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Interior Design

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Article Databases for Interior Design

  • Arts Premium Collection This link opens in a new window ProQuest Arts Premium Collection encompasses cross-searchable databases with thousands of journal titles, ensuring deep searches of extensive collections in Art, Design, Architecture, Humanities, Film/Screen Studies, Music, Performing Arts, and more. Consists of 9 databases: •ARTBibliographies Modern (ABM) •Design and Applied Arts Index (DAAI) •International Bibliography of Art (IBA) •Arts and Humanities Full Text (A&H FT) •American Film Institute Catalog (AFI) •FIAF Plus •Film Index International (FII) •International Index to Music Periodicals Full Text (IIMP FT) •International Index to Performing Arts Full Text (IIPA FT).
  • Art & Architecture Complete This link opens in a new window Provides full text of 350+ journals and 200+ books dealing with art and architecture. Also indexes many other art and architecture publications and includes 60,000+ images.
  • Design and Applied Arts Index This link opens in a new window This database is the premier source of information for all aspects of design and crafts, from textiles and ceramics to vehicle design, advertising and sustainability. Covers journal articles, exhibition reviews and news items from 1973 to the present.
  • International Bibliography of Art This link opens in a new window The definitive resource for scholarly literature on Western art, IBA is the successor to the Bibliography of the History of Art (BHA), and retains the editorial policies which made BHA one of the most trusted and frequently consulted sources in the field. The database includes records created by the Getty Research Institute in 2008-09, with new records created by ProQuest using the same thesaurus and authority files.
  • ARTBibliographies Modern This link opens in a new window This database is the only specialist bibliography available for the study of modern and contemporary art. Covers all art forms, including fine art, digital art, crafts, design and photography. Features full abstracts and indexing from art journals published from the late 1960s onwards. Also incorporates book records, including those drawn from the collections of the Tate Library and the Bibliothèque Dominique Bozo, Musée LAM.
  • Applied Science & Technology Retrospective This link opens in a new window Contains historic (1912-1983) scholarly and popular articles related to engineering, construction management, architecture, chemistry, computer and information technology, geology, & physics. Linked full text only.

Interior Design Journals

A selection of journals available at Hunter Library. The list includes a mixture of peer-reviewed, trade, and popular titles.

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Journal of Interior Design

The  Journal of Interior Design  is a scholarly, refereed publication dedicated to a pluralistic exploration of the ‎interior environment.  The  Journal  seeks to move the discipline forward by welcoming scholarly inquiry from ‎diverse and interdisciplinary approaches, perspectives, and methods that actively explore and analyze the ‎evolving definition of the interior.  The  Journal ’s publications investigate the interior relative to design, human ‎perception, behavior, and experience, at all scales and for all conditions.  Scholarship published in the  Journal  ‎shapes, informs, and defines interior design education, practice, research, criticism, and theory.  ‎

IDEC members can download issues of the  JID  as a benefit to their membership.  Click here  to access the  JID  online (you will need to log in with your IDEC membership log in information to access the  JID ).  Click here to view the 2020 Publishers Report for the JID .

How to Craft a Successful Submission to  JID

Providing strategies for ‎crafting a successful submission

Scholarly Publishing Resources

Writing for Impact: How to Prepare a Journal Article

Andrew M. Ibrahim, MD, MSc1, Justin B. Dimick, MD, MPH2 1Department of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States; 2Department of Surgery, Center for Healthcare Outcomes and Policy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States

Call for Volunteers

The Board of Directors of the  Journal of Interior Design (JID)  invites applications for the following positions:

  • Ad-Hoc Reviewer

Special Issue Call for Papers

CALL FOR PAPERS:

Special Issue for the Journal of Interior Design (JID)

Under the auspices of the Interior Design Educators Council

Leading by Design: Evolving Practices to Face the Challenges of our Times

Laura B. Cole, Ph.D., Colorado State University and Erin M. Hamilton, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, Guest Editors

Registration of Interest Due (March 1, 2024)

Full Submissions Due (January 1, 2025)

Final Submissions to Publisher (October 2025)

Publication (March 2026)

