When we think about what helps students learn, we often focus on curriculum, teaching methods and technology. But learning does not happen independently of place. The physical environment is part of the learning experience and the spaces students occupy can either support their capacity to learn or compete for it.
Learning requires finite cognitive resources. When students must work harder to see, hear, move comfortably or adjust to environmental conditions, some of those resources are directed toward navigating the space rather than engaging with learning. In Performance Design Standards: An Essential Ingredient for Student Success, Lennie Scott-Webber, Dave Broz and David Reid argue that the physical learning environment should be considered as part of cognitive load. They identify five human factors that support learning: the ability to see clearly, hear easily, experience ergonomic and thermal comfort, breathe healthy indoor air and feel a sense of belonging with both others and nature.
That last point opens an important conversation about biophilic design.
Nature as Part of the Learning Environment
Connection to nature is often treated as an enhancement to a space, something added after the fundamental design decisions have been made. But what if we considered that connection as part of how the environment performs for the learner?
Scott-Webber, Broz and Reid define the physical learning environment broadly, encompassing texture, color, shape, sound, lighting, spatial arrangement, thermal conditions, natural spaces and the many sensory stimuli students encounter. The “whole envelope” concept considers floors, walls, ceilings, furnishings and other elements as contributors to the experience of a space.
Biophilic design can be used as a strategy within a larger human-centered approach to creating successful learning environments and a way to intentionally address the experience for all students. It is an approach that connects neuroinclusive design– helping people perceive and process sensory environments– with performance design that recognizes how sensory environments affect cognitive load and learning. The opportunity, then, is to think beyond simply adding plants, but to also include design elements that can contribute to learning outcomes.
In Ask Dr. Lennie, Scott-Webber points to warm textures, natural finishes and curved, organic forms as ways of strengthening our connection with nature through the built environment. Organic forms can mirror shapes found in nature, while thoughtful material and finish choices can help create environments that feel more natural and approachable. Nature-inspired color, pattern, texture, materiality and organic forms can potentially become part of the larger sensory experience of a learning space, supporting biophilic tenants to enhance comfort and support focus. Ask Dr. Lennie
From Aesthetic to Outcome
The more compelling question isn’t simply whether biophilic design makes a school more beautiful. Can it help create better conditions for students to learn?
There is emerging evidence worth considering. In Ask Dr. Lennie, Scott-Webber cites the 2019 study The Impact of Biophilic Learning Spaces on Student Success by Determan et al. The study examined a biophilic-supported middle-school learning environment and reported significantly greater gains in math performance following the design intervention. The findings should not be generalized to suggest that every biophilic space will produce the same academic results, but they provide an important reason to continue exploring the relationship between nature, space and learning.
Perhaps that is the shift educational design needs: from aesthetic to outcome.
If the physical environment can influence the demands placed on a learner, then every element of that environment deserves consideration. Floors and other surfaces can contribute through material, texture, pattern and nature-inspired visual cues, alongside lighting, acoustics, furniture and access to nature.
The question becomes not simply, How do we bring nature into a school?
It becomes: How can we design the whole learning environment to help students feel comfortable, connected and ready to learn?
When viewed through that lens, biophilic design becomes more than an aesthetic choice. It becomes part of a larger commitment to designing spaces around the people who use them and creating learning environments intentionally designed to help every student perform at their best.
Designing for Different Ways of Experiencing Space
Students don’t all experience a learning environment in the same way. Light, sound, texture, movement, spatial arrangement and other sensory inputs can place different demands on different learners. Scott-Webber and her co-authors argue that these physical characteristics are part of the cognitive-load equation, reinforcing the importance of designing the entire learning environment around human performance.
This perspective also creates an important connection to neuroinclusive design. Designing for neurodiversity recognizes that learners may process sensory information differently and benefit from environments that offer greater comfort, choice and opportunities to regulate their experience. Biophilic design can complement that approach by incorporating connection to nature through natural materials, textures, organic forms and other nature-inspired elements.
Rather than thinking of biophilic and neuroinclusive design as separate strategies, designers can consider how both contribute to a larger goal: creating learning environments that respond to the diversity of the people who experience them.