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We spoke to Lynn Lindley, Associate Principal and Senior Interior Designer at Arcadis, and Kate Bond, a freelance artist specialising in healthcare and wellbeing design since 2018 (katebond.co.uk), about biophilic design: the practice of strengthening people's connection with nature through the design of the built environment.
Biophilic design
Biophilic design is rooted in our relationship with the natural world. As Bond explains, “Biophilia is about the innate connection between people and nature. It's our inherent need to be connected to the natural world and to feel part of it."
Why it matters in mental healthcare
According to Lindley, the principle itself is nothing new. Exposure to sunlight, fresh air and access to gardens were a feature of Victorian-era sanatoriums and mental health institutions long before the term biophilic design existed. What has changed is a renewed understanding of why that connection matters, and a more deliberate effort to integrate it into healthcare environments from the outset rather than treating it as an afterthought.
Designing with, not for
For both Lindley and Bond, meaningful engagement with the people who will use a space is fundamental to good design. That process begins long before artwork or interior finishes are considered.
"It isn't about individual materials," Lindley said. "It's how those items work together."
Colour, light, texture and artwork are considered together, with each element contributing to a cohesive environment rather than existing in isolation.
Bond's work follows the same philosophy. Instead of filling every surface, she carefully considers what a space needs, and equally importantly, what it doesn't.
“I don't want my work to compete with everything else in the space. I want it to feel like it belongs as part of the overall interior, sitting comfortably within the environment rather than demanding attention. I always try to put myself in the position of someone who isn't well and ask: how would this space make me feel? What would I need from it, and what could I do without?"
Silverwood in practice
These principles can be seen at Silverwood, an NHS adult mental health inpatient facility in Surrey operated by Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. Arcadis led the interior design, while Bond designed the artwork throughout the entrance, circulation routes and ward lounges, drawing inspiration from the surrounding landscape. Before any artwork was developed, three years of engagement with patients, staff and lived-experience groups helped shape the building's wider design. Watch the full conversation with Lynn Lindley and Kate Bond.
Support your next healthcare project
From early design support through to manufacture, Trovex works alongside NHS trusts, specifiers, and contractors to deliver coordinated healthcare interiors from a single, accountable source. With hygienic wall cladding, fire-rated doorsets, healthcare IPS, washroom systems, vertical bed head trunking and more all manufactured to a consistent standard, Trovex helps simplify specification - delivering a durable, compliant environment finished in one hygienic system, one hygienic finish.
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