The first african Biophilia Course: Nature-Centered Design Through an African Lens

Reconnect with Africa’s ancestral relationship with nature and learn how biophilic design can shape the future of our cities, buildings, and communities.

COURSE INTRODUCTION

For centuries, Africans have lived in deep harmony with nature, long before the term "biophilia" was coined. This course is a powerful journey of remembrance and reconnection.

It explores how our ancestors designed spaces that respected the land, honored cultural knowledge systems, and embraced the natural world.

Through this lens, we invite you to rediscover these timeless principles and learn how to apply them in today’s modern context.

The goal?

To inspire a new wave of African cities and buildings that reflect our identity, resonate with our landscapes, and embody the wisdom of nature creating environments that are not only sustainable but soulfully African.

The Story Behind This Nature Centered Course

In a time of rapid urbanization, climate change, and cultural loss, many of us are searching for ways to reconnect with nature, with community, and with ourselves. Yet long before sustainability became a buzzword, our African ancestors were already living it. They built homes from natural materials, oriented buildings to follow the sun and wind, designed spaces around communal living, and held a deep spiritual connection to the land.

This course was born out of a desire to remember and reclaim that wisdom.

As a certified green building consultant, TEDx speaker, and African biophilia advocate, I realized the global conversation around biophilic design was missing something essential:

The African story.

This course is a response to that gap.

It bridges traditional African knowledge with modern sustainable design.

MEET YOUR INSTRUCTOR

Founder: Green Biophilic Living

Convener: Inaugural African Biophilia COnference and expo 2025.

Certified Green Building Consultant (EDGE – IFC)

Representing Africa: Juror: Europe Biophilia Summit 2025

TEDx Speaker on Biophilia and Climate

Rewild Yourself 2025 Champion: Voice For Nature Foundation

African Biophilia Advocate.

For the past several years, Wangui has been researching and sharing insights on biophilic design and Africa’s deep relationship with nature.Her work focuses on reconnecting modern African development with indigenous knowledge systems and nature-based design principles.

This course is part of a larger mission:

To document, revive, and advance African biophilic knowledge for the future.

Conncect with Wangui

WHY NOW? WHY THIS COURSE?

Africa is urbanizing at one of the fastest rates in the world. Yet, many of our cities are being shaped by foreign models: glass towers, concrete jungles, and disconnected living.

But what if we paused...

And looked inward?

What if we built cities that felt like us?

This course is a call to return to reawaken our connection to land, culture, and climate through design.

We explore how African ancestral wisdom aligns with modern biophilic principles to guide the future of our homes, towns, and cities.

With the image above as inspiration, imagine a world where:

Trees grow through our buildings, not beside them.
Courtyards reflect the sacredness of gathering
Earth, stone, wood, and light are our collaborators in design
Every building breathes and belongs

This is the vision: This is the invitation. Let's design a future rooted in who we are.This course is part of a larger effort to document, revive, and advance African knowledge systems that reconnect design, culture, and nature

Course curriculum

1

COURSE INTRODUCTION
2

WEEK 1: BUILDING FOR BELONGING: FOUNDATIONS OF BIOPHILIA & AFRICAN NATURAL HERITAGE
- REMEMBER YOUR INBORN CONNECTION TO NATURE
- HUMANITY'S CONNECTION TO NATURE
- NATURE IN OUR SPACES, CULTURE IN OUR DESIGN
- THE SIX WAYS NATURE SPEAKS THROUGH DESIGN
- DESIGNING FOR LIFE: THE POWER OF BIOPHILIA
- RECAP VIDEO OF THE WEEK
- READING LIST
- MULTIPLE CHOICE ASSIGNMENT
- CREATIVE REFLECTION: BUILD YOUR BIOPHILIA JOURNAL
- WEEK 1 SHORTY SURVEY
3

WEEK 2: BUILDING FOR IDENTITY & MEMORY: TRADITIONAL & MODERN AFRICAN ARCHITECTURE
- WHERE MEMORY MEETS NATURAL FORM
- NATURAL MATERIALS, AFRICAN VERNACULAR TACTIQUES
- CIRCLES OF BELONGING : WHERE SPACE HOLDS AND SEE'S US
- SACRED SPACES-SPIRITUAL AND SYMBOLIC ELEMENTS
- REMEMBERING CLIMATE WISDOM THROUGH VERNACULAR AFRICAN ARCHITECTURE
- HOW AFRICAN ARCHITECTURE DESIGNED SOCIALIZING & COLELCTIVE SUPPORT
- INTERVIEW WITH RENONWNED CULTURED CENTRED ARCHITECT: ROY GITHAIGA ON CULTURED CENTRED DESIGN
- RECAP VIDEO OF THE WEEK
- READING LIST
- MULTIPLE CHOICE ASSIGNMENT
- BUILDING YOUR BIOPHILIA JOURNAL
- WEEK 2 SHORT SURVEY
4

