Starting October 31, 2024!
The Biophilic Design Practitioner Certification Program: Biophilic Fundamentals
Deepen your personal connection to nature.
Ready to take your design career to the next level with a deeper connection to nature?
This curriculum will give you the tools to understand who you are as a designer and advocate for biophilic design.
Upon completion of this curriculum, you will be able to:
- Identify and articulate your role and relationship to nature
- Illustrate your understanding of biophilia and how it aligns with the technical aspects of biophilic design
- Articulate how your relationship with nature shapes your approach to biophilic design
- Build awareness of how your interaction with nature differs from others and understand the importance of these differences
- Cultivate a deeper sensory relationship with the natural world through direct experiences
- Find a deeper sense of purpose in your career
Meet the creator of the Biophilic Fundamentals Curriculum
Nicole Craanen
Nicole Craanen is an internationally recognized interior designer and environmental advocate with a Master’s in Human Ecology, pioneering sustainable and regenerative design approaches through consultancy, global speaking engagements, and her Biophilic Design Professional Certification program. As the founder of The Biophilic Design Institute, and as a trained yoga teacher and Nature & Forest Therapy Guide, she explores the intersection of human well-being and ecological balance.
Who is this curriculum for?
The course content was developed with the designer of the built environment in mind — folks like:
- architects
- interior designers
- landscape architects
- engineers
- urban planners
- lighting designers
- manufacturers
- and more!
However, if you feel this work is relevant in any way – you are more than welcome!
The Biophilic Design Institute believes that we are stronger with a greater diversity of thought, professional backgrounds and lived experiences. After all, good design doesn’t emerge in a silo, does it?
An 11-week journey into the heart of biophilic design and nature connection.
This course lays the foundation for your biophilic journey by blending the wisdom of forest therapy with the principles of biophilic design. Build a deeper connection with nature through self-discovery by reconnecting with your senses.
Course Highlights:
- Introduction to Biophilic Design and Nature Connectedness
- Guided Forest Therapy Walk
- Building a Deeper Relationship with Self and Nature
- Exploring Different Ways of Knowing and Understanding
Participants:
up to 20
Time commitment:
11 weeks / 10 modules
6 90-minute live-virtual coaching sessions
3-4 hours self-guided homework every week
Investment:
$1900 $750
*All early-adopters receive a one-time 60% discount in exchange for their insights and suggestions!
Start Date:
October 31, 2024 start date, sign-up on the waitlist to to stay up to date!
Live Course Schedule:
October 31: Introduction Meeting (prior to course start)
November 7: Forest Therapy Walk, 120 min (full virtual guided forest therapy)
November 21: Live Lecture/Discussion
December 5: Live Lecture/Discussion
December 19: Live Lecture/Discussion
Holiday Break: Two-week break
January 16: Live Lecture/Discussion
January 30: Live Lecture/Discussion
**For more details click REGISTER NOW!
What’s included in the curriculum?
MODULE ONE:
How you experience your environment and the other beings in it +
Forest therapy walk and observational journaling
Learn how interactions with nature can alter your understanding of yourself and the environment
MODULE TWO:
What is biophilic design? + building standards + biophilic design frameworks
Gain an in-depth understanding of biophilic design, discover the roll of biophilic design in building standards, and tailor it to your practice, consider if or how biophilic design shows up in common building standards.
MODULE THREE:
Multi-sensory design +
Learning from your senses: Touch
Discover the power of multi-sensory design and how experiences in nature can reshape your perceptions. Recognize the power of your sense of touch through direct sensory experiences and explore how it shapes your understanding of the world around you.
MODULE FOUR:
Spatial characteristics
Explore how the layout and other spatial characteristics impact our experiences. Reflect on your sense of touch.
MODULE FIVE:
Learning from your senses: Sight
Recognize the power of your sense of sight through direct sensory experiences and discover how it shapes your understanding of the world around you
MODULE SIX:
How your strengths influence perspective + well-being
Get insights into what well-being looks like, your unique gifts, evaluate their influence on your experiences and career, and reflect on your sense of sight.
MODULE SEVEN:
Learning from your senses: Hearing
Recognize the power of your sense of hearing through direct sensory experiences and discover how it shapes your understanding of the world around you
MODULE EIGHT:
How your values influence perspective + biophilic-washing
Explore diverse perspectives, identify common misconceptions, learn communication strategies, consider nature’s role in decision-making, and analyze if a project is committed to biophilic design. Reflect on your sense of hearing.
MODULE NINE:
Learning from your senses: Smell & Taste
Recognize the power of your sense of smell and taste through direct sensory experiences and discover how it shapes your understanding of the world around you
MODULE TEN:
Conclusion
Define biophilic design for your practice, and reflect on your sense of touch.
Certification Completion
To earn your Biophilic Design Practitioner Certification, we encourage active participation throughout the program. Successful completion entails attending a minimum of 5 out of the 6 live coaching sessions, attending the guided forest therapy walk, actively engaging in discussions, and fulfilling all assigned coursework.
Financial Investment
One-time offer for early adopters: $750 (price goes up to $1,900 after this session). As an early adopter, you’ll play a vital role in shaping this program with your feedback.
You gain full access to the material, but this cohort is extra special. I’m looking for a diverse group of individuals who will help me shape the future of the course – and by extension the trajectory of the biophilic design community!
Biophilic Design Institute FAQs
Course runs October 31 2024 – January 30, 2025. We meet 10-11:30am central time for the live sessions.
October 31: Introduction Meeting (prior to course start)
November 7: Forest Therapy Walk, 120 min (full virtual guided forest therapy)
November 21: Live Lecture/Discussion
December 5: Live Lecture/Discussion
December 19: Live Lecture/Discussion
Holiday Break: Two-week break
January 16: Live Lecture/Discussion
January 30: Live Lecture/Discussion
Register HERE
Please reach out with any financial questions!
To get the most out of this program, it is expected that you will spend between 3-5 hours per week on the coursework, this includes the biweekly live-virtual coaching sessions.
Biophilic design reaches many fields, from the architecture industry (like interior designers, architects, landscape architects, urban planners, engineers, etc), to manufacturers, business strategists, HR professionals and more. If you believe having a great connection to nature and understanding the concepts the bring us biophilic design are important to you, then you belong in this course!
The only knowledge you need to have is to know that you want to learn more!
Nope! The only restriction is if you can make the time work for our live-virtual sessions. This course caters to an international audience, and we’re aware of time zone challenges.
Yes. While this course is a foundation course, you will leave this program understanding your personal connection to nature and biophilic design in a way that gives you the skills to articulate the benefits to a wide range of people, including clients. And future courses will expand on these concepts to provide further expertise!
Biophilic design is a growing field and a top trend for the last few years. Biophilic knowledge is found in sustainability certification programs like WELL, LEED and the Living Building Challenge as well as in guidelines like the AIA Framework for Design Excellence and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This knowledge will enhance any work you do related to well-being or sustainability.
Not Quite Ready to Sign-Up?
Join the waitlist to learn stay connected about future cohorts.
Cohort two will be March-May 2025
Join the waitlist to be the first to know about future courses!