Before my meeting with the executive chef at the Marylebone Hotel (Simon Conboy) I drafted up some answers to the 6 key pitch points set out by Sasha in his past talk. I didn’t learn these answers but utilised having the prepared answers to weave the points into the conversation to ensure my aims for the meeting and my project were clearly laid out.
The Pitch
What Is It?Â
Venture aiming to connect people to nature in hospitality spaces through natural events, experiences, and design schemes.
Looks to target the senses to evoke meaningful experiences with nature; this could be through physical applications of nature or technological applications.Â
Biophilic design – aims to target human’s innate connection to nature, typically seen as interior design aiming to bring in natural planting, colour schemes, lighting to recreate the experience of interacting with nature
What’s Special About It? – The Hook?
Biophilic design is rarely implemented in hospitality spaces, and if it is it generally involves comprehensive refurbishments of the space that require venues to shut whilst they are being constructed and then require modernising after 5-8 years.
Such natural experiences can help to attract greater and new customers, consequently boosting profits especially relevant after venue closures throughout the pandemic.
Nature.In is on trend with the sustainability movement and the newfound appreciation for nature and the outdoors following the lockdowns.
I am aiming to recreate the experience of nature through more 1-1, personal interactions, which isn’t currently being done in hospitality venues; rather than larger, more interior design focused schemes.
What Proof Do I Have That It Will Work?
People spend 90% of their time indoors in Britain and so this work tires to bring the outdoors inside and bridge the gap between the two.Â
The health benefits of biophilic design are backed up by numerous academic studies.
There is vast interest in these types of 1-1 event having engaged with 40 people over the past 2 days through a herb event which I ran at the Chelsea Collage of Arts.
Many people enjoyed the herb event but felt it was too short, as they were just passing through and so only briefly interacted with the herbs. Many wanted longer events and so utilising herbs or similar plants throughout a meal for example may be very beneficial to building this connection with nature.
85% of 40 people asked said that they would be attracted to a venue specifically if it was offering an experience with nature. The others would said that they wouldn’t be strictly attracted to visit the space, but many said they would still enjoy the natural elements once there but it wouldn’t draw them to the venue on their own.
What Have I Got So Far?
Panel discussion with biophilic design experts from across the world
Herb Event at Chelsea Collage of Arts, ran over 2 days
Developing online sharing group – to build a community of customers of hospitality spaces to share images of applications of nature that they like and dislike stating why they hold this opinion and forms a space directing people to spaces that are trying to encompass nature.
Future immersive technobiophilic event at Chelsea Collage of Arts Canteen
What Do I Want?
To secure spaces to test in and hold larger scale interventions.
Ideas to explore in Simon’s spaces:
Pairing Herb Plants With Meals
For instance, if someone ordered a tomato burrata salad, it could be advertised as a special dish, whereby the basil plant is brought to the table along with the dish, so people can pick and add their own herbs to their meal.Â
A short question could be asked when ordering the dish to assess their connection to nature and then it could be asked again when they pay the bill to assess any change in that connection.
Immersive Natural ExperiencesÂ
Projectors, speakers, and diffusers offering an engaging and dynamic experience of natural scenery
May be partnered with physical applications of nature such as herbs of plants specific to the chosen scenery.
This may work well in a supper club type event.
Dishes Names After Parts of Nature (Accompanied by complimentary plants, scents, and sounds)
For instance, different types of certain species such as butterflies or even trees?
People may learn the names of certain parts of nature which they can identify when they next come across it, thus strengthening their connection to nature not only in the event but also afterwards through the transference of knowledge
What Does The Marylebone Hotel/ Simon Get?
A cutting edge, innovative link into the sustainability movement that brings nature closer to people that may not be able to access it so readily in big cities such as London but have a newfound appreciation for the outdoors after lockdown. Subsequently, these customers will be attracted to the space which boosts profits of the venue and improves satisfaction of their customers due to them feeling the benefits of interacting with nature.
The Meeting
During the meeting I addressed the areas of the pitch with Simon by linking them into conversation as and where I could. We discussed the hotel space itself and their usual offering so that I could gain more awareness for the space and its aims.
Simon also discussed the sustainability goals of the hotel and their push to keep things local, which I found a very interesting side of the hotel to explore and link into the aims of my project. Subsequently, since the meeting I have been trying to brainstorm ways to seamlessly connect my work with their green initiatives. For instance, the hotel has a big push on healthy foods offering dishes such as ‘superfoods salads’, as well as catering for greener modes of travel by making space for electric bike and cars. In regard to keeping things local, the hotel has beehives on the roof, they also get any extra honey from the London Honey Company. Additionally, their cheeses come from Roth and Co which is diagonally opposite the hotel and has been there since the 1800s serving all locally sourced produce. The hotel has also run seasonal events such as highlighting the strawberry for ‘keeping things British’.
The hotel resides in Marylebone village, which has a strong community aspect, despite being in Central London. This made me think of ways I could try and address this idea of inclusiveness and bringing the local community together to experience nature with my event.
Sadly, Simon informed me that it wouldn’t really be possible to host technological immersive natural events in their spaces, as they only rooms really suitable are sectioned out as events spaces and so I would have to privately hire the space and run the event there, which would be incredibly costly.
One idea Simon and I brainstormed whilst in the meeting was to do a pop up event on their terrace, which has a lot of footfall being on Marylebone Lane. The pop up could involve handing out take away salad taster boxes which people could add herbs to from the selection I have on my stand and then they could answer some quick questions about their connection to nature and take these away with them. Simon said they would be able to absorb the cost of that type of smaller event as well. I then later thought that this could also entice the customers to visit other nature events which could be run later on in the hotel space, almost as a part of a ‘Nature. In collaboration/ event series’.
After the meeting Simon asked if I could email over my ideas to host in their space after our discussion (as they had altered) so that he can pitch them to the rest of the team and they can look at getting PR going around the event to promote the event’s link to their sustainability motives through connecting people to nature. I have since compiled this email and sent it over to get things in motion (see below).
Over the course of Tuesday the 20th and Wednesday the 21st July I ran a Herb Event at the Chelsea Collage of Arts cafe and courtyard area, which is opposite the Tate Britain. The event aimed to connect customers of the cafe to nature by offering the opportunity to interact with the herbs, add them to their food and take cuttings of the herbs home with them. I asked the customers a series of 4 questions including the Inclusion of Nature in Self scale and 3 other questions based around the scale. The questions were asked before interacting with the herbs and again afterwards, with bookmark cards given out to everyone including a QR code on it to complete further questions about the event at home or reflect on whether taking herbs home impacted their connection to nature. Further details on the event can be found in my previous blog posts.
I will now unpack the outcomes of the event and a blog post of detailed analysis of the results from the google forms will follow in the coming days.