Climate. Health. Inequity. Can designers lead the way in solving what are known as the wicked problems facing our global community? Design thinking promotes empathy and interdisciplinary collaboration. Yet, within design practice, designers are commonly regarded as experts who provide design services for clients rather than with clients. Within conventional modes of practice, designers are rarely positioned to question the “systemic forces that reproduce inequality and marginalization” (Hadjiyanni, 2020, p. 5) or to identify solutions reflecting the “interconnectedness and inter‐dependency of social, economic, political and natural systems” (Irwin, 2015, p. 230). For this Special Issue, we ask: what models of leadership and organizational structures can best support design solutions for the complex social and environmental challenges of our time? We welcome contributions in areas such as:

  • Novel leadership models in design education and practice that lead to sustainable and just outcomes;
  • Systems thinking and design thinking in interior design education and practice;
  • Design justice perspectives that question and provide alternative visions for the power structures within which design professionals operate;
  • Philosophies on the teaching and practice of sustainable interior design;
  • Preparing future design leaders through innovative design pedagogy in the realm of studios, professional practice, experimental coursework, and beyond; and
  • Community‐based, co‐design practices.

This Special Issue gives a home to boundary‐pushing ideas for cultivating engaged and proactive designers by evolving leadership and organizational paradigms across education and practice. We encourage perspectives that shift notions of design leadership toward community‐based, interdisciplinary, and distributed leadership models and welcome all forms of scholarship including visual essays, research manuscripts, and humanities papers.

Hadjiyanni, T. (2020). Decolonizing interior design education. Journal of Interior Design , 45 (2), 3‐9. https://doi.org/10.1111/joid.12170

Irwin, T. (2015). Transition design: A proposal for a new area of design practice, study, and research. Design and Culture , 7 (2), 229‐246. doi: 10.1080/17547075.2015.1051829

Submissions should expand and question our conventional understandings of the topic and its complex relationships to interior space. All work must demonstrate exceptional rigor in the search for new knowledge and ideas. Papers must be original work of the author or authors and are not being considered for publication in other journals. Submissions may be checked for originality using plagiarism-detection software.

DUE DATES FOR SPECIAL ISSUE:

July 2023                     Call for papers

March 1, 2024             Registration of Interest – Authors are asked to register their intent to

submit a paper by sending a 150-word abstract to Laura B. Cole at [email protected]

Please put your surname and “JID Special Issue” in the subject line. Registration of interest is not refereed, nor is it a requirement to submit. However, the acknowledgement of registration facilitates development of a proposal to full research paper by providing confirmation of fit with the special issue. Recognition of fit does not guarantee publication.

January 1, 2025          Full submissions are due. See author guidelines found on JID ’s website

at Sage Publications (https://journals.sagepub.com/home/IDX).

March 2026                 Publication of JID Special Issue

For questions regarding the call for papers, submission deadlines, or anything related to the content of the Special Issue, contact Laura B. Cole at [email protected]

Please put your surname and “JID Special Issue” in the subject line.

GUIDELINES FOR JID SUBMISSIONS:

Authors should follow the guidelines found on JID ’s website at Sage Publications. Please note the unique guidelines for Articles versus Visual Essays. Perspectives and Letters are by invitation only. https://journals.sagepub.com/home/IDX

Technical questions regarding the submission of documents through the Scholar One website should be addressed to Kathleen Sullivan, Editorial Assistant ([email protected]).

The  Journal of Interior Design  is a scholarly, refereed publication dedicated to a pluralistic exploration of the interior environment. Scholarly inquiry representing the entire spectrum of interior design theory, research, education, and practice is invited. Submissions are encouraged from educators, designers, artists, anthropologists, architects, historians, psychologists, sociologists, or others interested in interior design.

GUEST EDITORS:

New Virtual Issue

In the latest virtual issue, When You Can’t – Designing Supportive Housing for Refugees, Dr. ‎Tasoulla Hadjiyanni asks readers to consider the following: “What does home mean to you? What ‎defines your identity, and who would you be if you lost those elements that constitute your being? ‎Then, take a look around your home and ask yourself: What would I take with me if I had to flee ‎my house while bombs were falling all around me? And, how would I pick up the pieces to rebuild ‎my life as a refugee?” Dr. Hadjiyanni, who sought refuge at a Meneou plantation during Turkey’s ‎invasion of Cyprus, curates JID articles focused on vulnerability, dignity, and resilience that ‎provide design recommendations related to supportive housing. As you read these papers, ask ‎yourself: What kind of design interventions can you employ to transform housing into home for a ‎population that hopes their relocation will be a temporary situation? And, how can design help ‎heal the traumas of displacement, restoring dignity and a belief in the future?‎

Access this issue’s articles here .

