In today’s world, we spend most of our time indoors – bland offices, cookie-cutter institutional rooms, nondescript apartments, and the list goes on. Often, the air quality of our indoor spaces is poor with no connection to nature or physical well-being. 

We know that wood products have a lower impact on air and water pollution and have a lighter carbon footprint than other commonly used building materials. But does wood retain any of the health benefits provided by forests and trees? Amazingly, when the interior spaces of our buildings are made of wood, they are good for our physical as well as our mental health! The same benefits we gain from exposure to forests can be realized by living and working in buildings made of wood. 

Recent research has documented that moving through a building constructed of wood or even being in the presence of wood surfaces in a room produces similar feelings of well-being. These studies have shown that wood interiors stimulate an innate and positive “biophilic” response to occupants. People’s sense of well-being increases when surrounded by natural materials. Biophilic design is an approach to architecture and interior design that tries to connect humans with nature by bringing nature into our built environment. The approach incorporates natural light and ventilation into indoor spaces and natural landscape features like plants, rocks, and water features indoors or maximizes views of nature by large expanses of glass. Biophilic design also prioritizes the use of natural materials so that indoor air quality is better. Indoor wood surfaces reduce stress for occupants – in a way comparable to a walk in the woods. We often hear designers speak of the “warmth” of wood surfaces. When we walk in a forest, we feel better, but we also feel better in buildings constructed of wood – remarkable!