What’s behind our current fascination with all things natural? Sally Put, editor of Axalta’s ColourDesign Library, reflects on why the colours and textures of nature are flourishing across our built environments.

In praise of the natural world

Wherever we live in the world – whether in towns, cities or the countryside – the natural world with its seasonal rhythms, textures and colours remains deeply ingrained in the human psyche. In uncertain times, the age-old constancy of nature is a comfort to people everywhere.

History shows that embracing nature in times of change is nothing new. Think of the popularity of the Romantic poets, artists and composers at a time when mechanisation brought sweeping change across Europe and beyond. To societies facing social and economic upheaval across the 19th century, homages to landscape and nature from people like Wordsworth, Corot or Beethoven were not only beautiful but tapped into the old certainties of an agricultural way of life.

Nature, built environments and the digital revolution

With the prospect of the motor car shaping into a reality at the turn of the 20th century – signalling a whole new chapter of change – it’s no coincidence that the international Garden Cities movement took root. With changing patterns of living and working, new urban planning principles embedding access to nature, greenery and fresh air informed the layout of emerging towns and cities across continents including Europe, North America and South America.

Today, it’s the digital revolution that’s bringing accelerated change – and sometimes faster than we would like. Once again, it seems, people are turning to the familiar comfort of nature to help them navigate sweeping change – in our case an increasingly virtual world.

The value of nature

As the world wakes up to climate change, we share a new level of awareness of just how precious – and finite – our world’s natural resources really are. It makes sense that we want the spaces and built environments where we live, work and socialise to reflect the textures, materials and qualities of a natural world we value more highly than ever.

These days, we also know a lot more about the positive psychological impacts of nature on human health and wellbeing. In line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, multiple studies have correlated physical and mental health and life satisfaction with spending time in green space and interacting with nature and wildlife.

With so much evidence pointing to the crucial importance of nature in our lives, it’s no surprise that we’re embracing it with open arms in our buildings, spaces and homes too.