard link:
Below is the link to access the stream at 1pm UK time on Thursday the 26th August.
https://streamyard.com/s3cxm6vq3v

Reflection:

I am intrigued to see how this discussion will flow and how in-depth and critical feedback from the experts will be, as this panel has a slightly different aim from my first panel. The first panel was more about outlining what the possibilities for change in the target area could be. However, this second panel aims to create change in connecting people to nature in hospitality spaces by directly collaborating with leading experts in the field to develop the most innovative adaptions of work I have already started, to create the most impact upon people’s connections to nature.

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Updates on Future Interventions and Stakeholder Meetings

Panel Discussion 

I have finalised all of the panellists for this discussion in securing 4 experts in biophilic and biomimetic designs. I have been very fortunate to recently secure Vanessa Champion for the panel who is the editor of the Journal of Biophilic design; which collates, articles, research, podcasts and videos around the latest in biophilia. Consequently, I am very excited to hear from her in the discussion as well as all of the other brilliant panellists. I will post an in-depth update on the panel and the prompts that will be utilised in my next blog post. 

The Marylebone Hotel

I have recently followed up with Simon (Executive Head Chef at The Marylebone Hotel) to check in on whether there has been any progress on the ideas I proposed to him after our meeting a few weeks ago. Simon responded to inform me that the general manager of the hotel has been away on holiday over the past weeks and so my proposal will be reviewed over the coming week or so to look at hopefully hosting an event or experience in the hotel around September time. This is very promising for the future of my project and presents a very positive future and trajectory for where this work can be taken both in the near future but also past the point of the masters. 

Chelsea College of Arts

I have also spoken with Dashnor at Chelsea College of Arts. I have been unable to host an iteration of my Herb Event at Chelsea in the form of another natural event or experience, due to summer holidays of staff and differing availabilities. This has been a slight change in my plans, as I would have liked to have another iteration of the herb event completed before the hand in for unit 2. However, I realise when working with external and large stakeholders it is something I have been unable to control. Therefore, I have now diverted my attention to other interventions I have developed over the independent study period such as my panel discussions with biophilic experts across the world and my online sharing group; which can be presented alongside my initial Herb Event. 

Regarding Chelsea, there is still a very promising future, as I am looking to host another intervention in the café area in September that develops as an iteration of the herb event. This event will take the best parts of the Herb Event and build upon it to develop something new to connect customers to nature. I am also looking to host my technobiophilic intervention at the Chelsea canteen when they open the area in late September/ early October. 

Stakeholder Meeting – to discuss most effective ways to develop tehcnobiophillic events

I have contacted several experts to discuss how best to fuse the use of technology with creating natural events and experiences in hospitality spaces. All stakeholders have been briefed about the status of my project so far, the aims of my work and future goals for the venture. Although these meetings are designed to allow for collaboration with experts to help to develop the most effective technobiophilic event possible for the Chelsea canteen space; I have informed them that any other ideas around my project in how to connect people to nature in hospitality spaces are more than welcome to brought to the table and be discussed. 

Experts collaborating with: 

I have been speaking with Sue Thomas, who is a pioneer in the field of technobiophilia (see previous posts ‘technobiophilia; analysing her work). I am very excited to hear from Sue and work with her to develop engaging and innovative ways to bring nature together with technology. I am also interested to explore different ways to measure a change in people’s connection to nature utilising technology with her, as this is something she touches on in some of her written works. For instance, utilising sports watches to measure heart rates and changes in them dependant on connection to nature. Something similar could be very interesting to utilise in my work if possible. 

I have also asked Kristina Libby if she would be interested in speaking further on technobiophilic events with me in a zoom meeting. This is due to her contributions in the first panel being centred around utilsing technology with nature; and her background in tech. She very kindly said she would love to work with me in developing these ideas further and so we have a meeting on Monday to discuss this. 

Additionally, Hedi Lenaertz has also agreed to a meeting to develop ideas around technobiophilia events and experiences. Hedi is an experienced consultant, designer and keynote speaker on biophilic design. Therefore, her insight will be very useful on this topic. I have already been talking to Hedi via email to begin collaboration on ideas, and so I have very excited to speak further in a meeting.

Developing Scents for Technobiopilic Events

I am yet to hear back from any of the scent experts I contacted recently. However, it is still the summer holiday period for many and so hopefully I will receive a response soon. In the meantime, I will look to reach out to more scent experts in London to look to gain knowledge from them on utilising scents and possibly even work to create custom scents to utilise in my intervention events. 

Timeline: 

Meeting with Kristina Libby discussing technobiophilic events – 23rd August 

Panel discussion – 26th August 

Meeting with Hedi Lenaertz – discussing technobiophilic events – 31st August

Meeting with Sue Thomas – discussing technobiophilic events – 1st September 

Chelsea café intervention (building on herb event) – 14th September (ish)

A potential event at The Marylebone Hotel – (around) 16th/17th September 

Chelsea Canteen Intervention – (around) 22nd/ 23rd September 

Reflection: 

I feel that the plans and projections for my project into the future present a very promising future for this work. There is a clear scope and a market to introduce creating meaningful connections to nature in hospitality spaces through natural events, experiences and designs. I can’t wait to see how far this work can go and how many boundaries it can push. 

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Scent Expertise for Immersive Natural Events

At present I am further planning for my technobiophilic immersive natural event to run in September at the Chelsea Collage of Arts Canteen space. In this planning I am aiming to targeting customers senses to develop a truly immersive natural experience that accompanies the food offering of the venue.

