Hooey is about this Architectural firm’s perceptions of some of today’s buzzwords floating around Architecture like “Biophilia” and “Wellness.”
Some people seem to believe they have invented something new when they give it a new made-up word. Like “Biophilia” or “Wellness,” or tack on “bespoke”. Not so. This happens because they simply haven’t had as much experience as older practitioners and seem eager to announce themselves as brand new inventors. And they are making unsubstantiated claims about healing effects of this and that just because they have anointed themselves the new messiahs of their own made-up hooey. Like they think they invented French-kissing when they were in grade school. Nope.
For instance, Frank Lloyd Wright adopted concepts from his mentor, Louis Sullivan, regarding “Organic Architecture,” which Sullivan featured in his rather heavy handed and fruity decorations on his buildings. And that was okay. Wright didn’t care as much for decoration (but still had some in his earlier works) and advanced the “Organic Architecture” term to mean other things, especially in his Broadacre City concept, which had a great deal of trees and other landscaping integrated into his idea of a utopian city. Which is a good thing.
This is very much like today’s “Biophilic Design”, in which today’s proponents make up things about how wonderful nature is and that we should have much of that woven into our designs and lives. No doubt they borrowed from Mr. Wright’s Broadacre City concept rather than vice-versa, because Wright came up with his Broadacre concepts in his 1932 book “The Disappearing City.”
We actually agree that there should be a great deal of landscaping in the urban matrix and with much of the new kids’ ideas of “Biophilia,” However, believing in an artistic concept of a new made-up word to echo the thoughts and designs of yesteryear’s geniuses and stating it has all sorts of benefits without rigorous science are not exactly the same thing. And advocating that it is your idea rather than who you stole it from kind of irritates us. Once again: we like designing with live trees and plants and do so in our own designs. Although today’s high priests of biophilia would argue that we are following them, no we are not. We were advocates and students of Frank Lloyd Wright long before they were even born. For instance, Rand Soellner, ArCH/NCARB was an intern Architect designing projects for Nils Schweizer, FAIA, one of Wright’s main original apprentices, back in 1979 and early 1980s.
When Soellner was in architectural school at the University of Florida, “ECOLOGY” was the new buzzword to put a new label on the concept of designing ENVIRONMENTALLY, as in designing with respect to the environment. Fast forward several decades later and there is the new term GREEN, which appears to have gone by the wayside since then, and now, today, all of these terms have magically been pushed and pulled and squozen like a big ball of silly putty into the all new: BIOPHILIC. OOooo. Ahhhh. Neeewww word. Must mean it’s an all new concept.
UUUUURRRgggggggh, Warning alarm bell. No. It. Is. Not.
Same ole, same old in bright new gift wrapping.
In 2030 it will probably be called GREENESSFILLIAOOCESS. Oooh. Another new word. Amazing. Must be true. Hanley Wood is allowing newly self-appointed messiahs to make CEUs out of it. Oooo.
There is a talented Landscape Architect in Canada by the name of Paul G. Nodwell. He does a great job of mocking Biophilia. He calls it Biophylic Design. We laughed out loud at his perceptive comments, which are similar to our own. You can see his LinkedIn post on this subject here:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/biophylic-design-really-paul-g-nodwell?trk=articles_directory
Here is a partial quote from his excellent online post:
“The most recent term to force me into considering re-tipping my canoe paddles with epoxy for the long solo trip into oblivion, is Biophylic Design.
The term Biophylia, was first used by psychologists to describe someone who has a highly measurable connection to nature and natural systems. Just like me! Whoohoo! I’m a biophylic!
The term has since been co-opted by a number of professionals and academics in planning and design to describe a human need for a connection with nature as well as an imperative for design professionals to satisfy that need.
Adherents of the ‘Biophilia’ movement see their job as influencing planning and design (particularly in an urban context) in such a way as to ensure that it responds to, and more closely reflects , nature and natural systems.
I have no problem with this idea. It is a mantra which I take into my work every day. It is the reason I am a Landscape Architect. I’m even writing a book about it. But please people….can we LOSE the term ‘Byophylic Design’?!! “
We highly recommend reading his entire article. Especially if you get irritated at those people today declaring that they invented some new “science” that is a wonder-cure, even if we agree with them, their new word invention and self-anointing themselves priests of this “new” movement make both Paul and us crazy.
Okay on to WELLNESS. It seems every other CEU on Hanley Wood these days is co-opting either Biophilia or Wellness or both. I think we saw several about new types of concrete or wood structures or bolts and nails and the declaration that they improved the biophilic landscape and made us all into a mode of wellness.
Can you spell “HOOEY?”
I love Hanley Wood. Great place for Architects to get their CEUs. But someone there should be a gatekeeper for Hooey-ness.
“Wellness.” Can you think of anything more new-agey-west-coast-based?
For instance: we like Gwyneth Paltrow as an actress. Unfortunately she has several hundred million dollars tied up in GOOP, and her company is claiming all sorts of unsubstantiated things about the health benefits, right down to some magic egg they produce that is supposed to be inserted into a women’s private zone where it will make wellness happen. You can’t make up stuff like this folks. There’s a good online article about this on the ARS Technica website here:
Wellness CEUs we’ve taken make all sorts of claims about such and so “fostering wellness.” Documentation is dubious. Just like Goop making wellness both physical and spiritual. And now, Goop has got Netflix to do a series about “wellness” with Goop. Goop tried to do the same thing with Conde Nast, with Conde ultimately bailing because they demanded to check facts and Goop refused. You had to take their word for it. And ARS states that Goop settled a lawsuit from 10 state prosecutors accusing the Goop company of peddling unsubstantiated health claims. Goop paid $145,000 to settle the claims and stop publicizing this issue, saying they “just wanted to move on.” No kidding. That sort of publicity puts a kink in “wellness” sales of snake oil.
So it is the same with many other WELLNESS claims in architecture and the design world in general. It’s a ridiculous bandwagon that many companies are clamoring to get on.
Our BPH (Bespoke Pretentious Hooey) Wood structures bring wellness due to their vibration in the ozone layer.
Our new concrete makes things well due to the feeling of solidity.
Biophilia makes wellness, just because we say so.
Our new BPH metal windows make you well and allow you to see for miles and miles and miles.
Red crystals on our new wallpaper restore your spiritual awareness through vibratory hooeyness.
Green crystals embedded into our drywall ceiling treatment heat up your sexual prowess.
Clear crystals in the coating on our new sliding glass doors have “sound healing” that will make you sing like Burl Ives (if you can remember the words to “Home on the Range”).
Our new curtains bring wellness, and every time you open them, the crown prince of the nether realm will bestow upon you spiritual well-being.
Our construction glue brings spirituality when you sniff it.
HOOEY.
Think for yourselves. If it feels like hooey and smells like hooey, it probably is. Scam.
List of pretentious hooey words that should alert you to the intentions of people who use them:
Bespoke (reserved for jackasses who like to confuse others and make themselves feel more sophisticated) (might as well just say: “custom”. And really? Is this item for sale in the retail market actually custom? Custom just for me? We don’t think so).
Curated (as in carefully chosen just for you, which makes no sense because they don’t know who you are).
Artisanal (as in made by an artizan. Really? This was made by a 65 year old craftsman who’s been doing it all his life?).
and of course:
Biophilia and Wellness.