Overall
The small and open nature of the outdoor cafe courtyard area at Chelsea worked very well in being able to manage who had interacted with the herbs, who to go to to ask greater qs for feedback. This meant that I was able to ensure that almost everyone who utilised the cafe or passed by, was asked about whether they wished to participate in the event, which the vast majority did. It was also a good venue to talk to lots of people, as many people walk past; which was much better than a small cafe with limited customers.
Often I approached people who were sat, but I didn’t disturb people who were obviously busy eg: on the phone or typing. I did this to ensure I didn’t reply on people just coming up to me and being interested in what I was doing, as that rarely happened, maybe 5/6 times over the whole 2 days. I often said hi to people walking past and then got them talking to spark conversation and then often they would get involved.
Attracting people to the event
In hindsight it may have been beneficial to attract people to the event through advertising through social media postings, rather than just relying alone on the normal customers of the cafe to take part. However, the event already attracted a large amount of attention, with 40 participants over the two days and as I was running it myself without assistance if there was a lot more customers I may not have been able to talk and interact with all participants as I did.
Additionally, not bringing in outsider customers did provide for accurate testimony of typical customers to the cafe to see if they, as a representative of customers of hospitality spaces, were interesting in interacting with nature through the herb event. Whereas, if people had come to the event through social media postings they would already be interesting in connecting to nature through the event as that would have been what brought them to the space.
However, a medium between these two ways of attracting customers could have been putting posters of some sort around the local areas so that people nearby knew it was happening and to see whether this effected who attended the event and they engagement in it.
Set Up
I set up a table with a cloth I brought to make it stand out from the others, accompanied by my tray of herbs, some string to tie up cuttings of the herbs, scissors, some pre-made bundles of rosemary that I made in the morning of the Tuesday as well as the bookmark cards I had printed with my design featuring the QR code for the second google forms which include questions about taking the herbs home and extra detailed questions; as well as tips for how to utilise the herbs on the other side. I also brought a notebook to take notes of conversations I had and people I interacted with throughout the day.
Outcomes of Tuesday 19th July
Observation:
At the start of the event, I observed after talking to the first few participants that it was difficult to record before and after responses to the 4 connection to nature questions on the spot, as many people were only walking past the cafe or grabbing a to-go coffee. Therefore, these participants were mainly responding to the 4 initial ‘before herb interaction’ questions and then taking home some of the herbs; thus, gaining an ‘after interacting with herbs’ response to the connection to nature qs relied on people completing the 2nd google forms at home via the bookmark card handed to them. This is risky in relying on the participants completing the questions in their own time, but with peoples interactions with there herbs in this take away nature being so brief, it initially seemed one of the only ways to hopefully gain accurate information on whether their had been a change in their connection to nature.
Reflection:
For tomorrow’s event, I will try to get people to cut some of the herbs themselves and then ask the after qs straight away regardless of if the interaction has been short. I will just add that it was a short interaction in the added information box at the bottom of the first google forms, so that I know for future reference when analysing the results. This way at least then I will definitely get some guide of whether the event has changed their connection to nature even in the slightest way, as relying on people to complete questions at home on their own time is slightly worrying as it is unlikely to occur.
Observation:
I also observed that giving participants the QR code to complete the second half of the questioning at home initially meant that I didn’t know which participant gave which answers to the 1st and then the 2nd google forms, as there wasn’t a way to link the two.
Idea/ Reflection:
However, after my 5th participant I thought to start handing out participant numbers and added this section into both google forms, so I would be able to correlate the participant numbers between the two forms and so I can compare the answers. I quickly cut out squares of paper and wrote up to 26 participant numbers on them so I could hand them out to people with the herbs and bookmark cards. Hopefully this meant that everyone was able to remember their number and then they can add this information to the top of the 2nd google form when they come to fill it in, allowing for the comparison of their answers before and after herb events.
I felt this idea worked well and all the participants seemed to take to it and take their paper with the number on it with the same care as their bookmark and herbs. I was happy I was able to think and implement a solution to the issue on the spot and test it out whilst the event was on going.
Extra Observations:
Lots of people taking herbs home
Reflection: positive of the event meaning people like the herbs and that there is a want for people to take them into their lives and build a connection to nature.
Some people asking to take whole plants or if I was selling them.
Reflection: Maybe on a bigger budget events taking this concept could allow people to take whole herb plants home at the end.
People saying no to taking part as they were ‘too busy’, some said they ‘have enough plants already’, without actually realising what the event was about; also some people thinking I’m selling herbs and then them being disappointed.
Reflection: People who said they already have enough plants generally felt they already have a reasonable connection to nature and so maybe in future ways to connect people to nature without just physical plants may appeal more to these people.
Conversations with Participants:
Lady and Baby
This participant was conscious of nature, as she was a veggie with no car and rarely flies, however she said she felt disconnected from nature due t o being in the city(3/10 or B on Inclusion of Nature in Self scale), but she was trying her best to get involved in nature so her kids felt the benefits.
Very Keen Gardening Lady
Stated that she felt interacting with real plants and nature, such as herbs in the event is better than other natural design techniques she had witness due to the touch, relationship and interaction you get from real plants.
She also stated that she struggles with how connected to nature she feels in London as she is lucky to have a garden but it is only small.
Ex Geography Teacher lady
Very keen gardener, loves herbs especially the smell and would be very keen to visit other places hosting similar events maybe on a larger scale.
Lovely Old Couple
She is a keen gardener, they took basil home to have with a tomato salad they were making that evening.
Reflection on Tuesday’s Event:
I noted the vast majority of participants in the event happened to be female today. I wonder if this is because women are more attracted to the way I was showcasing nature in the event or whether it was simply chance of who was walking by at the time of the event? Perhaps it was what was being shown at the Tate at the time attracting a more female crowd? These are all only speculations as I don’t have the answers to this questions, we will have to see if the results are similar on the Wednesday event to attempt to draw any type of conclusion on this matter.
Additionally, lots of participants were middle aged, this could be due to it being mid week and mid day. Other iterations of this intervention and events may look to be held at different point throughout the week to attract different crowds of participants.
Notes Taken During Tuesday Event:
Outcomes Wednesday 20th July
Today I made all participants answer the before and after questions, no matter the length of their interaction. But, I recorded the length of the interaction at the bottom of the form so this can be factored in when analysing the data. This allows for comparison of before and after connections to nature, rather than relying on people to complete this information on their own at home, which is unlikely to occur as at the end of Tuesday evening only 1 participant had completed the further questions out o the 19 I had spoken to that day.
I took notes through the day once again, from which the following observations and notes from conversations are resultant.
I also set up in a slightly different spot to hopefully reach more people walking past both around the collage and to the Tate, as my position yesterday was slightly more towards the Tate. This spot also help to give myself slightly more shade from the extreme sun as Tuesday was overwhelmingly hot.
