| Terrapin had a whirlwind 2025 and we are looking at building upon those experiences in 2026. Some highlights for Terrapin from 2025 included speaking events like Designing Wellbeing in High Point NC, Living Future in Portland, Greenbuild LA, and the Furniture Today Leadership Conference. At Greenbuild LA, the Occupant Experience session tapped into new perspectives […] — Read More
| Complexity and Order, as one of the 14 Patterns of Biophilic Design, is an analogue experience of nature. It deals with the finding the balance between a lackluster environment and an overstimulating one. Within nature, fractals are nested, mathematical patterns repeating at increasingly fine size-scales—consider tree branches, capillary riverbeds, fire flames, and crashing waves. These […] — Read More
| A man to whom Terrapin owes much of our passion and focus passed away last month. Edward O. Wilson made multiple contributions to science and society. His focus on ants and their behaviors led to a sometimes controversial exploration of innate vs learned behavior in other species—sociobiology, a field in which he was a pioneer. […] — Read More
| Disaster resilience has focused primarily on the physical characteristics and resource provisions of a home. How might we incorporate psychological resilience into design? — Read More
| The practice of therapeutic “forest bathing” popular in Asia and increasingly in the US supports health, wellbeing and meaningful contact with nature. Providing this access to nature has wide ranging implications for the health of the population and resilience in the face of climate change. — Read More
| Bill Browning, Bob Fox and Chris Garvin discuss Drawdown and how it shifts the focus from climate change mitigation to climate change reversal. — Read More
| This post explores the public health benefits of green infrastructure and uses the Gowanus neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY as an example of how this type of infrastructure can be implemented to benefit communities. During a site visit to Gowanus, three sites were identified to examine the opportunities to develop green infrastructure where people live, work, and play. — Read More
| Biophilic design and programing can transform harsh prison environments, known to aggravate mental illness, into rehabilitative spaces. — Read More
| A snapshot of the future of bioinspired technology including eight recent technology additions to our Tapping Into Nature infographic! — Read More
| A look at walking behavior and user experience of workers in urban environments to understand the attraction to nature and biophilia in cities. — Read More
| Our partners, Bill Browning, Bob Fox, and Chris Garvin, each reflect on Terrapin’s last ten years and where they see the firm going in the next decade. — Read More
| Biophilic odors create a unique opportunity to improve health and wellbeing in the built environment using a Non-Visual Connection with Nature. — Read More
| Our Ecological Design Framework (referred to simply as “Phoebe”) focuses on the most impactful project opportunities that will result in positive change on-site and far beyond the project property line. Reframing traditional green building metrics and transforming them into bold built ecological goals provides a structured but open forum for teams to achieve meaningful ecological change. — Read More
| Terrapin had a great 2015! Explore our holiday card full of hidden hints to what we were up to this past year! — Read More
| Pinpointing the impacts of biophilia and determining the most beneficial biophilic patterns through post-occupancy data. — Read More
| Terrapin is thrilled to announce the hiring of Rebecca Macies as our Operations Administrative Analyst. She graduated from Cornell University in 2014 where she studied Natural Resources Policy and Management. During her time as a student, she was a founding member of Cornell’s fossil fuel divestment campaign, worked in the Campus Sustainability Office, and collaborated […] — Read More
| A brief history on the use of plants in interior design, and the substantial effects these Nature in the Space connections have on our health and happiness. — Read More
| Terrapin will present on both biophilic design and ecological urban design at the 2014 SXSW Eco Conference in Austin, Texas. Bill Browning and Catie Ryan will be speaking on October 6-8 about the recently released paper on “14 Patterns of Biophilia“. On October 7, Terrapin’s own Chris Garvin and Chris Starkey will also conduct the workshop […] — Read More
| Terrapin is thrilled to announce the hiring of Jonce Walker, a LEED Accredited Professional and a Certified Sustainable Building Advisor with over a decade of sustainability leadership experience. His work in urban design, renewable energy, green building, and progressive policy has helped transform both public and private institutions. Additionally, Jonce is the founder of Pedal Craft, a philanthropic […] — Read More
| We are pleased to welcome a new member to our team, Allison Bernett. Allison recently graduated summa cum laude from Washington University in St. Louis, where she double majored in architecture and biology. As such, Allison is particularly interested in biophilia and bioinspired innovation within architecture. Allison will be primarily supporting our bioinspired innovation efforts and […] — Read More
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