Interior design and

landscape

by yohapriya.v

content
Introduction
What is interior plantscaping?
The restorative effects of nature
Design specifications
The elements of nature-inspired interior landscaping
Conclusion

EFFECT OF
NATURE..
View from a high floor over a
planted atrium in a London office
building providing a naturalistic
view for office workers without a
window view to the outside. In
this particular building, the view
to the outside of the building is of
a busy city street and other tall
buildings

The
tranquility of
nature can
provide us
peace in our
caverns of
concrete and
steel

The future will belong to the nature-smart those

individuals, families, businesses and political leaders who
develop a deeper understanding of the transformative power of
the natural world and who balance the virtual with the real.
The more high-tech we become, the more nature we need.
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What is interior
plantscape?....

From Meditative Spaces

Interior landscaping is the practice of

designing, arranging, and caring for
living plants in enclosed environments.
even though land is not literally being
reshaped. 'Interior landscaping' is an
appropriate term because indoor
environments contain plains, angles,
and horizons that are softened,
accentuated or altered by the addition
of plants and planters-thus
landscaping the interior. Similar to
outdoor landscapes, interior
landscapes provide spaces with
ornament, color, sculptural elements,
focal points, and an overall pleasant
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environment.

The benefits of
indoor plants
Interior plants are credited with conferring many benefits to buildings and
their occupants. Some are easy to explain in terms of the biological
processes going on inside the plant, such as
Removing volatile organic compounds from the air - a process
demonstrated in many studies and seems to involve an interaction
between soil bacteria and plant roots.
Reducing the concentration of CO2 in buildings - the normal outcomes of
photosynthesis where CO2 and water are reacted in the presence of light
to produce carbohydrates and release oxygen as a waste product.
Reduce background noise - foliage can absorb, reflect and refract sound,
cutting down background noise levels and irritating echoes.
Cooling a building - transpiration and shading by foliage can reduce
indoor air temperatures and reduce the loads on air-conditioning systems.

A green wall in an office building in new york

 On the other hand, there are many benefits that scientists

have found to be measurable, but for which there is no
complete explanation, such as
Stress reduction - studies have shown that people are less
stressed when in the presence of plants.
Increased productivity at work.
Quicker recovery from surgery
Greater attentiveness in college lectures.
Reduction in complaints of symptoms associated with sick
building syndrome

Changi airport terminal

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Design
Specifications
Economic

Aesthetic

Cost of plants and potting

equipment

Customer Appeal

Ecological

Shape

Stability

Texture

Temperature

Form

Protection

Feel

Toxicity of fertilizer

Smell

Color

Life Cycle

Maintenance

Plant Life Cycle

Cleaning

Care of Plants

Exchange and repair

Rules

Recycling

Wear
Special uses

Function

Working environments

Use of Plants

Foreseeable misuse

Activities

Materials
Number of Plants
Soil
Pots
Spades
Gardening Gloves
Seeds

Ergonomic
Instructions

Types of Plants

Human Interface Relationships

Fertilizer

Layout

Mulch

Clarity

Germination

Interactions
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Safety

Plants that will not be extremely harmful or inconvenient to people

with disabilities

Value
Three Feature Rule
Aesthetics
Educational purposes
Therapeutic benefits
Edible/Medicinal

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Suitability for a
Greenhouse
Temperature
Maintenance
Durability
Watering
Lifetime
Soil pH
Uses
Lighting

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scattered and
clustered planting
In a natural environment you will see vegetation at all
stages of growth, from saplings to tall trees. Meadow
flowers share spaces with bushes and shrubs, and
the occasional tree. Trees and bushes often grow in
scattered clusters and there is a mix of species.
Indoors, this effect can be recreated, or at least
imitated by allowing a degree of randomness and
informality.
Variety is
the spice
of life..

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Stylish, attractive ,
healthy plants but hardly a
natural setting

Agents of
randomness. Office
workers who chose
the types and layout
of their plant
displays.

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These containers
look artificial and
boring and do not
add to the natural
feel of the place but
further promotes
the austerity

Whilst spacing plants in decorative containers at regular intervals

in an office might be considered both practical and stylish, the
designer runs the risk of the plants becoming little more respected
than the furniture. Conversely, mixtures of plant species, varieties
and forms will appear far more natural, as will a variety of foliage
styles and colours. Grouping plants together in small clusters and
placing them at irregular intervals, instead of regular, grid-like
spacing will also look less contrived and more natural.
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horizons: connect
with the outside
It is all very well being able to look through a window at a
landscape, but why not try to make a more intimate
connection with nature at work and blend the interior
with the exterior? In the built environment, it is possible
to reconnect the interior and exterior in a number of
imaginative ways.
First, windows are only there to stop the wind and the
rain getting inside, but they often form the boundary of
our existence when we are at work - especially if they are
furnished with blinds. With a few design tricks, that
boundary can be blurred and the outdoors brought in (or
the indoors taken out).
End of the world in the gardens of
Schwetzingen, Germany. Trompe-loeil artwork
that incorporates plants and art
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A loft space with interior

landscape as the primary
focal point
It uses a variety of plants
And also natural materials
It serves as a seating space
also..

