At Polar, about half of our work is in healthcare buildings such as hospitals and mental health facilities. But do windows really matter in this kind of environment? Does a link to the outside world really make a difference to our well being? This really interests me and while I was at University, I decided I would look into this a bit more – how can our connection to nature can be utilised to design healthcare environments to increase human well-being?
In the past, nature has always been acknowledged as being important for health. From ancient Egypt, tomb paintings show plants being brought indoors and similar scenes were found in the ruins of Pompeii. In the 19th Century, solariums became a standard feature in hospitals where patients would go to absorb sunlight and were positioned overlooking a rural view. But why?
The environment around us is experienced using our senses, we use our senses to work out what environments we like, and those we don’t. One architect once observed that baby begins life by “…tasting things, touching them, handling them, crawling on them, toddling over them to find out what they are like, whether friendly or hostile…” we use all our senses from an early age to make our own judgements, then store this to memory to be applied to new future experiences. As adults in the modern day we are very “ocularcentric” (meaning we tend to put vision before other senses), we do still benefit from and experience nature using all our senses without realising it. Things like adding plants to a space (anyone who knows me knows I’m a massive plant fan) don’t just make spaces look nicer but this can also add fragrance, alter acoustics, improve humidity and purify the air – benefiting all of our senses and absorbing the nature!
A brilliant piece of research I once read by, researcher Roger Ulrich related these concepts directly to healthcare. He performed a study into physical recovery times in patients recovering from similar surgeries. Half the patients were in room with a view of trees (nature view), the other half in another room overlooking a brick wall (non-nature view). He found that patients with the nature view were discharged more quickly than those overlooking a brick wall. And, even more surprisingly, the patients with the nature view needed less pain medication.
There are so many more studies I could mention here, but you would be reading all day BUT you can see that the effects nature can be really powerful, especially in healthcare environments when the importance of promoting good human health is arguably most crucial.
So, while at University and still working at Polar, I collected data from 75 people (including loads of the Polar family) to establish which environmental features were perceived as most and least important in hospitals. And, what I assessed how “connected to nature” each individual already was to see if this had any impact on the choices they made. I thought that the more connected to nature a person was, the more easily they would realise which features were important.
Out of a choice of 24 natural features, the things people thought were most important were natural light, air, views, navigation and inside-outside spaces. What I found really interesting though is that the five most important features did not relate at all to the participants own connectedness to nature which I believe means that regardless of how connected to nature you are, you will find these features important. Excitingly, all five features can be achieved by using windows!
1. Natural light: achieved through extensive use of glazed windows. Though care should be taken to reduce excessive solar gain or glare by making use of northern light. Or, by using solar control glazing to south facing elevations.
2. Air: achieved through thoughtful use of opening windows, and the use of various strategies to circulate fresh air freely around spaces.
3. Navigation: techniques to allow a person to direct themselves around a building, avoiding a sense of Disorientation such as adequate signage, the use of windows to orientate themselves with the outside world and suitable lighting can all aid in navigation around a building or space.
4. Views: comparable to “Natural Light”, the extensive use of glazed windows which overlook suitably natural scenes or landscapes allow users to connect to nature. If this is not possible, the use of natural artwork or plants can also be beneficial.
5. Inside-Outside Spaces: achieved through use of courtyards, gardens, porches, large open windows or doorways and overall, easy access wherever possible to the outside world. Similarly to “Views”, if this is not possible, use the of plants or artwork which depicts nature can be beneficial.
Based on the average scores given for each feature, it was possible to order all features from most to least important.
In my opinion, the top five features are not surprising. The effects of being connected to nature and using windows in building design, especially in healthcare, is proven to have positive health benefits.
But, not only in healthcare environments – at home and in the office, we should be considering how we can connect to nature to improve our own well-being. Open the curtains and windows for natural light and fresh air, decorate with natural colours, use plants indoors, add natural artwork and take time to look out of the window! This might sound silly, but our everyday lives an be so busy – taking some time to look out of the window every now and then may give you some time to reflect and refocus.