The Dark Side of Biophilic Retail Design on Pest, Hygiene, and Maintenance Challenges within the Malaysian Context

HRMARS - Biophilic design has been increasingly relevant in the context of current retail interior architecture in Malaysia as it is widely advocated for its capability to improve customer experience, brand image and environmental sustainability. Yet the conversation that appears most frequently in print gives priority to its subjective psychological or aesthetic effects, while little academic discussion has emerged concerning its unintentional operative and environmental repercussions. This research seeks to explore the latent downside of biophilic design retention in Malaysian retail space, particularly under a tropical climate condition of high humidity and biodiversity. With the attention to pest insects and rodents’ infiltration; bird intrusion and droppings in semi-open retail space; plant decay, mold formation, hygiene issues, elevated maintenance needs, and costs; this research investigates how nature-related strategies might inadvertently detract from retail performance or public health benchmarks. Taking a qualitative multiple-case approach, the study is based on rigorous semi-structured interviews of retail store owners and design professionals with enhanced triangulation of experiential data through visitor feedback analysis. The results indicate that there is a real conflict between aesthetics-naturalness and functional practicality. Though green walls, indoor planting systems, natural ventilation and water features can have a positive impact on spatial ambience, underdeveloped technical detailing, maintenance planning and risk assessment often leads to biosecurity issues and reputational risk. This problem is compounded by high humidity and rapid organic growth in the warm and humid climate of Malaysia. The research adds to the discussion on sustainable retail design by putting forward a risk-informed framework, which combines biophilic aspirations with health and safety control, hygiene operation and long-term commercial sustainability. It recommends nuanced application of biophilic principles in order to provide balanced, resilient and commercially viable retail store interiors.