It vanishes the boundary

between the interior and
exterior

Interior landscaping can be

designed in a way to draw the
eye beyond the window into the
outside world. By recruiting a
distant focal point - say a tree
on the horizon - into the
design, the artificial boundary
of the window can vanish. In
spaces with full-height
windows, especially on the
ground floor, exterior plants
just beyond the window can be
used so that the interior and
exterior plants become part of
the same design, especially if
the foliage styles complement
each other. Natural spacing of
plants either side of the
window, perhaps creating a
group of plants that ignores the
fact of a pane of glass, would be
an interesting and effective
design.
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 In nature, spatial boundaries

are rarely straight lines and
right-angled corners. Due to
the nature of the materials
and techniques used to
construct buildings, we tend to
find lots of horizontal and
vertical planes and sharp
corners. However, those sharp
edges and corners are easily
softened with a few well-placed
plants. Imaginative interior
designers might also design
murals that incorporate
natural scenes or foliage
effects, and will include real
plants in the creation. If largescale, bespoke murals are out
of the question, pictures of
nature scenes can help bridge
the gap between the interior
and exterior.
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Our sense of space depends

on more than just what we
can see:
sound effects should also be considered. Many
buildings employ sound effects to mask the hum of
electronic equipment and the chatter of people. The
hiss of white noise is not often noticed (until its
switched off). However, with a little imagination, it is
possible to incorporate more subtle natural sounds,
such as bird song or the sound of waves or
waterfalls. This will add both atmosphere and a
sense of calm - something that many parents already
recognise when they use recordings of natural
sounds to help settle and soothe young children
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with light and

shade

The uniform lighting found in so many

buildings may be efficient, but it
frequently lacks character and is often
harsh. The elimination of shadows and
the lack of movement reinforce the
sterile, artificial character of many
buildings. Poor lighting quality is also
frequently cited as a contributor to
sick building syndrome. Nature, on the
other hand, provides us with subtle
changes in light and shade. Dappled
shade and gentle movement of
shadows played through the foliage of
interior plants can provide interest and
enrichment to the indoor environment.

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Combining decorative
lighting with the foliage
of these plants makes
for interesting shadow
effects

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 Combining decorative
lighting with plants (or
by placing plants in a
way that they interact
with the lighting already
in place) can produce
some interesting effects
and break up the sterile
monotony of many large,
open-plan spaces. Plants
with small leaves or
delicate fronds can be
placed near windows to
provide dappled shade
without blocking out too
much useful daylight.
They also have the
additional benefit of
helping to keep warm
buildings & cool in
summer.
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 Decorative lighting, such as

low-voltage LED lights placed
among the foliage of plants,
could be considered as part of
an interior landscape design.
They can create the illusion of
daylight showing through the
vegetation and cast interesting
shadows. LEDs are naturally
cool, so the risk of heat damage
is lessened and they can be
powered by batteries or even
solar cells. White LEDs are also
a potentially useful source of
supplementary lighting for
plants in darker areas or green
walls.

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Refuge, shelter &

privacy
Experiments carried out in a variety of
buildings frequently show that people
choose to sit among the shelter of indoor
plants. There seems to be an instinctive
need to seek refuge among foliage. When one
considers humanitys origins on the plains
of Africa, trees and bushes provided shade
against the hot sun, camouflage against
predators and a place to hide when hunting.
Houses were made from wood and thatch
and even now, children love to build dens
from trees and branches. That deep,
instinctive need for shelter and security
remains with us still, even though we live in
houses and work in cities. In commercial
buildings, there are many ways to use
plants to add to a sense of shelter, refuge,
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privacy and security.

tall palms providing

seclusion above sofas in a
hotel lobby.
a green wall installed in a
London furnishing store
(courtesy of Biotecture Ltd).
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seats placed amongst interior trees in

a country club.

Another way of creating

shelter and privacy is to
create an indoor arbour or
pergola. Trailing or
climbing plants can be
trained around a structure
to recreate the style of a
Mediterranean courtyard.
These can be used in large,
open indoor spaces such
as shopping centers.
In places where space
precludes the use of large
specimen trees or where
security needs mean that
sight lines need to be
maintained and not
blocked by the foliage of
trees or structures, a green
wall or hedge will be of
great benefit.
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Use of natural (and

local) materials
Gravel, shingles & slate
provide natural feel to the
space

Whilst we cannot dispute

the utility and efficiency of
such materials, our
instincts are to surround
ourselves with more natural
products when given the
chance.

