COVID Diaries: A Biophilic Future with Bethany Borel, WELL AP

Bethany Borel, WELL AP is a Senior Associate at COOKFOX
Architects in New York City. Since joining COOKFOX in 2012,
Bethany’s combined knowledge of architecture and interior design
has been a valuable asset to a variety of New York City projects.
Currently, Bethany is spearheading the transformative design of
the Solaire building in Battery Park City and the International
WELL Building Institute headquarters at 220 Fifth Avenue. Bethany
also designed and orchestrated the design of COOKFOX’s new,
award-winning office on 57th Street, and the interiors of 62
Wooster Street, a landmarked 1920's industrial building to a
luxury residential property in the heart of SoHo.


Bethany frequently speaks on the topics of biophilia and
high-performance design at events such as Greenbuild and the New
York Green Building Conference. Additionally, Bethany teaches a
sustainability studio course at the New York School of Interior
Design and regularly serves as a guest juror at Columbia
University and the Pratt Institute.


Having spent her childhood in the seemingly disparate locales of
Tokyo, Japan, and rural Iowa, Bethany has found that a common
thread in her design philosophy is that she holds the utmost
respect for the natural environment. At COOKFOX, Bethany brings
this thinking to her projects as she pursues environmentally
responsible design.


In this episode we talk about:


Ways to improve your home office environment

How Bethany and her team at COOKFOX are staying connected
while WFH during the pandemic

What is biophilia and examples of biophilic design strategies
in architecture and interior design

How COOKFOX is rethinking the future of office design in a
post-covid world