Observations:
Observations:
Received lots of comments on how fresh the herbs were and how they looked.
Reflection: I think this is important to maintain throughout other events utilising plants/ herbs.
People really liked the idea of the event, but felt it was a little short to impact their connection to nature, as they were only passing through. They wanted to spend a longer time with the herbs.
Reflection: Maybe this greater connection could be achieved if the herb plants were enjoyed over a meal – I may suggest this at my meeting with Simon at The Marylebone Hotel to integrate physical herb plants with the enjoyment of meal, to elongate the interacting with nature.
Lots of people interested in future events and especially in adding their own herbs to meals.
Reflection: I could make a website adding a page showing events that I am running which I could send out to people. The webpage could include: my blog, what’s on/ events, online sharing group, about us, contact us. For now though, I could add an events section to my blog in the meantime.
Problem in going back to people’s answers once they had completed the ‘before herbs’ questions and then utilised the herbs on their food and I tried to return to the same form to finish the ‘after herbs’ questions but it refreshed and initial answers were lost.
Reflection: I then started to write down the initial answers to the before questions if I knew the participant was going to utilise the herbs on their food and then revisit the questions later on, so that their answers weren’t lost again.
Problem in some herb cuttings beginning to wilt in the sun for those who took them then stayed a while due to the extreme heat out today.
Reflection: This shows it might be best to utilise cuttings straight from the plant to add to food, as in a restaurant setting to also ensure maximum freshness; rather than any ideas of giving out her bubbles at the end of meal for people to take home with them.
Conservations with Participants:
Lady in Finance
Really liked the event, wants to see other events like it in the future and get involved.
Man from Gloucestershire
He spoke how he felt connected to nature due to living in the countryside. He said he would visit an event involving herbs on the table of restaurants or immersive natural experiences.
Man
Took basil home, felt reasonably connected to nature already and so he said that he wouldn’t be attracted to natural events as he already feels close to nature; but said he would enjoy the event if it happened to be in a space he was in.
Girl Londoner
Said she hasn’t been programmed to be with nature having grown up in London, but as the environmental awareness movement grows, so does her interest in nature and events like this she really likes to help do that.
2 Girls Eating at the Cafe
Very few people ate at the acfe today, but 2 girls did and took part in the event adding the herbs to their food. One added parsley and chives to her beef tacos and the other chives to her salad (see below). They said they really enjoyed the experience of picking and eating the herbs and that it was a very unique event.
Man With No Garden
Said he likes nature but doesn’t often get to spend time in it, said the event made him want to go for a walk and spend time in nature. He took home some rosemary for his potatoes later.
Basil Girl
Took home basil to utilise for her salad, really liked the idea.
Lady With All The Herbs Already
She said she felt fully connected to nature, she lives in Richmond by the park and so spends lots of time by nature, so she felt the event had little impact as she was already at one with the natural world.
3 Girls, all friends
1 felt rather unconnected and they didn’t want to take any herbs with them as they were ‘a bad cook’ and the ‘ plants would die’. However, the other two took herbs home, one basil for her pasta and the other rosemary for her dinner. They also said that the short length of the event meant there was little impact to their connection.
Lady
Took basil home and loved the idea of being able to cook with it.
Technical Man at Chelsea
He had a severe allergic reaction to a plant recently which he surprisingly said made him feel more connected to nature than ever, as it was to him like nature was fighting back. He said he also got rid of his car recently for environmental reasons and that he would be interested in attending future natural events to help grow his connection even further.
Man Lecturer at Chelsea
Really liked the event and the idea of herbs being implemented alongside certain dishes in restaurants, to give that more personal connection.
Reflection on Wednesday’s Event:
Great day today, so happy to have reached out to 40 participants over the 2 days! It was a quicker start today and got slightly slower towards the end. I really enjoyed talking to all the participants and getting their take on and experiences with nature.
Some people of course didn’t want to get involved, but out of those I directly asked I only received 3 ‘no’ s today and everyone else I asked took part. I was careful to ensure my questions were short and easy to answer which I feel was a big key to my success in gaining so many participants.
I also noticed a more balanced uptake in the event between women and men today, as well as more younger participants; suggesting yesterdays result may have bene a slight fluke.
OverallReflection on Events:
The event did very well to attract people in and get them to take the herbs home. Therefore, the vent was successful in getting people to interact and think about nature. But, it was less effective in impacting their connection to nature due to the short time spent at the event by most participants. This also meant there was limited impact upon participants hospitality experience, as most people were passers-by as the cafe wasn’t overly busy, especially on the Tuesday it was quite quiet. Most of the cafes customers were to-go coffee and snacks, so it was hard to get talking to anyone who was staying in the area longer for food and get them to add herbs into that food. The small impact on hospitality experiences however, clarified that the aim of this project is to connect people to nature, with hospitality venues being the setting rather than impacting the hospitality experience being the focus pf the project.
In trying to get people involved in the event and wanting to connect with nature I think it may be beneficial to promote the benefits of interacting with nature. This may especially help to attract those that are less connected to nature to begin with as they may be unaware of the impacts nature could have on them, something many people have discovered over the lockdowns. This promotion of benefits may be done through internet promotion or signage, which needs greater attention to be paid to it in the next iterations of this event.
I am hoping to get feedback from the 2nd google forms over the coming days as participants have had time to reflect on the event, as at present only 3 out of the 40 people involved in the event have responded via the QR code to the 2nd google forms for added feedback and reflections on taking herbs home. Hopefully people feel slightly obliged to take part after talking to me at the event as well as taking herbs and my bookmarks home with them.
The use of the QR codes on the bookmark cards was reasonably well received, I think this is especially due to the mass implementation of QR codes for ordering at hospitality venues over covid times.
Overall, I’m very proud of how the event went over the past few days having put lots of work into the set up for it and running it all myself. I felt it produced a great start for the future testing of interventions in hospitality spaces as part of my project and provided lots of insights to work on to develop stronger iterations of such events into the future.
Evaluation of Self Report Method:
The majority of people reported that they felt reasonably connected to nature, but this could be due to the feedback being self report. Therefore, participants may be answering in a way that they feel I want them to answer, or that they should answer which may result in inaccurate testimony. Or, maybe it was just that people attracted to the event are those that already have a relationship with nature, and so they already felt reasonably connected making them want to grow this connection as they enjoy this natural relationship and want it to flourish.
Talking to 2 girls that participated demonstrated the limitations of utilising this type of self report measure, as the second girl to participate tried to ‘one up’ the answers of the first participant as so to appear better by being better connected to nature.
This could potentially be rectified through anonymous feedback forms. For instance, at another event a form could be given out at the start and filled in and then redistributed before then end (if everyone was to take part at the same time). Or, if the event was to occur at the same time as a meal an anonymous feedback form could be given out with the menus and then another with the bill to ensure there isn’t pressure on the answers given. However, there is always the risk here that people may not actually complete the forms. So, there is the trade off, possibly slightly bias results from self report or possibly no results from incomplete feedback forms.
Themes Taken From Feedback of Event:
People liking nature, but being in London feeling disconnected from it. Many people very keen to grow their relationships wit nature, just don’t know how they can do so in the city. Therefore, future events should try to reach people in this space through bringing nature to spaces they already occupy eg: hospitality spaces in accessible and meaningful ways.
Short nature of just talking then taking herbs home, for the passerby meant there could be little impact on they overall connection to nature.
People were very receptive to seeing plants and herbs and wanting to get involved with them, especially in hospitality setting like this as people commented it was unique and unusual, which always grabs people’s attention.
Participants are very keen to attend future natural events and experiences that help them to connect to nature and many wanted to know how they could be updated as to when they would be.
Below outlines my plans with the Chelsea Collage of Arts for my Herb Event running next Tuesday and Wednesday, as agreed to by Dashnor the head of catering.
On Tuesday and Wednesday next week (20th and 21st July) between the hours of 11am- 4pm I will be running a Herb Event. This will involve me bringing an array of herbs to the site and setting up a stand in the middle of the outdoor cafe seating area with these herbs.
I will be present during all of this time and will ask customers if they would like to come and pick some of the herbs to add to their food or to take home with them. This will be done to measure whether this interaction with nature in the hospitality setting improves their connection to nature. Consequently, I will ask customers to complete a very short series of 4 questions utilising the academic measure of the inclusion of nature in self (Schultz, 2002: Kleespies et al., 2021) to rank their connection to nature on a scale of 1-10 initially, before providing them with the herbs. Then, before they leave I will re-ask the questions and see if their answers have changed at all, to determine if there has been a change in their connection to nature.
I will also provide customers who wish to take some of the herbs home with a card that explains different ways to utilise the herbs, as well as a link to an online survey form where they can provide added information as to whether taking this herb home and utilising it has aided their connection to nature. Throughout the event I will also talk with customers to discover more about their views of nature and how they feel their connection to nature could be best improved.
Acquiring the Herbs
I secured a basket from my neighbours who I spotted were throwing it out, which was highly convenient as it made the perfect herb carrier.
I visited 6 florists that were selling herbs, after the meeting at Chelsea on Tuesday, I tried to visit places close to the campus so there could be a shorter journey to transport the herbs. I asked if they would be able to secure a selection of herbs at wholesale cost from the flower market. I sadly discovered it has been very hard to get herbs recently as there is a shortage in Holland, but I left my phone number with them all to get in contact if they were able to secure any. However, after a few days I hadn’t heard anything back from the florists and so I took to the only other place I knew I could find potted herbs, the supermarket. So, on Thursday I went to my local supermarket and bought pretty much all of the potted herbs they had. I also got some smaller pots and compost from my local hardware store and took my new purchases home. I then repotted all of the herbs to make more smaller plants so they could grow and settle into their new pots in time for my first herb event on Tuesday. You can see the finished herb basket with my repotted herbs below.
Creating a Report Method for Measuring Connection to Nature
To record the impacts of the herb event I am going to utilise google forms. And there will be two separate google forms utilised in the event.
1st Google Forms
I will be the only one with access to this google forms, as I am going to utilise it as a quick and efficient method to record customers responses to my initial questions regarding their connection to nature, and then again once they have interacted with the herbs. I can then easily view all the inputted answers digitally, after the event and analyse whether interacting with the herbs during the event impacted their connection to nature at all.
The three questions asked in this form are related to the academic scale of the inclusion of nature in self, which was originally developed by Schultz in 2002. The inclusion of nature in self scale has 3 key components, these being:
Cognitive Component – nature as part of self?
Behavioural Component – motivation to act in the interest of nature?
Affective Component – concern for nature?
Schultz’s (2002) original inclusion of nature in self scale kept it very simple in asking 1 question which asks what diagram fits the person’s relationship with nature best (see below).
Scultz’s measure has been developed upon through an extension of the inclusion of nature in self scale by Kleespies et al. (2021). This extended scale looks to create a version of the scale for people with lowered abstraction and imagination, such as younger people or those in need of support. Additionally, there is another extended scale developed by Martin and Czellar (2016). This scale proposes a 4 item development of the inclusion of nature in self to explore spatial metaphors in relation to self assessment of connection to nature. However, Martin and Czellar’s (2016) scale although may provide a greater validity of results, it is rather complicated and so I think this may put off the general public responding accurately in my event.
Subsequently, due to my unknown customer range at the Herb Event, as it is at a cafe open to the public, I am going to employ the extended inclusion of nature in self scale developed by Kleespies et al. (2021) (see below). This is because the scale includes younger people as well as those that may require assistance in imagination or abstraction, while still catering for the original target audience of the inclusion of nature in self scale. This is an academically rigorous scale which is still simple enough for the public too quickly and accurately respond too.
To create added depth in my feedback, I will also ask three questions before and after interacting with the herbs, each addressing one of the three components outlined in the inclusion of nature in self; to assess the customers connection to nature.
Questions to be asked before and after interaction with herb event (1st google forms):
Which picture best describes you relationship with the natural environment? How interconnected are you with nature?
How do you rate your current connection to nature? On a scale 1-10 (1 being little connection)
How do you rate the strength of your motivations to act in the interest of nature? On a scale 1-10 (1 being little motivation)
How concerned are you for nature? On a scale 1-10 (1 being little concern)
link to 1st google forms: https://forms.gle/bkRc8U7kJDf8PZgs5
2nd Google Forms
The QR code which links to this forms is included in the cards I will be giving out at the event alongside the herbs. The first 3 questions are aimed at people who take herbs home with them from the event and aim to address the inclusion of nature in self scale by again targeting the 3 components. This google forms can also be completed by people during the event if they are willing to provided added details in their feedback and reflections on their personal connection to nature, as the later questions are more general about the event and their relationship with nature.
The questions include (2nd google forms):
(If herbs were taken home) How has the continuation of the event through taking the herbs into your daily lives, influenced you connection to nature? eg: are you inspired to grow your own herbs or plants or spend more time in spaces incorporating nature? Please also give your connection to nature a rating out of 1-10 (1 being little connection).
(If herbs were taken home) How has interacting with the herbs in your daily life impacted your concern for nature? Please also give your concern for nature a rating out of 1-10 (1 being little concern).
(If herbs were taken home) How has utilising the herbs at home effected your motivations to act in the interest of nature? Please also give your motivations a rating out of 1-10 (1 being little motivation).
How has interacting with the herbs during the herb event impacted you connection to nature?
Was it the physical presence of the herbs at the event that you enjoyed or specifically your interaction with them? and why?
