Exploring new trends: TECHNOBIOPHILIA — interacting with nature in the cyberspace
At YL, we’re always exploring fresh ideas and trends of design and tech. This article on “Technobiophilia” comes from the personal passion of Lila Zucconi, our design and animation intern. Originally from France, Lila joined us in 2024, bringing her love for this fascinating concept that blends nature and technology. Inspired by its potential, she dives into its significance in this piece.
INTRODUCTION
Have you heard of the concept of “technobiophilia”?
If not, perhaps you have noticed that there exist many technological terms that are inspired by nature, such as “the cloud,” “roots,” or “viruses”? These are all examples of technobiophilia.
Introduced in 2013 by English author Dr. Sue Thomas, technobiophilia refers to the blending of nature and technology, emphasizing the innate human tendency to seek connections with nature and living systems, even within technological environments. As Dr. Thomas’s research shows our deep-rooted affinity for the natural world endures and adapts, finding new expressions in today’s increasingly digital world.
The COVID-19 pandemic drastically reshaped how we interact with our surroundings. Deprived of outdoor interactions with nature, many sought refuge in virtual spaces, exploring natural landscapes within video games. At the same time, a surge in digital art created new cyber experiences that merge the digital and physical realms. In this article, we explore how these developments reflect the evolving relationship between nature and technology.
A TURNING POINT IN DIGITAL ART
During the pandemic, when cultural institutions were temporarily closed, many people began to engage with art online. Projects utilizing virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) have provided new experiences that transcend physical constraints.
For example, “Museum of Other Realities” was created during the pandemic in 2020, and became a place where visitors can experience art within a virtual space. In this virtual environment, visitors can enjoy art that offers extraordinary and interactive elements impossible in the real world.
Games also became more popular as they offered freedom. Certain games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons allowed users to experience what had become almost impossible — such as walking through a lush green field, swimming in a river amid a sunny mountain landscape, or strolling through a rainy city. These virtual spaces became a way to reconnect with the freedom and adventure the physical world had restricted.
This shift from the physical to the virtual environments also redefined social interactions. Platforms like VRChat and concert spaces in Fortnite created new types of collective experiences. Intimacy became possible even with physical distance, and the line between fictional worlds and reality blurred, reshaping how we connect in the digital age.
BLENDING NATURE AND TECHNOLOGY
In this post-COVID era, our artistic engagement propelled us into previously unexplored territories as we resumed our usual lives.
The French artist Pierre Huygues’s groundbreaking project Variants, created for the Kistefos Museum in Norway, combines nature and technology in a unique way. Huygues began by studying everything on the island where the museum resides- its species, stones, plants, trees, water flows, sounds, and smells. Using point cloud technology, he then scanned the entire island to craft a 3D model that unfolds on a real-time simulation projected onto a screen on the island. Controlled by AI, and connected to climate sensors, the simulation reacts, mutates, and evolves based on real-time data.
“Variants is a multipolar entity that perceives, generates, and modifies. It is simultaneously an island and what that island could be in an alternate reality”. — Pierre Huygues, “Variants”, 2021
By blending technology and biophilia, artists have found an innovative way to explore and extend the boundaries of our environment. Technobiophilia encourages us to reflect on our interactions with nature without seeking to replace them; art thus becomes an extension of our reality rather than a substitute.
DIGITAL AND PHYSICAL: A NEW ERA OF CREATIVE EXPLORATION
While technobiophilia expanded our understanding and connections to nature by virtualizing the real world, we are also simultaneously witnessing a reversal of this trend: the devirtualization of the digital. Artists and designers are increasingly interested in the idea of bringing worlds out of the screen and into our everyday physical spaces. They bring virtual creations into the real world by using 3D prints, or bring digital visuals or images into physical space mapping by using immersive projections and augmented reality.
Here’s my own take on blending the digital and physical worlds. I created a 3D digital scene featuring a relic-like stone nestled in nature, surrounded by glowing, ghostly liquid dragons. Inspired by a virtual mythology, these creatures took on a new form when I transformed one of them into a 3D-printed accessory. By photographing it on rocks beside a river, the piece shifted from digital creation to tangible reality — blurring the boundaries between the virtual and the physical.
Written by: Lila Zucconi