JID  Best Article

Year 2022 Recipient PJ Carlino Ph.D. JID 46.1 Tied to the Desk: The Somatic Experience of Office Work, 1870–1920 (pages 27-43)

Year 2021 Recipient Giyoung Park Ph.D., Upali Nanda Ph.D., Lisa Adams, Jonathan Essary M.Arch., Melissa Hoelting B. Arch, HKS, USA JID  45.1  Creating and Testing a Sensory Well-Being Hub for Adolescents with Developmental Disabilities  (pages 13-32)

Year 2020 Recipient Stephanie Liddicoat JID  44.2  Spirituality in Therapeutic Spaces: Perceptions of Spatiality, Trace, and Past Rituals Manifesting Present Occupation  (pages 26-42)

Year 2019 Recipient Amy Huber JID  43.4  Exploring Hiring Practitioner Preferences for and Assessment Practice of Prospective Candidates (pages 21-44)

Year 2018 Recipient Xiaobo Quan, Anjali Joseph, & Upali Nanda JID  42.1  Developing Evidence-based Tools for Design and Evaluating Hospital Inpatient Rooms (pages 19-38)

Year 2017 Recipient Dianne Smith & Linda Lilly JID  41.2  Understanding Student Perceptions of Stress in Creativity-Based Higher Education Programs: A Case Study in Interior Architecture  (pages 39-55)

JID  Outstanding Reviewer of the Year

Year 2022 Recipient Dr. Marilyn Reed Oregon State University

Year 2021 Recipient Dr. David Wang Washington State University

Year 2020 Recipient Ronn Daniel Kent State University

Year 2019 Recipient Dr. Nisha Fernando University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point

Year 2018 Recipient Dr. Joan Dickinson Radford University

Year 2017 Recipient Dr. Lucinda Kaukas-Havenhand Syracuse University

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Journal of Interior Design

Journal of Interior Design

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  • Description
  • Aims and Scope
  • Editorial Board
  • Abstracting / Indexing
  • Submission Guidelines

The  Journal of Interior Design is a scholarly, refereed publication dedicated to a pluralistic exploration of the interior environment. The Journal seeks to move the discipline forward by welcoming scholarly inquiry from diverse and interdisciplinary approaches, perspectives, and methods that actively explore and analyze the evolving definition of the interior. The Journal’s publications investigate the interior relative to design, human perception, behavior, and experience, at all scales and for all conditions. Scholarship published in the Journal shapes, informs, and defines interior design education, practice, research, criticism, and theory. (Revised February 2021)

The Journal of Interior Design is a scholarly, refereed publication dedicated to a pluralistic exploration of the interior environment. The Journal seeks to move the discipline forward by welcoming scholarly inquiry from diverse and interdisciplinary approaches, perspectives, and methods that actively explore and analyze the evolving definition of the interior. The Journal’s publications investigate the interior relative to design, human perception, behavior, and experience, at all scales and for all conditions. Scholarship published in the Journal shapes, informs, and defines interior design education, practice, research, criticism, and theory. (Revised February 2021)

  • Clarivate Analytics: Arts & Humanities Citation Index (AHCI)

Manuscripts for consideration should be submitted online at  https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/interiordesign .

SUBMISSION TYPES Scholarly inquiry appropriate for submission to the  Journal of Interior Design  falls into four distinct categories:

Invited Perspectives: A position on current issues that impact interior design. Typically an invitation sent by Editor.

Invited Perspectives provide a forum for the exchange and debate of ideas among educators, practitioners, and other interested parties. Perspectives are not double-anonymously reviewed. They are evaluated solely by the editor-in-chief. The purpose of Invited Perspectives is to inspire discussion of critical issues facing interior design practice and education. Examples of Invited Perspectives considered for publication include, but are not limited to:

  • Discussion of current topics and concerns
  • Expression of a particular position or stance

Letters: Responses to ideas published in  JID  or presented at design conferences.