Would you be attracted to visit a hospitality space if they were hosting events to incorporate nature and why?
What would you like to see from hospitality spaces to bring you closer to nature whilst visiting them?
Do you feel hospitality spaces make a conscious effort to bring nature to their customers? what examples do you like or dislike of this?
What attracts you to nature or spaces including nature and why? eg: planting for their health benefits, or natural colours as they are exhilarating
Which senses are most important to you to emulate an experience with nature, eg: smells, sounds, visuals, touch or tastes? Please give examples
Are you keen to strengthen your relationship to nature? and why?
How do you attempt to connect with nature in your daily life?
link to 2nd google forms: https://forms.gle/9tBK7NudHZtTWm3V6
Hand Out Cards
I have designed and then found a printer to create physical copies of these cards to compliment the Herb Event (see below). The cards are designed to accompany taking some of there herbs home whether this be a small plant or a bunch of picked herbs. The cards feature some tips of how to utilise the herbs as well as the QR code to the 2nd google forms.
I am aware that once customers take the cards and herbs home they are possibly less likely to complete the google forms, as there will be no physical presence asking them to do so. However, I hope after interacting with them at the event and also in giving them something for nothing, in letting them take herbs home, that they will provide some useful feedback.
Once the event is completed I will review all feedback gained and look as to how I can build from this in future iterations of the intervention.
Bibliography
Kleespies, M.W., Braun, T., Dierkes, P.W. and Wenzel, V., 2021. “Measuring connection to nature—a illustrated extension of the inclusion of nature in self scale.” Sustainability, 13(4), p.1761.
Martin, C. and Czellar, S. (2016) “The extended inclusion of nature in self scale.” Journal of Environmental Psychology, 47, pp.181-194.
Schultz, P.W., (2002). “Inclusion with nature: The psychology of human-nature relations.” In Psychology of sustainable development (pp. 61-78). Springer, Boston, MA.
Looking to develop a way to utilise personal technology or technology that venues already host to connect people to nature in a meaningful way.
Interventions in other hospitality venues – such as possibly the Marylebone Hotel, finding ways to connect people to nature that fits the ethos of the space but creates meaningful interacts and connection with nature.
Panel Discussions
Panel discussions, such as that which I hosted in June will be utilised to review the progress and findings of my interventions with experts. The discussion will also host a live audience where possible and will allow for meaningful discussion as to how to progress the interventions past the points of predictable and to fully meet the needs of the stakeholders in bringing nature into their lives. I am still in contact with the original members of the panel discussion and so I will ask if they are available to take part again. However, I will also reach out to new biophilic and hospitality experts to see if they wish to take part and add a new angle to the discussion.
Future Work with Chelsea Collage of Arts
The below email outlines my future ideas for interventions to work with the Chelsea Collage of Arts, all of which have now been agreed to by Dashnor (the head of catering). The first being the Herb Event running next week, followed by an intervention in the cafe area around the end of august and then a technobiophilic intervention in the canteen area in September once it is re-opened.
Online Sharing Group
I am looking to develop an online sharing group, where customers can share images of application of nature that they like or dislike accompanied with a short comment as to why they have this opinion. The group will be hosted on Facebook so that people can post their own images into it, but the best posts and ideas of what to post will be curated on Nature.In’s instagram page. I am looking to develop this group over the next week or so, so it can begin gaining traction and the ideas posted can be implemented into my interventions in hospitality spaces.
Interventions in Other Venues
I have a meeting with the head chef at the Marylebone Hotel on Thursday about possibly running some interventions in their space. This could be very exciting an interesting as it offers a more formal hospitality space to test my concepts in rather than then informal nature of the cafe and canteen space at Chelsea. If he is unable to assist in running an intervention at The Marylebone, I will also ask if he has any other contacts that may be interested in working on an intervention with me. So, hopefully further intervention possibilities may result from this meeting.
However, I am continuing in my outreach to hostility venues, pop-ups and events spaces to see if they would be interested in running interventions.
Reflection:
This is my overview plan for the coming months, as my works stands, however it is very susceptible to change as new opportunities arise. I am also still looking to create new interventions that feed off my pervious interventions to create more impactful iterations of them. I’m excited to have the wheels well and truly in motion for my project and I can’t wait to see how far I can take this work.
Quite honesty prior to this past week, work on my project to secure a site to test my interventions in had been rather slow and demoralising for me. It had involved day after day of phone calls and emails trying all manner of ideas I had to try and contact venues in which I could possibly run an intervention, no matter how small it may be. However, all my ideas were coming up dry and after all there is only so much positivity and pushing through the pain you can give a matter before the wall of unread emails and negative replies start to make you question whether you are actually going to be able to succeed in this aspect of the venture. And as much as I don’t want to admit it, I was starting to fall into that downtrodden trap of losing faith in securing a public hospitality venue to test my interventions in.
So, I took a step back and tried to remind my self why I was wanting to do this project in the first place. I took a day to revisit the nature I so keenly want to bring into peoples lives. Consequently, I went to explore new natural spaces and parks through going for walks and taking in the atmosphere of being surrounded by nature. Sometimes a refresher in your goals and motivators with a little step back really is all you need to keep going.
And so the quest continued email after email call after call; even just popping my head into a restaurant or pubs whilst I was walking by asking if they would be interested. But, I was still consistently getting turned away.
However, a few days ago I really had a breakthrough moment. I got a positive reply. The head of catering at the Chelsea Collage of Arts responded to my email and was really interested in my work and wanted to meet with me to discuss the different forms my work could take in their spaces. And there it was I was off, I grabbed the meeting with both hands and prepared mock- ups of what interventions would look like in their main canteen space, I thought of other smaller interventions they may wish to implement, I poured everything into preparing. The meeting went very well and I ended up being able to secure the possibility for multiple interventions in their spaces; which was better than I could have hoped. Subsequently, this was a big breakthrough or me finally being able to get my foot through the door somewhere.
As they say no one will let you build a building until you have built one, so once you get that first opportunity, you can leverage it to gain many more. Therefore, this is exactly what I began to do and contacted a family friend who I knew had a contact with the head chef at the Marylebone Hotel. After talking with her about the up and coming event I was running at the Chelsea Collage of Arts, I was able to get her to pass on my details to the head chef who has consequently agreed to have a meeting with me about any possible ideas and interventions I may be able to host there which is extremely exciting.
So, not to get to ahead of myself, but after a bit of a shaky patch where there wasn’t much to show for the work I had been putting in, finally the results are starting to slowly slot into place. I am very excited to see where these next steps can take my project and push it past its current realms.
After my many emails and calls sent out over the past few weeks, I finally gained a positive and keen response last Friday!! The response was from the head of catering at the Chelsea Collage of Arts, who was very interested in my intervention proposals and wanted to meet at the Chelsea canteen sight.
