Plantlife is not only life-giving, but it is also one of the most aesthetically pleasing design elements that humans have come up with. There is just something so calming, primitive, yet tasteful in the inclusion of flora within architecture, interior design, and architectural design.

Structuring your building or room around a plant-based centerpiece has been a practice that dates back to the stone age. Since humans have discovered that plants can provide fruits, vegetables, nuts, and nourishment, they’ve included them within the household for convenience.

That has translated well into the 21st century, with young people including more and more plants in their household. Plants have a significant role in a person’s life, and work wonders to calm nerves and teach about responsibility.

So, with this fantastic plant-based idea implanted in our minds, it’s essential to go over all the ways that flora can change interior architectural designs, and breathe new life into it. We’ve compiled a list of four ways that plants significantly improve our everyday life, architecture, design, and our living quarters.

How Plants Change Our Architectural Endeavors?

In the 20th century, it was all about industrialization, building as large as possible, and accommodating as many people to feed the ever-growing workforce. Here in the 21st century, we’re a lot more laid back than we used to be.

Nature preservation is also an essential thing, and by including it into our living space, we’re both giving ourselves a myriad of benefits, and saving the world while we’re at it. That is why more people than ever have their gardens, grow their spices, and have decorative plants in their household.

On the topic of spices, everyone who is savvy in the kitchen would like to have some seasonings growing in their kitchen. It not only serves a tremendous culinary purpose, but it’s excellent at livening up the place.

Aside from seasonings, trees provide much-needed shades to our homes and apartments, which we can’t live without. Now, this cuts down on air conditioning, effectively cutting down on emissions, and further saving the planet.

In recent years, we’ve seen more architects base their buildings around nature in one way or the other. Green movements are more popular than ever, and accommodation follows suit.

That is why more and more buildings are designed and constructed with expansive, green terraces, which are purposefully built to accommodate as much plant life as possible. Most of these buildings are located in Asia, and the trend seems to be popular in Europe as well.

The Historical Influence of Flora In Architecture

As mentioned above, flora has a deep-rooted link with humanity. Not only has beautiful plant life provided nourishment in the past, but it was also a sign of wealth. Many might remember that the East India Spice Trading Company was once the wealthiest in the world, and is considered to be the most prosperous corporation to this day.

It was all due to gorgeous spices, which come from plant life — having individual plants within your household or garden used to be a symbol of prestige. Plants have also served the lower classes, providing much-needed foods in their farms or gardens.

Sadly, we’ve stepped away from farms, and gardens are not so popular. Since most of us are confined to our apartments, we don’t have the option to grow our plants and foods. But is this true?

Did you know that broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, and kale are all the same plant? Humans have manipulated different strains to get different results. With such manipulation, humans have “optimized” many plants for households.

That is why a lot of people have peppers, cherry tomatoes, and other fruits and vegetables on their terraces. Terraces are the new gardens and farms, and people have been going crazy for them.

The greener your terrace, the more beautiful your apartment - this is why newly constructed buildings have extensive gardens to accommodate all that flora. It’s not only a gorgeous addition to any residence, but it’s also a connection to our primal roots.

Flora Vs. Minimalism | How The Two Go Together

Minimalism still reigns supreme as far as architectural and interior design styles are concerned. There is absolutely nothing quite as gorgeous as a slick, simple colored, and uniform interior. Some people are moving onto more elaborate things, but the minimalist architectural design is still far above any other style.

It’s the defining style of the 21st century, peaking in recent years. Some of the most gorgeous and famous buildings in the world carry grand glass facades, simple interiors, and marble tables.

But, since minimalism is restricted to a reasonably simple color pallet, it can get monotonous at times. After the introduction of minimalism, and the perfection through experimentation over decades, little has been added.

It has been changed quite recently with the introduction of plant life into minimalistic interiors. Minimalism can get quite monotonous, but plant life and flora do wonders to break up that monotony.

The most appealing part of plants isn’t that they’re nourishment and oxygen providing marvels of nature, it’s their vast colorspaces. With the introduction of some color into dull interiors, architects and interior designers have a whole lot more to work with.

Now, that gives a lot of upstart designers a chance to shine — the introduction of different colors, shapes, and ideas through plants.

The Future Is Green

While we’ve discussed the influence that plant life has had on our historical architectural and living accomplishments, and we’ve also covered what role it plays today — what’s left for the future?

Well, as far as we can tell, the future seems to be as green as possible. It is due to the rising popularity of climate change awareness, more strict automotive emission standards, and other hazardous events that demand we take more care of nature.

Natural awareness has spiked the popularity of plants in our households and has given architects a new way to introduce a little breath of life into our everyday lives. Eco-awareness is on the rise, especially in Europe. Green movements have been gaining more and more traction by the day, and the trend seems to be spreading at an unmatched pace.

It means that we’re going to start seeing many more plants within architectural design, and we salute it wholeheartedly. Plants play a significant role in our lives, and they’re going to go on to play a vital role in our architecture.