Access Control

Open Access

Publication Date

2023

DOI

https://doi.org/10.7275/n6nh-6k94

Expected Graduation Date

2023

May

Honors Thesis/Project Advisor for this Particular Submission:

Caryn J. Brause

Architecture

Abstract

The ability to recover after long periods of mental strain and required attention is a crucial part of the working world. Attention Restoration Theory (ART) has emerged as an answer to how people can find restoration through natural environments. Furthermore, the ART framework has been used to demonstrate positive restoration outcomes when participants interact with the natural environment. What has been less studied however, is what aspects of natural environments on college campuses are most effective and most popular. In this project, volunteer participants indicated which areas on campus they prefer for various restorative categories using a photo elicitation survey. The results gathered from this study were analyzed and compared to the campus masterplan. Areas of high response were investigated to demonstrate the restorative characteristics that each space presents. Additionally, these spaces were categorized using the survey results into the four major aspects of ART to link campus greenspace design to specific aspects of restoration. A secondary goal was to compare the current campus master plan to the collected data on student restoration and preferences. In conclusion, this project used ART concepts to compare and contrast the current outdoor spaces offered by a state university in the northeast.

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