So, a meeting was set for Tuesday 13th July. I was a mix of excited and admittedly slightly nervous, as this is the first real opportunity I have had where someone was very keen for me to test my proposed ideas and so I really wanted the meeting to go well. I spent the weekend prepping as much as possible. I developed mock ups of the canteen space to demonstrate what could be added where in preliminary interventions; ensuring no irreversible changes would be made to the space and keeping it relatively simple to avoid any severe interference with their day to day practises. The mock up of my initial intervention ideas for the space can be viewed below. I also developed a selection of natural themes that could be applied to the space dependent on their food offering, as I researched the canteen space and discovered that they have done themed food events in the past. Therefore, I thought I could potentially coincide these food events with an intervention to create a natural environment utilising technology that plays off the food. The list of these ideas can also be seen below.
During the pitch to the catering manager of Chelsea I spoke through the changes I wish to make for both the hospitality venues themselves and their customers through creating biophilic environments, which I have summarised below. I also addressed why I wish to test whether technology could aid connection to nature through utilising technobiophilia principles, alongside the importance of targeting the senses through scent and sound to create immersive natural environments that connect people to nature; and evoke the wellbeing benefits of interacting with nature.
Interventions in theCanteen Space
To my delight the pitch went very well. Dashnor, the catering manager was very interested in my proposed ideas to bring nature into their spaces and gave me the go ahead to conduct interventions in the Chelsea hospitality spaces. However, at present the canteen area is shut due to not enough students being on campus to sustain it and so only the cafe and courtyard area are currently open. Therefore, I agreed with Dashnor to move ahead with the technobiophilic intervention in the canteen area in September when more students are back on site and it is expected that the canteen area can reopen. Below I have included more pictures of the canteen space that I took on my visit. You can notice there is already small efforts made to bring nature into the space with their use of plants and natural materials such as wood, but there is plenty more that can be built off of this.
Interventions in the Cafe/ Courtyard Space
In the meantime, I have been granted access to test idea sin the cafe space as well as the large courtyard area that the cafe hosts tables in. This courtyard area is also opposite Tate Britain and the public are welcome to utilise the cafe facilities, making it a prime venue to target customers in.
Dashnor was very keen on my ideas of targeting the senses and also testing physical applications of nature that people could interact with. Consequently, I have developed the idea of a Herb Event that I am going to be hosting at the Chelsea cafe’s and courtyard area on Tuesday and Wednesday next week (20th and 21st July). The event will involve bringing a selection of herbs to the courtyard area which customers are able to come up and cut to add to their food, as the cafe offers a range of foods that change every few days including curry through to salads and sandwiches.
I will be present at the duration of the events to interact with the customers and to ask them about their relationships with nature, involving starting a conversation about how interacting with the herbs has impacted them, or not. I will ask customers a series of 3 short questions assessing their connection to nature before providing them with the herbs; I will then re-ask the questions before they leave to measure if there has been any change in their connection to nature. I will also provide customers with a QR code on cards I am having made to promote the event, which customers can scan to answer extra questions around their connection to nature and the impacts of the event; so that I can gain added feedback from the willing customers.
Additionally, there will be an opportunity for people to take some smaller herb plants home with them from the event or some picked herbs. This is to assess if taking the herbs into their daily lives impacts their connection to nature more greatly than just interacting with them during the event. Customers who take the herbs home will also be provided with a card featuring tips of how to utilise the herbs with certain foods, and will also feature the QR code to a google forms of additional questions reflecting on their experience in taking the herbs home.
Feedback from customers throughout the events will also be recorded to gain an understand of what customers are looking for to improve their connection to nature in these spaces and whether an offering like this would attract them to visit a hospitality space. This intervention will also help to establish the value of physical interactions with nature, which can be later compared to that of interactions to nature through technology. Pictures of the cafe site and courtyard are included below. Greater details on preparing for this intervention will be included in a later blog post.
Reflection:
I am so happy to have finally secured a venue in which I can being some physical testing of my concepts through interventions, especially that I can get stuck into testing so quickly as next week! It has been a long journey, but the struggle of continuing on in this line of enquiry to conduct testing in public hospitality venues has eventually been worthwhile. Although, I will still continue my pursuit of securing other differing hospitality venues to run interventions in, on the back burner, to ensure my project has the greatest outreach possible.
I was due to visit Tate Britain to primarily see the Heather Philipson Rupture No1 exhibit on the 2nd July. However, due to some unforeseen circumstances I was unable to visit on that date. Subsequently, I instead visited the exhibition last Friday (9th July) and found the experience both intriguing and inspiring.
Heather Philipson – Rupture No1
Experiencing Philipson’s work was incredibly insightful as to how immersive events can be run. I will now unpack which aspects of the exhibit resonated with me the most and how they made be reflect upon how my own interventions may be run.
Reflection:
I found the use of the speakers becoming part of the exhibit itself rather than hiding them in a corner very intelligent; and something I may look to do when utilising a number of speakers in one space. I also loved the striking use of colour in the exhibit which made me consider the angle of changing the colour of light bulbs in spaces to create a more immersive experience, rather than simply projecting natural images onto the available wall space. The combination of static elements alongside sounds, colours and projections made me consider that I should certainty try to encompass static elements into my technology intervention such as plants or design features, where possible. All of these elements were really working in unison to create the experience and so I will look to developing a similar feeling in my work, not simply through utilising either technology with visuals sound and smells or physical deign features, I will also ensure to try and test both together.
Philipson also utilises projection onto walls and canvases as I am envisaging to do so in my intervention to utilise technology to create an immersive natural experience. The final two images display these moving projections utilised in the exhibit. It was interesting to see physically how it worked in the space, but also how people interacted with it. I observed individuals stood watching the changing projecting for a few moments rather than simply walking through some of the more static elements of the exhibit. This showed promise of the success of projecting moving natural images into hospitality spaces, as hopefully it will engage customers as the projections in Philipson’s exhibit were doing.
Djanogly Cafe
Whilst at the Tate, I explored their hospitality offering in their cafe. The cafe offers a reasonably large space that was basically empty on my visit. Therefore, there is scope to attract people from the exhibits and into this space by connecting them to nature. Especially considering the equipment being utilised in Philipson’s Rapture No1, there could possibly be an opportunity to utilise some similar technology that the Tate already has, in the cafe spaces, to create an immersive natural experience around their food and drink offering.
I enquired with the staff working about the possibility of running an intervention in the space for my project, but they informed me that the relevant staff member to talk to wasn’t there and they didn’t have their contact details to give out. So, I have since rang and emailed to enquired about interventions in this space and I am still awaiting a response.
Cooking Sections Salmon: A Red Herring
Additionally, whilst at the Tate, I stumbled upon the Cooking Sections Salmon: A Red Herring exhibit. This showcases the impact of human actions upon different animals, for instance people demanding the perfect pink shade in their salmon. This exhibit very cleverly utilised a completely white scene and projected differing lights onto the relevant sections as the narration went on.
