Columbus Underground
Columbus is home to an amazing array of businesses and organizations that are using plants in cool and unique ways. Over the next year, Oakland Green Interiors will be highlighting some of these organizations and showcasing their commitment to bringing plants (and all the amazing benefits they offer!) to the places we live, work and play. We look forward to demonstrating even more reasons why Columbus is a inspiring, creative and forward-thinking city!
Happy National Indoor Plant Week! The third week of September is an opportunity to showcase the amazing things that nature can do for our well-being when we design it into our built environments. Hotels, restaurants, offices and other gathering spaces around Columbus have invested in bringing nature indoors, revitalizing the places where we live, work and play. By providing access to nature and living plants in these spaces, we can improve moods, enhance productivity and improve physical health.
The concept of biophilia is used to describe how and why plants impact humans. Biophilia means “love of living systems” and explains why humans have a biological need for connecting with nature on physical, mental and social levels. This connection impacts our personal wellbeing, productivity and societal relationships.
We spend 90% of our life indoors, and our bodies and mental states reflect the fact that we are displaced from the natural world. Biophilia and biophilic design is the idea that we can still live in our urban centers, but to thrive, we need to design the natural world into our built environments. When we are exposed to nature, there is a measurable, physical change that happens in our bodies–interaction with nature regulates our nervous system and increases the response of our parasympathetic system, the system that relaxes our bodies. When this system is engaged, our bodies feel comfortable, safe and secure in our surroundings. And when that happens, our blood pressure lowers, our heart rate slows, and we feel calmer. We can relax, focus or concentrate.
One striking space that has committed to the use of interior plants is Columbus’ newest addition to the hospitality scene, The Junto Hotel on the Peninsula Downtown. Working with the inspired teams at Rockbridge Capital and Makeready, Columbus-based Oakland Green Interiors designed and installed over 100 plants and containers throughout the interior of the hotel and its various exteriors spaces.
The comfortable, den-like atmosphere of the Junto’s lobby, “The Trade Room,” encourages gathering and conversation. To support this lived-in, but modern aesthetic, Oakland Green Interiors embraced texturized surfaces, selecting containers that could be mixed and matched together in a curated, but casual-looking fashion. Plant containers were sourced to fit a color palette of neutrals, greys and terracotta shades with unique and handmade textures.
Oakland selected plants for their sculptural and visual aesthetic, and also for their durability in high traffic areas. Plants are situated in almost every space in the hotel, throughout the main lobby, all eight elevator vestibules, Maudine’s Café, the Little West Tavern and the Brass Eye rooftop bar. They act as dividers on the rooftop bar, and welcome guests at the entrance to the hotel.
Groups of plants act as loose barriers between spaces, create focal points, fill shelves and corners, and enhance the beauty of each public area. The Junto’s dedication to incorporating plants into their design concept means the creation of a place that fosters conversation, but also a sense of calm and wellbeing. The result is the seamless integration of plants and nature into a welcoming, vibrant space that delights staff and guests alike.
Original article: https://columbusunderground.com/the-junto-hotel-makes-plants-a-design-priority/
