Needs and activities
We identify what the place must allow people to do, including moments of focus, exchange, rest and care.
THE BIOMA METHOD
A clear process
for complex relationships
The BIOMA method translates listening, site reading and biophilic research into design decisions that can be explained, developed and verified.
Concept image01Premise
A method, not a style
Every place changes the rules of the project
the method helps us understand them
The BIOMA method is how we design. Every project starts with questions, moves through hypotheses and decisions, and reaches checks adapted to people, scale, budget and the available data. The complexity stays in our work: you receive understandable choices.
02Listen
We begin with those who will inhabit the place
Perception and preferences
We examine comfort, sensory load, desired degrees of openness and the relationship with natural elements.
Shared objectives and scope
The client shares priorities, budget, timing and constraints. Together we define the brief, responsibilities, deliverables and exclusions, distinguishing essential outcomes from desirable qualities and unresolved questions.
03Read
The place is observed before it is transformed
Physical conditions
Light, air, water, acoustics, materials, dimensions and existing systems are read together.
Living systems
Soil, planting, habitat, seasonal change and maintenance reveal opportunities and limits.
Context and identity
History, use, local knowledge and the wider landscape help make the project specific to its setting.
04Compose
Strategies become a coherent spatial system
Scenarios and client decisions
We present alternatives with their trade-offs, indicative costs, constraints and implications for use. The direction is agreed before the appointed design documents are developed; decisions and revisions remain documented.
Integrated design
Architecture, interiors, landscape, light, material and planting are coordinated rather than added in sequence.
Verification criteria
Expected qualities are linked to observable conditions and, where appropriate, agreed indicators.
05Deliver and care
From site to use,
the project continues
When included in the appointment, we support construction, samples, changes and handover. We define care guidance and, where agreed, checks once the space is in use. We always distinguish what the design aims to achieve from what we have verified.
Details and responsibilities
Decisions, interfaces, exclusions and maintenance requirements are made explicit.
Construction
Where included in the appointment, we review samples, details and site changes against the design. The responsibilities of the professionals involved are explicit.
Use and adaptation
Care guidance and any agreed post-occupancy checks support adaptation. A design objective is never presented as an outcome already achieved; not every commission includes all stages.
06Five domains
Five domains, one project
From people to resources,
from place to performance,
everything enters the same system
Human experience
We read perception, orientation, attention, comfort and ways of using the space to understand what people can feel, understand and do there.
Biophilia and ecology
We build real relationships with light, plants, water, material and landscape, considering habitats, seasons and the capacity for care.
Regenerative systems
We connect water, soil, energy, carbon, materials, biodiversity and communities, looking for what can improve over time.
Identity and place
We translate history, traces, practices, memories and atmosphere into design criteria, without imposing a style foreign to the context.
Performance
We coordinate light, air, acoustics, thermal conditions, accessibility, durability and maintenance so the space truly works.
Across every stage
Five considerations accompany the whole process, so a good idea is not lost between budget, construction and everyday use.
- 01Evidence, data and verification
- 02Economic feasibility
- 03Participation and inclusion
- 04Delivery and maintenance
- 05Real use and learning
07Design tools
From place to decisions
A clear record of why choices are made
First we read the place, then we compare possible strategies with the available research, and finally we write down the reason for each choice.
Site reading
We gather conditions, traces, flows, potential and concerns before the design chooses a direction.
Strategies and research
We compare objectives and strategies with the available research. This internal archive supports the designers’ judgement; it does not replace it.
Project record
Decisions and their reasons remain written in the brief and project documents, so those who build and use the space understand why it is designed this way.
ExperienceEcologySystemsIdentityPerformance
08Evidence
Proportionate evidence, transparent claims
Distinguish what we expect
from what we observe
We assess each aspect on its own: good light does not compensate for a noise problem. When we state a benefit, we also explain how strong the evidence is.
Starting conditions
It describes the initial state and makes missing data, limitations and qualities to protect visible.
Decisions and checks
Strategies are linked to objectives, evidence, risks and responsibilities. Where evaluation is agreed, indicators, methods, timing and criteria are defined in advance.
Learning from use
Observation can inform corrective actions and future projects. Technical data, user experience and ecological conditions remain distinct; a general research finding does not prove an outcome in this project.
09Questions
Frequently asked questions
A rigorous method
clearly explained
01Does biophilic design mean adding plants?
No. Plants are one possibility. We first work on daylight, air, views, materials, water and the relationship with outdoors. A good biophilic design can have very little planting.
02What is the difference between sustainable, biophilic and regenerative?
Sustainable means reusing what is there and choosing materials that last. Biophilic means caring for the relationship between people and nature: light, air, views and plants. Regenerative adds an objective: improving the site’s soil, water and biodiversity. We only claim it when we can verify it.
03Does the method also apply to renovations or small projects?
Yes. The depth changes, but the sequence stays the same: listening, site reading, choices and checks. For a terrace, the process is short; for a whole home, it is more detailed.
04What is expected of me during the project?
Tell us how you live or work in the space, choose between the alternatives we present and approve each stage before the next. No decision is made without you.
05What do I receive in practical terms?
It depends on the commission: a report with QuickScan, brief and concept in the first stage, then drawings, details, specifications and a cost estimate. These are listed in the proposal before we begin.
06Does the method impose a style?
No. The style grows from the place and its occupants: climate, memory, budget and maintenance. Two BIOMA projects may look completely different.
07How do you use data and research?
Research helps us choose; it does not decide for us. And when a benefit has not been demonstrated for your case, we tell you.
Can't find your question? The first conversation is free and we reply within two working days.
Explore the place through five design perspectives
Landscape, thresholds, light, material and everyday life: a visual introduction to the relationships we explore in each project.
Everything begins with the place
Climate, soil, water, species and memory define the ground where a project can take root.
Podere SC: collaboration with Stefano Assogna.
Concept imageInside and outside become continuous
We design passages, views and sheltered edges that guide the body without separating it from the landscape.
Concept imageLight gives shape to time
Direction, intensity and variation turn a room into a place that can support human rhythms.
Concept imageMaterial holds memory
Texture, temperature, weight and imperfection make a place legible, tactile and distinctly its own.
Space becomes relationship
When people, architecture and living systems work together, the project continues to evolve after completion.
FROM METHOD TO PLACE