Reflection:
I thought the idea of a blank canvas and utilising light to bring it to life and change it could be very useful in my own project. For example, in situations where it may not be suitable to bring in new apparatus of differing colours to a space, I could utilise lights differently to change the emotions and feeling of the space through colour by light.
Reflection:
Overall, my trip to the Tate was very worthwhile in providing inspiration as to the execution of my interventions. The visit excited me to get underway with my testing of such ideas, seeking to see if technology can be utilised to connect people with nature.
At present, the largest challenge facing my project is in securing venues in which I can test the ideas I have developed so far in my project, through my work with biophilic and biomimetic experts, hospitality professionals and customers. Throughout my project I have worked with hospitality professionals to gather knowledge and develop ideas and these individuals have been very helpful in answering questions I have and adding to the development of more beneficial concepts. However, none of these contacts that I have made in the hospitality industry have been able to provide a space in which I can test my ideas as of yet.
Therefore, I have continually spent time contacting other hospitality businesses that serve food and drink in the hope I may find a space that is interested in my work and happy to allow me to test my ideas, in whatever scale they will allow. This endeavour took a back seat over the last week due to my illness, but its is a venture I am looking to put at the forefront of my work over the next week, as it is my most pressing obstacle to overcome.
I had a beneficial chance encounter at a pop-up restaurant the other week, called JOY in Notting Hill, which is focused upon sustainability and incorporates vast natural planting in their outdoor terrace. Whilst at the restaurant I met the manager of the pop-up and briefly presented him with my ideas for my project. The manager was very interested in my project and gave me his contact details, which was very promising and exciting as they are moving pop-up sites in July and so this may provide a brilliant opportunity to test ideas in a fresh site for them. I have since emailed the manager and had no further response, but I will attempt to contact him again once we get into July and I see they have moved to their new site.
Other Ways Of Testing
As a result of the issues I am facing in gaining a testing venue, I have begun to try and think of other ways to test my ideas.
Dinner Party:
Initially I have considered testing on a smaller scale in the form of a dinner party. The dinner party would involve presenting a certain cuisine such as seafood to lets say 6 people and projecting visuals of ocean seascapes along with accompanying sounds and candles of seaside smells. Then I would test how the individuals connection in nature changed from the survey at the start, during and end of the meal. The measure of connection may be conducted using simple self report questions, possibly utilising emoticons to demonstrate emotional states, as this is an easier way for participants to record their connection rate then the complex and lengthy connection to nature academic measures, such as the Inclusion fo Nature in Self. There is also academic rigour in simple emoticon self report measures, such as those utilised in airports which I discovered from Kristina Libby’s input in my panel discussion. Additionally, I further researched the validity of this measure through the works of Lassen et al. (2020) to discover its success.
However, testing in the setting of a dinner party like this isn’t very conducive to a real world experience. The participants would most likely be fiends of mine which would limit their objectivity on the project, as well as there being a very small sample size possible in a dinner party setting if I were to host it in my flat. Therefore, testing in a dinner party setting like this is as a last resort at present.
Restaurants and Cafes of Museums and Art Spaces:
In attempting to explain how I would display the visuals and create an immersive experience through my idea of incorporating biophilic design with technology; I found myself referring back to the recent surge in immersive art exhibits that I have seen popping up around London as examples of a similar experience that I wish to create in a hospitality setting. So, when I utilised the same method of explanation when talking to Richard recently, accompanied with my ongoing struggle of gaining a testing venue. Richard pointed out that if these art spaces already host similar technology to that I wish to utilise in my project and most art spaces have some kind of hospitality space which serves food and drink; why don’t I attempt to test my ideas in these spaces?
For me this was a big breakthrough moment and simply an angle I had completely overlooked. Consequently, my next task is to uncover suitable spaces hosting such immersive art exhibitions and that have hospitality facilities; and to them approach them to ask if it would be possible to test my ideas with them. I am in the process of curating a list of venues that fit these criteria, which I will explore in greater depth in my blog over the coming days. My plan is to not only email and call these venues, but to actually visits some of the immersive experiences myself over the coming days to hopefully be able to meet the people running the venue and form a personal bond with them. I also wish to gain inspiration from these immersive experiences for my project and to push to boundaries of what may be possible in the realm of technobiophilia.
Reflection:
Art spaces may prove very beneficial in testing the technology side of my concepts, but I am still keen to consider the more physical ideas I have around biophilic design and how they can be utilised to create dynamic spaces. Therefore, I will continue my quest in contacting hospitality venues to test in, as well as the art spaces which also host hospitality settings.
Bibliography
Lassen, N., Goia, F., Schiavon, S. and Pantelic, J., (2020) “Field investigations of a smiley-face polling station for recording occupant satisfaction with indoor climate.” Building and Environment, 185, p.107266.
Today at 1pm I held my first panel discussion intervention with 4 key stakeholders. The speakers at the discussion ranged from all across the world and provided great insights into their experiences of utilising biophilic design principles alongside how they feel biophilia and biomimetics could be applied in hospitality businesses. A live audience was invited to view and take part in the discussion, as I posted the link in 7 different hospitality groups that I am a part of across Facebook and LinkedIn. However, unfortunately there were no live viewers to the discussion. Although, comments to the upload on YouTube are open and I have welcomed people to comment if they view the recording over the coming days and I can pass their questions onto the experts.
The Speakers Included:
Williem van Bolderen – Based in Finland, Founding partner of Studio Puisto architecture firm which focuses upon hospitality.
Leonardo Binetti – Based in Italy, associate lecturer at Edinburgh Napier university teaching in biomimetic materials.
Rajalakshmi Iyer – Based in Singapore, founder of Deeproots design and living products – specialising in exterior and interior landscaping as well as biophilic products.
Kristina Libby – Based in America, worked on biophilic projects including designing mindful offices which are dynamic and more recently developing a covid memorial project which utilises flower to develop organic, sacred spaces for people.
Please follow the link below to view the full recording of the panel discussion:
Note: consent was gained from all parties to record and post this video onto the YouTube page I have developed as a part of Nature. In.
Key Takeaways From The Discussion
Looking at the micro level of spaces rather than the macro which is studied by the majority of designers due to the macro level having greater impact
It was discussed that small applications of nature such as green artworks or centre pieces, even sustainable cutlery are certainly better than nothing, but the impact they can have on an individuals wellbeing is vastly reduced than if design is implemented at macro level
The examination of dynamic spaces
Developing Biophilic spaces that evolve around you, just as nature grows and changes around you.
For example, removing or adding plants or soft furnishings in a spaces periodically or to fit with the changing of the seasons (obviously changes with the seasons does require a more longitudinal study than can be achieved in the scale of this masters).
