The effects of indoor plants and artificial windows in an underground environment

Kim, Jeonghwan; Cha, Seung Hyun; Koo, Choongwan; Tang, Shiu keung

Abstract

People have negative perceptions of underground environments on account of the absence of natural elements. To alleviate negative perceptions, many investigators have proposed indoor plants and artificial windows. Although a few studies have provided quantitative evidence of the benefits of indoor plants and artificial windows in an otherwise windowless environment, research has yet to systematically investigate these effects in an underground environment. To address this gap in our knowledge, the present study investigated the effects of indoor plants and artificial windows in an underground environment by means of a room-assessment questionnaire, an electrodermal activity (EDA) measure, and a response-time task. The findings indicate that indoor plants in an underground environment increase positive perceptions along the semantic-differential scales “Artificial–Natural”, “Unsuitable for a task–Suitable for a task” and “Monotonous–Diverse”, and that they reduce response times. By contrast, artificial windows are effective only on the “Monotonous–Diverse” scale, and are associated with increased response time. These findings should contribute to improvements in underground environments using indoor plants and artificial windows, so that people can maintain above-ground ways of living and working.

Citation

Kim, J., Cha, S. H., Koo, C., & Tang, S. K. (2018). The effects of indoor plants and artificial windows in an underground environment. Building and Environment, 138, 53-62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2018.04.029

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 19, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Apr 22, 2018
• Publication Date: Jun 15, 2018
• Deposit Date: Jul 11, 2022
• Journal: Building and Environment
• Print ISSN: 0360-1323
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 138
• Pages: 53-62
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2018.04.029
• Keywords: Underground environment; Indoor plants; Artificial windows; Human–nature relations; Human well-being; Urban development
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4015729