If you look around a typical modern

office, you would be hard pressed to
find much in the way of natural
materials. Grey laminated desks,
metal and plastic chairs and
synthetic carpets (let alone fabriccovered cubicle walls) are as far
removed from our natural state as it
is possible to get.
Modern plant containers covered in
woven banana leaves: a natural
material used in a contemporary stye

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Wooden containers give that

extra touch and the use of
flowering plants add extra
colour..
An office building

In offices, shopping centres and

even hospitals, where utility and
economy are of great importance, it
is possible to use natural products
(or recreate the look and feel of
them) through the art of interior
landscaping. Many products are
available, and they dont have to
look twee or old-fashioned: cutting
edge design is possible.

Using lighting to accentuate

and recreate the outdoor
environment

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 There are many dozens of plant

containers available that are made
Nature-inspired interior
landscaping How to
from natural materials. Wood,
promote well-being in
woven banana leaves and palm
buildings by using the
fronds, bamboo, cork, sea-shells
principles of biophilia in
interior landscape
and mother-of-pearl are all used
design
and come in every shape and size
imaginable. The appearance of
natural materials can also be
replicated by using containers
made of materials such as
As well as plant containers,
interior landscapers make use of
polystone (resin plastics with
accessories to add little finishing
ground stone mixed in to the
touches to plant displays, such as
resin) or even composite plastics
top dressings and mulches. By
using materials such as gravel,
that incorporate ground stone or
shingle or slate quarried from the ceramic into the top coat of the
vicinity, it is possible to create a
local feel to an interior landscape product.
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Water
We all know that water is essential to survival, but we also tend to
take it for granted. However, when human beings lived in a more
natural environment, being close to a reliable source of water really
was a matter of life and death, which is probably why we
instinctively feel reassured when we can see or hear water. Whilst
there are complications associated with plumbing into a water
supply and the ongoing maintenance of water features, there are
many benefits to be gained by their presence in a building. If there
is a built-in water feature, in an atrium for instance, or even a tank
of tropical fish, plant displays can be used to draw attention to it.
In some locations, there may be a view over a water feature, pond
or lake in the grounds of the building - these features can be
incorporated into the interior landscape design by using them as a
focal point and drawing an observers gaze beyond the boundaries
set by windows. However, where it is impractical to install water
features there are alternative ways to bring water into a building.
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Water based interior

landscape
themes.
One traditional and
the other modern,
guess which is
which ?

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An apartment with the concept water in

Chicago city..
The clients wanted to incorporate a
seaside theme with a contemporary feel

The sound of running

water, babbling streams or
even waves breaking on a
beach can be recreated
with sound-effect
recordings and even the
smell of freshly-fallen rain
or the salty, ozone-like
smells of the seaside can
also be brought into an
interior landscape by
selecting an appropriate
fragrance for use in
ambient scenting systems
(although such fragrances
should only be used in
areas of transient
occupancy, such as
atriums and social areas,
rather than in continuallyoccupied spaces such as
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offices).

Natural scents and

odours
Human brains have evolved to react to stimuli from
many sources. Our senses, working together, tell us
everything we need to know about our environment.
One of those is the sense of smell, which we know is
one of the most powerful and primitive senses we
have, and one that affects our survival in many ways.
Our ability to detect food (or spoilage compounds),
pollutants or even track animals is made possible by
our sense of smell. However, when we put ourselves
into the sterile environment of a modern building, our
senses are deprived of stimulus, and our sense of
smell is the most deprived of all.
.
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 Recently, the use of fragrances in

buildings, especially in areas of
transient occupancy such as
lobbies, lounges and corridors,
has become increasingly popular.
This has been aided by the
development of new technology
that nebulizes fragrance oils into
the atmosphere without the use of
solvents, making them more
acceptable to the users of
buildings than aerosols or systems
relying on the evaporation of
fragrance oils. Such systems,
known as ambient scenting, can
deliver subtle, natural odours into
a space to add an extra dimension
to our sensory experience. By
pulling together all of the other
elements of biophilia-inspired
interior landscaping, fragrances
are an ideal way to rebuild our
connections with the natural
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environment

Flowering plants can also be

used for scenting interiors

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 Interior landscape, plantscape, and interiorscape are

synonymous.
They are not given much importance, but they could
add a whole new dimension to interior design
They have so many benefits but are being ignored
They can add an entire new dimension to interior design

Landscape in
interiors.
A new beginning to an end

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