Letters offer the opportunity to engage in stimulating dialogue for the purpose of advancing the discipline. While letters expressing a personal opinion are encouraged, such opinions must be supported and substantiated by facts, evidence from the literature, and/or experts in the field. Letters should be submitted in essay format and the issue, position, or article/presentation being addressed must be clearly identified. Letters considered for publication include, but are not limited to:

  • Response to invited perspectives shared in previous  JID  issues
  • Response to an idea or concept presented in an article or at design conferences

Articles: Theoretical, Empirical, Historical and/or Critical Inquiries

Articles must be inquiries made in the context of a theoretical or conceptual framework, with analysis based on an identified set of criteria. Articles should educate the reader about a particular work, artist, object, or theory in relation to an area of expertise, a broader context, and/or as a solution to satisfy human social, physical, and psychological needs. A theoretical/conceptual framework from any discipline can be used to develop criteria so long as it is shown to have a meaningful relationship with the work to be analyzed. Papers in this submission category should increase the knowledge base and reinforce the value of discourse in design studies. Content should focus on interior design issues of scholarly content that will contribute to the body of knowledge. Examples of articles considered for publication include, but are not limited to:

  • Exploration of an issue or formulation of a position
  • Criticism of designed environments
  • Design history and/or historic preservation
  • Socio/Cultural aspects of interior environments
  • Design teaching and pedagogy
  • Design philosophy
  • Design theory and theory development
  • Behavioral relationships and interior environments
  • Human factors and interior environments
  • Material culture and interior environments

Visual Essays Articles presenting creative scholarship take the form of visual essays which are known to communicate ideas using an image-word relationship. While presenting practice-based research including speculative design, and maintaining a level of criticality, creative scholarship articles are led by the design object, event, process, system, artifact, space, or interior. The design is the subject of inquiry and the most prominent aspect. In this case, the article includes a contextual statement that introduces the design, the research topic, and the perspective. Rather than rely on the authority of textual language, the article develops as a series of pages where text and/or images are situated as interdependent elements. Here images, photographs, drawings, sketches and diagrams and textual language of all kinds play a pivotal role in shaping an intellectual inquiry. Authors should shape the visual essay to best communicate the design and inquiry. Please refer to the  JID Creative Scholarship issue (vol. 43, no. 1) for examples of how authors have formatted the visual essay as well as dealt with the text : image relationship. These are just examples; authors are encouraged to explore other options that keep within the parameters noted under Submission Guidelines for Visual Essays

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES Manuscripts for consideration should be submitted online at  https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/interiordesign . Full instructions and support are available on the site and a user ID and password can be obtained on the first visit. If you cannot submit online, please contact Kathleen Sullivan in the editorial office via email:  [email protected] .

Submission Guidelines for Articles/Perspectives/Letters

Submission Guidelines for Visual Essays

ARTICLE PREPARATION SUPPORT Sage Author Services  offers expert help with English Language Editing, as well as translation, manuscript formatting, figure illustration, figure formatting, and graphical abstract design – so you can submit your manuscript with confidence.     

RESUBMISSIONS Attach copies of all Editorial recommendations related to the original submission. Note changes in manuscript title if appropriate and update any contact information that may have changed since the time of original submission. Re-submit online at https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/interiordesign .

REVIEW PROCESS The  Journal of Interior Design  follows an anonymous review process. Each manuscript is reviewed by two reviewers and the Editor. The total turnaround period to complete the process of review and analysis varies between three to six months. The final recommendation is sent to the correspondence author by the Editor-in-Chief. Outcomes include: (a) publish as is, (b) minor revisions, (c) revise and resubmit for review, (d) reject.

SUBMISSION DEADLINES JID  operates on a “rolling submission” policy. As such, there are no deadlines for submission; each submission is processed as soon as it is received. However, calls for special issues will have specific deadlines.

COMMITMENT TO SCHOLARLY INTEGRITY The  Journal  employs iThenticate Professional Plagiarism Prevention to better ensure the originality of published research and scholarship using the most comprehensive scholarly comparison database.

QUESTIONS Questions regarding manuscript preparation and submission should be addressed to Kathleen Sullivan, Editorial Assistant, at  [email protected] .

