Biophilia – Inspiration for bringing the outside in
Elements of biophilic design within a workspace or retail environment are for so much more than the aesthetic, as research demonstrates the importance of including examples of nature in the design of communal spaces. Using lightboxes to provide natural light and walls covered with living greenery can relieve stress, enhance creativity and improve well-being.
Unibox have embraced biophilic design by reimaging spaces to include details from the outdoors, using LED lightboxes and Neonist moss wall signage.
Dunelm Decorative Lightboxes
The Unibox team created a series of custom LED lightboxes that, when installed in Dunelm’s stores across the UK, replicated the appearance of windows and skylights. This boosted sales by making it easier for customers to imagine Dunelm’s furniture inside their own homes.
We also engineered ceiling-mounted and wall-mounted LED lightboxes to operate using LEDs that matched the colour temperature of natural sunlight.
Each of these lightboxes can be updated with the seasons, interior trends and product promotions.
Mitsubishi Motion Sky Lightboxes
Unibox followed Mitsubishi’s brief to create a space that would transport shoppers from Lakeside shopping centre’s main thoroughfare and into the wilderness. To create this sunroof inspired project, we created a lightbox installation using our patented Kinetik lightboxes which replicated the appearance of skylight windows.
Biophilia principles include creating a calming atmosphere, which is particularly challenging in area with no natural light. Unibox achieved this by displaying dynamic graphics of realistic soft, rolling clouds, and used LEDs with a colour temperature to replicate the effect of natural sunlight.
Caffè Concerto Window Lightboxes
Caffè Concerto’s newest restaurant in central London is situated below street level with limited access to natural sunlight. As daylight is an important aspect of biophilia, Unibox developed a solution by creating a series of window lightboxes that would replicate the look and feel of real windows and ensure that the space had the optimum light levels.
Our team used Ledge 65 lightboxes, each manufactured in the irregular shape required to fit seamlessly into the contours of the restaurant’s stairwells and mezzanine level.
Sports Direct Illuminated Product Display
For the Sports Direct HQ in Shirebrook, the brief was to develop a striking store interior which showcased the PRO Sports Equipment for hiking in the appropriate rugged ‘outdoor’ environment.
The Unibox team supplied a series of fabric-faced lightboxes, each engineered to fit seamlessly onto the ends of the store’s existing gondola displays and between wall-mounted bays.
Along with large rural graphics, the lightboxes also featured integrated Magnetik shelving to provide merchandising areas that appeared to be floating magically in front of illuminated graphics.
Finsbury Business Centre Neonist Moss Wall
Unibox created a biophilic oasis for tenants of the Finsbury Business Centre using neonist illuminated letters surrounded by real moss.
Each letter was fixed onto a timber back panel before being surrounded by tightly-packed Naturemoss – sustainably sourced Icelandic moss that requires no upkeep to remain fresh – to create an installation inspired by biophilic design trends.
Colour-tuneable LEDs are one of the ways in which designers can apply the principles of biophilia into their work. By matching the appearance of natural sunlight, light fixtures with specific colour temperatures can be used to replicate the outside world within interior spaces that don’t have access to it.