WEEK 3: BUILDING FOR IMAGINATION: BUILDING MATERIALS & THEIR EVOLUTION
- A JOURNEY INTO THE PAST : AGIKUYU & HAUSA ARCHITECTURE
- A JOURNEY INTO THE PAST: DOGON, ZULU, ASHANTI ARCHITECTURE
- DISRUPTION OF BIOPHILIC ARCHITECTURE THROUGH COLONIALISM
- MODERNIZATION & THE FADING TOUCH OF NATURE
- CASE STUDIES OF AFRICAN BIOPHILIC ARCHITECTURE
- RECAP VIDEO OF THE WEEK
- READING LIST
- MULTIPLE CHOICE ASSIGNMENT
- BUILDING YOUR BIOPHILIA JOURNAL
- WEEK 3 SHORT SURVEY
5

Week 4: BUILDINGS FOR EFFICIENCY & JUSTICE
- BIOPHILIC DESIGN & AFRICAN VERNACULAR TECHIQUES - A CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TOOL
- GREEN BUILDING MATERIALS & RATING TOOLS
- EDGE GREEN BUILDING CERTIFICATION & THE VOICE OF ACCOUNTABILITY
- GREEN RATING TOOLS GLOBALLY
- BIOPHILIC DESIGN : THE MISSING ANCHOR IN GREEN BUILDING PRINCIPLES
- INTERVIEW WITH ROY GITHAIGA AS A GREEN BUILDING SPECIALISTS AND KGBS BOARD MEMBER
- RECAP VIDEO OF THE WEEK
- READING LIST
- MULTIPLE CHOICE ASSIGNMENT
- BUILDING YOUR BIOPHILIA JOURNAL
- WEEK 4 SHORT SURVEY
6

WEEK 5: BUILDING FOR HEALING : THE PLANET THROUGH DESIGN
- HOW CAN OUR BUILDINGS HEAL OUR PLANET WITH BIOPHILIC DESIGN?
- HOW BIOPHILIC DESIGN HELPS ACHIEVE SDG GOALS & ESG
- REBUILDING OUR SACRED BOND WITH NATURE
- BIOPHILIC DESIGN, AFRICAN TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURAL PRINCIPLES: THE BLUE PRINT TO FUTURE BUILDINGS
- READING LIST
- MULTIPLE CHOICE ASSIGNMENT
- BUILDING YOUR BIOPHILIA JOURNAL
- WEEK 5 SHORT SURVEY
7

WEEK 6: YOUR BIOPHILIC PROJECT
- WEAVING THE SENSES, CULTURE & CLIMATE
- PREPARATION: GATHERING YOUR THREADS
- STRUCTURING YOUR PROJECT
- CREATIVE PRESENTATION
- PRESENTATION OF YOUR PROJECT & COURSE REFLECTION
- WEEK 6 SHORT SURVEY

who this course is for

This course is designed for:

• Architects and designers

• Urban planners

• Sustainability professionals

• Students of architecture

• Developers

• Anyone passionate about nature-centered African futures

What You Will Walk Away With

By the end of this course, you will :

• Understand the foundations of biophilia and biophilic design
• Recognize how African ancestral architecture embodied nature-centered design
• Identify biophilic principles within traditional and modern African buildings
• Understand the role of natural materials, climate, and landscape in design
• Explore how biophilic design can support human wellbeing and ecological balance
• Begin applying these ideas to your own projects, communities, or research

Partner With Us / Inform the Course

If you are working on projects that reconnect people with nature through architecture, landscapes, materials, wellness spaces, or community design, we invite you to partner with us.

Your insights, case studies, and experiences can help enrich the course and contribute to a growing body of African knowledge on biophilic design.

Together, we can document and share real examples of nature-centered design shaping Africa’s future

Become a Biophilic Practitioner

Course Investment:

$100 – Full Course Access

✔ 6 Weeks of Learning

✔ Expert Interviews

✔ African Case Studies

✔ Lifetime Access

Join a growing movement to rediscover Africa’s nature-centered design wisdom and help shape the future of our built environments.

Become a Biophilic Practitioner- Start your journey into African nature-centered design today.

$100