This idea feeds into another topic we touched on of creating spaces that are in a constant state of evolution.
The importance of sound, scent and movement
Raji shared how she has utilised the movement of air through spaces at certain times such as 7am to start the day and 4pm to signal it was time for a break. This was achieved by a steady breeze filling the space from the air vents at these times (which I found ingenious).
The use of bird sound and biomimetic lighting were also discussed to be utilised in this manner of marking out times in the day.
Creating spaces that evoke and create memories
If we can evoke emotions from spaces it helps people to engage more deeply with them. In order to do this most effectively you have to have a strong understanding of who will be utilising the spaces and what for.
We also discussed how hospitality spaces in particular are utilised to inspire and educate people. So, if these spaces promote sustainable behaviours and utilise biophilic principles, if people are inspired, they may even take such ideas home into their everyday lives.
Utilising technology to replicate the emotions of plants
How technology can be utilised to replicate states of nature through projections alongside scents and sounds in spaces was discussed. This allows us to embrace technology rather than fully reject it in the quest to achieve biophilic design.
Biomimicry in air ventilation
Leonardo raised the point of materials utilised in windows which mimic pinecones. Therefore, the material opens in the presence of certain gases in the air, just as pine cones do!
Measuring a connection to nature
Kristina spoke on the efficacy of the smiley face survey technique which has been applied in numerous settings, specifically in airports and how they have actually been found to produce very rich data. So, I may look into utilising such a system to gather customers data on biophilic designs, as self reporting survey techniques are very hard to get consumers to accurately complete after they have just had a hospitality experience.
Williem spoke on how I could create 2 or more models or even utilise one space without any biophilic designs and then add biophilia to the space and compare how people interact in the differing spaces; for instance where they sit first. I could observe via video how people interact with the space, as lots of our interactions and choices in nature are subconsious and so asking people to report on them may result in less rich data.
Reflections
Although the panel resulted in being predominately focused upon biophilic and biomimetic designers, rather than the equal balance of hospitality professionals and biophilic experts I initially desired to engage in the panel; I felt the discussion provided real insight into how valuable changes can be made in hospitality spaces to re-connect people with nature.
I think initially in creating this panel discussion I felt that hospitality workers and biophilic experts needed to be brought together to cohesively bridge the gap between the designs and what will be most beneficial to the specific businesses. However, I realise now that simply getting everyone together in one big discussion was almost the easier route out. After this experience I feel that it may be a more effective approach to discuss with each stakeholder group (the experts and the hospitality businesses) separately as they are quite different groups and they respond better to tailored approaches. Then I can collate the information from these discussion to take the feedback of the hospitality businesses and combine this with the feedback from the experts.
Therefore, I now need to engage further with hospitality workers, in ways in which will accommodate them and this largely meaning not being at fixed times, due to my experience trying to confirm hospitality workers for this panel discussion (see previous post). Although, I am still working on the details of precisely how I will target the hospitality businesses.
Next Steps
Looking to the future I now plan on utilising some of the ideas discussed in the panel to explore further and begin developing a series of very rough idea mock ups. I can then present these idea mock ups to hospitality businesses and ask if something along these Iines would work for them and how they may wish to adapt it to better suit their needs.
Specifially, I was really interested in the ideas of dynamic spaces that change or evolve as the customer returns to them. Therefore, keeping customers interested and engaged with the spaces but also strongly mimicking the organic sense of nature as it shapes around you. Subsequently, I am going to investigate this further through the coming weeks. Additionally, I was intrigued by the idea of embracing technology to develop biophilic experiences in spaces, rather than assuming it detracts from the natural and rejecting it. For instance, utilising projector screens in replacement for artwork, as well as soundscapes and smells to replicate the experience of being in the natural environment that is being shown. Thus, again I plan on looking into this further.
In terms of iterating this intervention, I may host another panel discussion once I have collaborated with hospitality businesses and conducted further secondary research to establish greater depth in my ideas which could then be discussed. In doing another panel discussion, I would certainly utilise images as prompts again as I felt that worked really well, but I would make my prompt questions more concise. I would also place greater emphasis on trying to engage a live audience which the panellists could answer questions from. I plan on doing that by confirming with individuals before hand that they would attend as audience members, rather than leaving it up to people interacting with my posting to view the panel.
Furthermore, I now plan on developing my intervention of an online sharing group where people can post pictures of applications of nature or natural features alongside a short comment stating why they like or dislike this. This will help to engage the my stakeholder group of hospitality customers which I am yet to deeply engage with.
Over the course of this past week, I have been busy organising my online panel discussion.
The panel aims to bring hospitality businesses together with biophilic and biomimetic experts to establish the most effective, innovative and manageable applications of nature that could be introduced into hospitality spaces to re-connect people with nature. My project is looking to develop small scale applications of nature that can make an effective and impactful difference in the hospitality spaces, but that do not require full scale schemes and refurbishments of businesses; due to the time and monetary pressures large scale applications pose.
Consequently, the key question for discussion in the panel is: How can nature be applied in hospitality businesses that serve food and drink to re-connect people with the natural world?
There will be a series of prompts, which will guide the discussion but the discussion will be predominately free forming.
Guideline of the prompts:
What aspect of nature do you think may be most impactful in hospitality businesses eg: light, sound, colour, planting? And how might effective introductions of these aspects look?
How may biophilic or biomimetic deigns be utilised to create impactful, smaller scale applications into hospitality businesses that serve food and drink?
What aspects of the hospitality businesses that serve food and drink may benefit most from applications of nature? Eg: seating/ furniture
How do you think these applications nature could be utilised to measure a connecting to nature, are measures such as the Nature Relatedness Scale, Inclusion of Nature with Self, and Emotional Affinity to Nature enough?
At present the confirmed speakers are as follows, with a few speakers in the hospitality industry still to finalise:
Kristina Libby – Biophilic Design
Leonardo Binetti – Biomimetic Design
Rajalakshmi Iyer – Biophilic Design
Simon Gardner – Hospitality Business General Manager
The panel is to take place on the 4th June 2021 at 1pm 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. The panel discussion will also be recorded and later uploaded to Nature. In Youtube channel so that it can be reattached at later stages.
I am still in the process to quirking extra representatives of the hospitality industry to take part in the discussion.
Design a Healthy Home
Additionally, over the past week I have started reading ‘Design a Healthy Home’ by Oliver Heath. This book is incredibly insightful into different aspects of applications of biophilic design that can be utilised in the home. So far I have been reading about the use of colour in Biophilic design and how colour can be utilised to replicate different moods and emotions conveyed in nature. Some of they key points and favourite pages are shown below, but I will continue to read through the chapters of this book and make detailed note some the coming weeks.
Heath, O. (2021) Design a Healthy Home, Penguin Random House, London.
