BIOPHILIC DESIGN AND ITS RESTORATIVE POTENTIAL ON THE MENTAL STATES OF STUDENTS

Abstract

Biophilic design has been increasingly implemented in the built environment as a way to integrate nature into the design of the building and to care for the health and well-being of building occupants. Day-to-day activities require cognitive functioning of the brain, supplemented by directed attention. However, the directed attention is depleted throughout the day due to mental fatigue. Kaplan’s Attention Restoration Theory posits that nature has restorative properties that enable directed attention to be restored.

This study investigates the restorative potential of biophilic design and how it affects the mental state of individuals. The study was designed to test the hypothesis that a biophilic design setting fosters recovery from mental fatigue and improves the cognitive functions of sustained attention, working memory, information processing speed, and cognitive flexibility.

The study involved 52 participants that were randomly assigned to be placed in either a biophilic room or a non-biophilic room. Mental fatigue was first induced in the participants by engaging themselves in a period of self-study before taking the following tests: Perceived Restorativeness Scale, Sustained Attention To Response Task, Digit Span Test, Digit Symbol Substitution Test, and Wisconsin Card Sorting Task.

The findings from this study indicate that a biophilic design setting yielded a significantly higher restorative value and resulted in significantly higher sustained attention and information processing speed in its participants. However, a biophilic design setting did not present any statistical significance with working memory and cognitive flexibility. The study was concluded with a discussion of its limitations and future research directions.