AUTHOR LICENSING If a paper is accepted for publication, the author identified as the formal corresponding author will be required to complete a copyright license agreement on behalf of all authors of the paper.

General information regarding licensing and copyright is available  here .

Self-Archiving Definitions and Policies:  Note that the journal’s standard copyright agreement allows for self-archiving of different versions of the article under specific conditions. Please click  here  for more detailed information about self-archiving definitions and policies.

Open Access fees : Authors who choose to publish using Open Access will be charged a fee. More information can be found here .

Open Access Agreements : Please click  here  for more information on Sage’s current Open Access agreements.

PUBLICATION PROCESS AFTER ACCEPTANCE

Proofs Your Sage Production Editor will keep you informed as to your article’s progress throughout the production process. Proofs will be made available to the corresponding author via our editing portal Sage Edit or by email, and corrections should be made directly or notified to us promptly. Authors are reminded to check their proofs carefully to confirm that all author information, including names, affiliations, sequence and contact details are correct, and that Funding and Conflict of Interest statements, if any, are accurate. 

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ASID research projects focus on the business, impact, and practice of design. They span design career stages, space types, and topic areas.

Design industry & profession.

ASID 2024 Trends Report Cover Image - Black and White

2024 ASID Trends Outlook Report

American Society of Interior Designers is cataloging the latest ways we live, work, play, and heal – and the corresponding trends impacting interior design. A comprehensive literature review, this year’s 2024 ASID Trends Outlook report, sponsored by Sherwin-Williams, explores four overarching trends that will impact the design practice in transformative ways: consumers’ desire for connection, the allure of quiet luxury, blurred lines between live-work-and-play, and the blending of sustainability and wellness.

Download the Report

ASID 2023 Economic Outlook

ASID 2023 Economic Outlook

The ASID 2023 Economic Outlook Report provides a comprehensive analysis of the economy's current state and its impact on the interior design industry. Following the challenges posed by the pandemic and subsequent recession, the report showcases the resilience and adaptability of designers. This third installment of the Outlook research series equips interior designers with vital economic data and predictions to navigate their businesses through the year. 

2023 State of Interior Design Report

2023 ASID State of Interior Design

The ASID 2023 State of Interior Design Report provides an overview of the current state of interior design broken into three segments focusing on People, Firms, and Services. The state of the interior design industry is robust, and the industry saw the creation of more than 1,000 new interior design firms and 4,500 jobs in 2022.

ASID 2023 Trends Report colorful geometric cover image

The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) 2023 Trends Outlook report presents the latest changes in our world that are impacting interior design—including shifts in population, economy, society, lifestyles, methods of work, new technologies, and the natural environment.

DESIGN PRACTICE

View the Impact of Design Projects

Articles on Interior design

Displaying all articles.

interior design research articles

Cluttercore: Gen Z’s revolt against millennial minimalism is grounded in Victorian excess

Vanessa Brown , Nottingham Trent University

interior design research articles

Layer upon layer: uncovering the terrazzo treasures of the west and celebrating legacy floors

Ted Snell , Edith Cowan University

interior design research articles

Boris Johnson’s Downing Street refurbishment: might a law have been broken?

Sam Power , University of Sussex

interior design research articles

House plants were our link with nature in lockdown – now they could change how we relate to the natural world

Giulia Carabelli , Queen's University Belfast

interior design research articles

‘Transformer’ rooms and robo-furniture are set to remake our homes – and lives – before our eyes

Christian Tietz , UNSW Sydney

interior design research articles

Interior design of the future will seem like magic

Sara Nabil , Newcastle University

interior design research articles

Six steps to make your room feel like home (on a budget)

Sian Elin Thomas , Cardiff Metropolitan University

interior design research articles

Live in a small place? An interior designer’s tips to create the illusion of space

Kirsten Day , Swinburne University of Technology

interior design research articles

Shelter design can help people recover from homelessness

Jill Pable , Florida State University

interior design research articles

How IKEA used affordable and innovative design to transform the homes of everyday consumers

Dan Lewis , Staffordshire University

interior design research articles

The next step in sustainable design: Bringing the weather indoors

Kevin Nute , University of Oregon

interior design research articles

Going for gold: Trump, Louis XIV and interior design

Robert Wellington , Australian National University

interior design research articles

The underappreciated art of nightclub design, and why clubs are worth fighting for

Catharine Rossi , Kingston University

interior design research articles

Inside out: why do so many great buildings have drab interiors?

