IM-WALD-SEIN® Biophilic Design | Nature-Inspired Interior Design
Designing Spaces That Connect People with Nature
IM-WALD-SEIN® Biophilic Design combines biophilic design principles with aesthetics, function, and scientific insight. We develop high-quality spatial concepts for healthcare, workplaces, and refined residential environments.
IM-WALD-SEIN® Biophilic Design | Biophilic. Aesthetic. Multisensory
Nature as a Design Principle
We spend more than 80 percent of our time indoors – at home, at work, in healthcare settings, and in other built environments. The way these spaces are designed therefore has a profound impact on how we feel, recover, and focus.
Biophilic Design makes nature an integral part of the space: plants and natural materials work together with light, color, form, texture, and nature-inspired sounds and sensory elements to create environments that feel connected to the natural world.
People are at the heart of every concept: employees, patients, visitors, or guests, and the way they use and experience a space. We align design, function, and nature connection with their needs and with the specific character and purpose of each setting.
What you can expect: a tailored spatial concept with refined, practical biophilic solutions – from the initial analysis and selection of design elements to implementation with our design team and specialist partners.
Would you like to create spaces with a stronger connection to nature? We would be happy to develop a concept with you.
IM-WALD-SEIN® Biophilic Design | From Space to Concept
This is how we work
Every space has its own purpose and character. That is why the design team led by
Simone Raus develops each biophilic concept around the space itself, how it is used, and the needs of the people who experience it. Munich-based designer Simone Raus brings expertise in architecture, interiors, and spatial design. Her approach considers how people experience spaces through all the senses, bringing together function, aesthetics, and a meaningful connection to nature. The result is a tailored spatial concept that combines research on nature and health with professional expertise to create spaces that support both people and purpose.
Transformation in Context: IM-WALD-SEIN® City Offices
The brief was to transform an existing space in line with the principles of Biophilic Design, accommodating coworking and meetings alongside therapy and coaching within a coherent spatial concept. The design combines direct and indirect experiences of nature with clearly differentiated spatial qualities. Materials, color, light, planting, and other multisensory references to nature are integrated as part of an overall design strategy. Careful zoning creates open areas for work and interaction as well as more protected settings for retreat and confidential conversations.
IM-WALD-SEIN® Biophilic Design | What Research Shows
For several decades, researchers have explored how the built environment affects health, well-being, and performance. Biophilic design brings together theory, research, and practice to integrate nature more deeply into the places where we live, work, and receive care – responding to our fundamental need for connection with nature. The biophilia hypothesis provides an important theoretical foundation for this approach. Research in this field extends far beyond adding plants to a room. It examines views of nature, daylight, natural materials, forms, textures, sounds, and comprehensive biophilic spatial concepts. Key areas include stress regulation, well-being and restoration, attention and cognitive performance, creativity, recovery, and social interaction. The following studies illustrate these relationships in healthcare, workplaces, and living spaces.
Healthcare
Landmark study: Views of nature and postoperative recovery
How much even a view can influence recovery was demonstrated as early as 1984 in Roger Ulrich’s widely cited study of 46 patients recovering from gallbladder surgery. Half had a window view of trees, while the other half looked onto a brick wall. Patients with a view of nature had shorter postoperative hospital stays, required less potent pain medication, and received fewer negative evaluations in nurses’ notes. The study became an important early milestone in research on evidence-based healthcare design.
Ulrich, R. S., Science, 1984
Clinical study: Plants in the patient rooms
A clinical study found that patients recovering from surgery in rooms with plants and flowers reported less pain, anxiety, and fatigue than patients in comparable rooms without plants. Their systolic blood pressure was also lower.
Park & Mattson, 2009
Review: Nature in hospitals can support recovery
A 2024 scoping review found that exposure to nature during hospital stays can support patient outcomes, with benefits seen particularly for anxiety, pain, and patient satisfaction.
Guidolin et al., HERD, 2024
Workplace
Field study: Green offices and productivity
Marlon Nieuwenhuis and colleagues conducted three field experiments in real offices in the UK and the Netherlands, comparing deliberately minimalist “lean offices” with workplaces enriched with plants. Employees in the greener offices rated their work environment, concentration, and workplace satisfaction more favorably. Objective productivity also improved in one of the experiments.
Nieuwenhuis et al., Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 2014
Recent study: Living walls and stress regulation
A 2025 study examined how a living wall affected participants during a demanding working-memory task. In front of the living wall, participants showed greater physiological relaxation than in front of a shelf of objects, while cognitive performance remained unchanged.
Serra et al., Scientific Reports, 2025
Systematic review: Nature in the office and stress
A systematic review examined how biophilic elements in workplace settings affect employees’ stress responses. The research included features such as plants, views of nature, daylight, and other forms of nature exposure in the workplace.
Ríos-Rodríguez et al., Healthcare, 2023
Living Spaces
Experimental study: Biophilic residential environments and stress recovery
How does a space affect us when several biophilic elements work together? A study with 94 participants compared residential environments with and without features such as natural light, ventilation, and greenery. In the biophilic setting, skin conductance decreased more strongly during recovery, indicating a more favorable physiological stress response.
Al Sayyed & Al-Azhari, Frontiers in Virtual Reality, 2025
Materials study: How much wood feels right?
Researchers compared full-scale room interiors with 0, 45, and 90 percent visible wood. The different proportions produced different physiological responses, while the room with 45 percent wood tended to receive the highest comfort ratings.
Tsunetsugu et al., Journal of Wood Science, 2007
Comparative study: Real wood or wood-look finishes?
Eighty-three participants experienced rooms finished either with real Japanese cedar or with printed wood-look panels. Systolic blood pressure decreased significantly in the room with real cedar, while no significant change was observed in the comparison room.
Sun et al., Journal of Wood Science, 2020