During my recent tutorial, Jasminka suggested that to make the scents I utilise truly target customers sense of smell, I should contact scent experts. The experts can then pass on their knowledge around the effective use of scents and they may even be interested in collaborating to develop unique natural scents to utilise in the events.

Jasminka recommended a former CSM student, Maya Njie, as a scent expert and so I have since emailed her in the hope of getting to speak with her in a meeting to learn from her scent knowledge and potentially collaborate (see below).

https://www.mayanjie.com/press

I have also emailed scent experts around London that I have found through researching, as I didn’t want to put all my eggs in one basket as it were and hope Maya would be able to assist me.

Scent Exerts Contacted:

  • Lizzie Ostrom – Founder of Odette Toilette
    • https://www.odettetoilette.com
  • Emmanuelle Moeglin – Founder of Experimental Perfume Club
    • https://www.fragrancefoundation.org.uk/meet-the-team?category=Meet%20the%20Perfumers&name=Emmanuelle%20Moeglin&id=85
  • Fran Brown – Fragrance Consultant at Urban Apothecary
    • https://urbanapothecarylondon.com
  • Betty and Michael Hawksley – Founders of Les Senteurs
    • https://www.lessenteurs.com/pages/history

Reflection:

I feel gaining expertise in the area of scent can really help to add depth to my intervention and hopefully engage and attract greater customers. I believe that scent is one of the lesser targeted senses when it comes to natural design, but when interacting with physical plants it is one of the most intriguing and delightful aspects. Therefore, I hope the unique nature of this offering to re-connect with the natural world may prove successful.

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Arranging Next Panel Discussion

I am currently in the process of arranging my next panel discussion to review the progress of my interventions and discuss the most effective and innovative adaptations of these interventions possible. I will utilise this opportunity to create a form of expert sounding board of ideas in the hope that this method can validate my research as well as helping it to push past the predictable.

I have reached out to everyone previously involved in my plane discussion. These individuals being biophilic and biomimetic design experts including: Kristina Libby (biophilic expert), Leonardo Binetti (biomimetic expert), Williem van Bolderen (biophilic expert) and Rajalakshmi Iyer (biophilic expert). I also asked these experts if they knew of anyone else who would be suitable for the discussion and if so to ask them to get in touch! (see below email).

I am also reaching out to experts that hadn’t taken part in the previous panel to try to create new angles of discussion and varying dynamics. This outreach has been largely conducted through messaging people on LinkedIn who have suitable roles in their profession fo ruth discussion (see list below).

The discussion will take place on the same platform as the previous panel, this being StreamYard, as this worked well. The recording of the discussion will also be uploaded to the Nature.In YouTube channel just as done previously. The discussion will run via a series of prompts yet again, however this time they will be images and questions centred around the results of my interventions, both those conducted at the Chelseas Collage of Arts, such as the Herb Event, as well as my online sharing group. This method of prompts for progression throughout the discussion also helped for seamless transitions between topics in the last panel whilst still allowing everyone to input as much a they desired on each topic; thus it is being employed once again.

For this panel there will again be the opportunity for a live audience to ask questions throughout the discussion, as it will be being live streamed on YouTube and so people will be able to comment on the YouTube video any questions they have, which the experts and myself will be able to discuss. I will spend greater attention to attract a live audience for this panel and get confirmation that some people will be in attendance, as for the last panel a live audience was invited, but sadly no one showed up at the given time. I will also try to gather questions from customers via the online sharing group, which can be but to the experts in the discussion, if people are unable at attend the live event. This will hopefully create more stimulating conversations around the future of my interventions.

Feedback:

So far I have heard back from Rajalakshmi who is sadly unable to attend the panel discussion this time due to being busy with her own work commitments. I have also heard from Leonardo and Kristina who are keen to take part in the discussion once again. Additionally, both Rajalakshmi and Leonardo both commented that they were impressed with the progress I have made on my project so far, which was very encouraging.

Experts in Attendance of the Panel

Confirmed:

Leonardo Binetti – Biomimetics expert (took part in previous panel)

Kristina Libby- Biophilic Expert (took part in pervious panel)

Possible Attendants Awaiting to Confirm Their Availability:

Catie Ryan – Biophilic Expert from Terrapin Bright Green (Large Biophilic Design firm in New York)

Heidi Lenarts – Biophilic Expert focusing on nature based workplaces

Lianne Bongers – Biophilic Expert designing healthy interiors

Kim Ashmore – Hospitality Expert

Contacted But Unavailable:

  • Bill Browning – Head of Terrapin Bright Green (he recommended Catie as he is on jury service)
  • Bettina Bolten – Biophilic design consultant, she is interested but on holiday at the time of the panel
  • Rajalakshmi Iyer- Biophilic expert (took part in previous discussion), busy with work commitments

Contacted But No Responses Thus Far:

  • Amanda Sturgeon – Biophilic expert in regenerative design
  • Vincent Callebaut – Biomimetics expert
  • Tejal Patel – Hospitality professional
  • Louise Fawcett – Hospitality professional
  • Williem van Bolderen – biophilic expert (took part in previous discussion)

Reflection

I will continue to contact more experts over the coming days so that I can ensure I have a solid base of experts confirmed. I aim for at leats 4 experts to be in attendance again, just as there were last time. I will also start to promote the panel via the online sharing group, Nature. In instagram page, as well as on other relevant Facebook and LinkedIn pages I am a member of.

I am excited to run this second panel discussion, as I feel it will be a key opportunity to gain knowledge from experts in avenues I may not have considered to most effectively innovate and adapt my interventions.