Human Spaces website provides news about biophilic design in the built environment. Sky Factory founder, Bill Witherspoon, and company CEO, Skye Witherspoon, were recently invited by Human Spaces, a global community and forum that brings leading academics, architects, and notable individuals in the field of biophilic design to share their insights about spaces designed with the human in mind…		Last month, Sky Factory and the Tennessee Aquarium collaborated to introduce ēSea, a Digital Cinema underwater portal to marine habitats, to the Children's Hospital at Erlanger, the 1st of its kind in the state. The partnership enabled the Sky Factory to film the Tennessee Aquarium's largest and most beautiful exhibit, the Secret Reef, as well as the Reelfoot Lake and the Flooded Amazon River exhibits…		An award-winning nature photographer and experienced wild nature cinematographer, Radim Schreiber is well known for his playful firefly landscapes. A member of Sky Factory's graphics team for over a decade, Radim announced earlier this summer that it was time to dedicate himself fully to his own photography. In recognition of Radim's best work over the years, we'd like to feature some of his most memorable wild nature images…

About Human Spaces: Kindred Souls & Biophilia

Sky Factory founder, Bill Witherspoon, and company CEO, Skye Witherspoon, were recently invited by Human Spaces, a global community and forum that brings leading academics, architects, and notable individuals in the field of biophilic design, to share their insights about spaces designed with the human in mind.

Taking the opportunity to underscore the fundamental difference between representational nature imagery and biophilic illusions, Bill and Skye's two-part article Beyond Positive Distraction: Biophilic Engagement in Healthcare Spaces, provide the most succinct explanation of why illusions of nature transform enclosed clinical spaces into restorative environments.

"Delivering sustainable long term human occupancy in the core of deep plan buildings is an urgent issue with hardly a feasible solution," says Bill Witherspoon. "Healthcare facilities have led the way because they were the first to experiment with enclosed environments and document the clinical benefits of visual technologies."

"After a dozen years of field experience, we know biophilic illusions offer the most compelling solution because only illusions of nature engage spatial cognition in the observer," adds Skye. "Unlike symbolic imagery, biophilic illusions become part of the environment, creating a palpable, physiological sense of open space."

Both Bill and Skye join a distinguished list of Human Spaces contributors like Dr. Stephen R. Kellert, Professor Emeritus at Yale University and author of the seminal textbook Biophilic Design; Tim Browning, principal at Terrapin Bright Green, an environmental consultancy and strategic planning firm, and co-author of The Economics of Biophilia; and architect Lance Hosey, Chief Sustainability Officer at global design leader RTKL, one of the world's largest architectural firms.

We look forward to hearing your comments on Part 1 and Part 2 of the article.

Making an ēSea Splash in Tennessee

As a high-tech illusion, eSea is recorded in  UltraHD, then mastered with playback in high bit rate full HD, lending a visual realism that renders scenes beyond Blu-ray quality.

Last month, The Sky Factory and the Tennessee Aquarium collaborated to introduce ēSea, a Digital Cinema underwater portal to marine habitats, to the Children's Hospital at Erlanger, the first of its kind in the state. The partnership enabled the Sky Factory to film the Tennessee Aquarium's largest and most beautiful exhibit, the Secret Reef, as well as the Reelfoot Lake and the Flooded Amazon River exhibits.

Using a RED Digital Cinema™ camera, skilled videographers were able to film exotic species like Green Turtles, sharks, and colorful saltwater fish in the Secret Reef exhibit; crappie, sunfish, sturgeons and Map turtles in the Reelfoot Lake exhibit; and peacock bass, Tambaqui, catfish, and giant South American turtles in the Amazon River exhibit.

"We are extremely grateful for the support of the Tennessee Aquarium and The Sky Factory for allowing our patients and guests to benefit from not only a visual experience but also an educational experience by taking our patients and guests to various underwater worlds," said Cindy Rhodes, Chief Nursing Officer at Children's Hospital at Erlanger.

"We could not have received such high quality cinematography without the support of the Tennessee Aquarium," said Jeff Johnson, The Sky Factory's design specialist.

"Chattanooga's aquarium provided us with three gorgeous and diverse subjects, and what better place to debut them than in one of the nation's largest public hospitals and the region's only Children's Hospital."

Read the full press release or learn more about ēSea:

Signature Artist Series: Radim Schreiber

An award-winning nature photographer and experienced wild nature cinematographer, Radim Schreiber is well known for his playful firefly landscapes.

A member of Sky Factory's graphics team for over a decade, Radim announced earlier this summer that it was time to dedicate himself fully to his own photography. In recognition of Radim's best work over the years, we'd like to feature some of his most memorable wild nature images, including a selection of his distinctive wildlife portraits.

Radim's impressive, award-winning resume include outstanding wins including The Rainforest Alliance's Grand Prize (twice!) in the Picture Sustainability photo contest (2008, 2009), 1^st place at the Smithsonian Magazine's 8th Annual Photography Contest (2010), and 1^st place in the 41^st Annual National Wildlife Photography Contest (2011).

"The images below are the result of thousands of photographs that I took over the last six years", says Radim. "It takes a tremendous amount of patience to capture a photo of a firefly, in almost complete darkness while it flashes. I have not used any digital manipulation when creating these images."

See a selection of Radim's signature nature photography: