Incorporating Green in Design

The most common colour in the natural world is green. Though the planet appears blue from outer space, the major part of land is covered in vegetation and hence green is noticeably a dominating colour. Green represents spring and is the colour of money, signifying both rejuvenation and financial success. As per colour psychology, green introduces the harmonious world of nature into your home by embodying the best of nature’s bounty. The colour brings forth images of fields, lush forests and tender shoots. These images give impression of growth, renewal and wellbeing. Tranquillity is another word associated with the colour green when used in conjunction with nature. Hence green can restore one’s energy and even reduce stress, making one feel safe in one’s sanctuary. Nowadays greenery is always considered in any design because activities such as deforestation has made us sensitive towards clearing away trees for development. We have also started using plants indoors for various purposes other than just aesthetics. Nature is good for us. There’s plenty of evidence that exposure to nature is good for people’s health, their well-being and happiness. Less is known about why this is so. Simply put, nature is good for us because we are part of nature. We as a species, evolved to make sense of the natural world and hence have developed a natural connection with nature and its elements. We have been embedded into the natural world right from the beginning and often this fact can be forgotten and overlooked. In the past we humans used to spend all of our time surrounded by nature as opposed to the built world we spend so much time in today. Interestingly enough our concept of aesthetics is also greatly influenced by nature in so many of our works that we produce daily. Our inspirations while creating something also greatly influenced by nature. All these facts points to the conclusion that we have always co-existed and strived to create a balance between the ‘green’ in our space until greed took over and profits prioritized. We now live in a human-made world.

If we analyse our daily lives, we would discover that we have been mentally disconnected from nature because we’re embedded into a new way of living. This has caused a great deal of concern over the health of human beings as we are being carried away by advancement of technology. People are beginning to realize that we need to bring back the connection that we had with nature. We are agreeing that exposure to nature helps bring about the wider health benefits to humans. This is one reason why we start incorporating greenery with the built environment. The other reason is that plants definitely improve the environment of a space since that is what they’ve been doing ever since the beginning. One gets fresher air for free when the facility is surrounded with green. This is achieved by considering the landscaping in a design. Landscapes play a vital role in connecting the spaces with the nature around. Extension of landscape into the interiors make the structure porous with ‘greenscapes’ acting like the necessary catalysts to achieve the supreme connection with the nature and external environment. There are certain points to consider having the green space which is full of life the whole year round. Making a garden multi-seasonal will allow one to take full advantage of the landscaping. Using plants that bloom for different seasons makes the garden look at its best. Trees which turn red in the winter or evergreen bushes are excellent choices for the colder months. Local plants are to be used when landscaping. These are easier to tend to since they are already acclimatised to the climate. This keeps the maintenance low and avoids unnecessary trouble when plants don’t thrive. This way the aesthetics is maintained and appears the way it was intended to. Green can create a calm haven in one’s lounge, add a sense of prosperity in one’s home office, lend a nurturing vibe in one’s kitchen and revitalize the person in bedroom.