Michael Molloy , Queensland University of Technology

interior design research articles

Open plan offices attract highest levels of worker dissatisfaction: study

Sunanda Creagh , The Conversation

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Top contributors

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Director, Indoor Environmental Quality Laboratory, University of Sydney

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Research associate, University of Sydney

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Lecturer in Interior Design, Queensland University of Technology

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Honorary Professor, Edith Cowan University

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Senior Lecturer in Industrial Design, UNSW Sydney

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Senior Lecturer in Politics, University of Sussex

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Senior Lecturer Visual and Material Culture, Nottingham Trent University

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Lecturer in Technology and Practice, The University of Melbourne

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Senior Lecturer in Design History, Kingston University

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Associate professor, Australian National University

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Professor of Architecture, University of Hawaii

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Course Director, Design (Course Leader, Industrial Design; Product & Transport), Staffordshire University

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Professor of Interior Design and Architecture, Florida State University

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Senior Lecturer in Textiles & Interior Design, Cardiff Metropolitan University

interior design research articles

PhD Candidate, Newcastle University

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  • Open access
  • Published: 27 March 2018

The interior as interiority

  • Vlad Ionescu 1  

Palgrave Communications volume  4 , Article number:  33 ( 2018 ) Cite this article

17k Accesses

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The goal of the following article is two-fold: first, it aims to introduce some of the fundamental challenges concerning the theory of interior design, with the aspiration of stimulating further research on the topic, notably concerning the relationship of interior design to adaptive re-use, anthropology and the fine arts. Second, the text introduces a series of essays that complement this paper, which have been collected under the title Interiorities: Artistic, Conceptual and Historical Reassessments of the Interior . The collection proposes an interdisciplinary approach of the interior, both as an architectural challenge and as an opportunity to represent subjectivity in all its dimensions, as understanding, reflection, memory, imagination and affect.

Introduction

Architectural history has long conceived the interior as a distinct aspect of architectural design. Various historical studies have documented how an interior’s identity can evolve independently of the architectonic structure of a building (Hollis, 2009 ; Massey, 1997 ). Interiors constitute the most fragile feature of design because they are often temporary and secondary additions. They can be conceived simultaneously with the building but they are also easily transferrable and adaptable. Sometimes interior design emerges simultaneously with the exterior structure, like in the case of Art Nouveau. As Walter Benjamin argued, when the architect designs both the furniture and the structure, the interior loses its autonomy and becomes highly individualistic (Benjamin, 1999 , p 9). Interior and structure follow one organic sense of form; they grow as if from one germ. However, this holistic conception of the Jugendstil signals an ambiguity about the architectural status of the interior: is it supposed to be conceived separately from the rest of a building? This ambiguity regarding the interior justifies the distinction between decorator and interior designer (Massey, 1997 ). A subtle gradation determines the relation between the two: if the decorator has less of an impact on a building’s structural identity, this is because to decorate implies a different relation to the identity of a building. Adorning and integrating objects within its structure affects its spatial experience (but not yet its structure). Any intervention on this level is easily reversible and adaptable. Decorating and designing an interior space concern distinct levels of interventions, determining to different degree the extent to which architecture can change.

Nevertheless, the mere regulative distinction between decoration versus structure echoes another well-known dichotomy in modern thought, namely Kant’s distinction between ornament ( parerga , something secondary) and pure form as the authentic constituent of beauty (Kant, 2000 , pp 110–111). In the foundational work of modern aesthetics, The Critique of the Power of Judgement (1790), interior design returns at key moments. Kant argued that decorations of all sorts (from wallpapers to mouldings and furnishings, rings and pill boxes) represent actual beauty because they are there without any use, “merely to be viewed, in order to entertain the imagination in free play with ideas and to occupy the power of aesthetic judgement without a determinate end” (Kant, 2000 , p 201). Lack of a function guarantees a pure aesthetic experience. On the other hand, too much charm, external addenda and draperies, sensations and frames inhibit the pure aesthetic judgment (which concerns form, structure and outline). The history and theory of interior design has proved that this dichotomy between decorations and structures, between passing charms and pure forms, is more complex. Recent research has provided comprehensive historical overviews of interior design (Sparke, 2008 ; Pile and Gura, 2014 ; Raizman, 2003 ). Architectural theory approached the interior in a broader conceptual sense, combining a speculative philosophy and the phenomenology of dwelling–the “usual suspects” have been Gaston Bachelard, Martin Heidegger or Christian Norberg-Schultz–with the more prescriptive insights of modern architects. (Taylor and Preston, 2006 ; Lane, 2007 ; Weinthal, 2011 ).

However, interior design is more than a spatial arrangement or a collection of objects. We argue that the interior is a moment when a building receives its cultural significance. It is through interior design that a tectonic structure “speaks” to its users, involves their gender differences and division of roles. Architecture enters cultural debates when it is arranged as an interiority, that is to say, as a place that distributes functions (work, rest, move, etc.) in a given community. Existing literature has pinpointed this intuition: the “political interior” is the moment went a design is integrated in a broader cultural debate about the division of space according to responsibilities, traditions and rights (Thompson and Blossom, 2015 ). Mark Pimplott’s notion of the “public interior” also designates a cultural space that people continuously negotiate (Pimlott, 2016 ). Interior design and decoration are more than sartorial additions that cover an engineered structure; they are a necessary dimension that turn architectural space into a liveable place with a given stability, desirable order and readable cultural hierarchy (Verschaffel, 2002 ).

The fact that interiors can change explains their adjustable and transient nature; it also justifies adaptive re-use as an inherently critical function of interior design. Interiors are converted also because of an inherent qualitative difference , as Trachtenberg has convincingly shown, between the time of the building and the time of its lifeworld (Trachtenberg, 2010 ). Buildings tended to outlast, at least in the premodern world, the changes in the lifeworld. Historical time can involve faster changes than the time of a building. This interesting analysis raises even more pregnant questions regarding the interior, the most temporary dimension of any building. When buildings change “from inside out”, the new interior always and already says something about the world that changes outside itself. The adapted building is as much of a palimpsest as a city’s urban fabric (Machado, 1976 ; Corboz, 2001 ); yet the re-adaptable interior is a profoundly political palimpsest as it testifies to economic, religious or artistic changes (Hegewald and Subrata, 2012 ). When the profane takes over the sacred space faster than ever and when contractors determine the identity of the built environment, adaptive reuse can no longer just be a question of aesthetic taste and a vaguely felt mood. The adapted interior should represent these vehement changes in the way that communities chose to value their world.

This brings us to the idea that the interior has always been indistinguishable from people’s inner life - let us call it their interiority . The writer’s room is more than an enclosed space where someone writes but a carrier of specific types of imagination, that of a novelist or of a psychoanalyst (Fuss, 2004 ; Rosner, 2005 ; Bauer, 2016 ). As Virginia Wolf observed, the kitchen is the space where a social type emerges, namely the cook, a character that changes from the Georgian cook–“a creature of sunshine and fresh air; in and out of the drawing-room, now to borrow The Daily Herald , now to ask advice about a hat”–to the Victorian cook who “lived like a leviathan in the lower depths, formidable, silent, obscure and inscrutable” (Wolf, 1924 , p 5). In other words, the interior is an intramural arrangement of any built environment that actualises a specific interiority . The interior is the condition of possibility that allows us to represent these (inter-)subjective dimensions: power relations, intimacy, (semi-) public encounters, imagination, memory, attention, desires and understanding. These dimensions define our symbolic representation, the ability that overcomes our biological adaptability and allows us to understand and represent the world through language. Domesticity is such a specifically human language, not just a spatial but also a symbolic arrangement of the interior as a home. The home is the house that contains a given symbolic order, stability and sense of time (Verschaffel, 2002 ; Rice, 2007 ; Smyth and Croft, 2006 ). The difference between a home and hotel apartment concerns less the interior design and the spatial arrangement as the inhabitant’s temporal, emotional and imaginative relation to the interior. The home implies a strongly embodied relation between an interior and the sense of interiority that it brings about (memories, sense of time, directions, fantasies, etc.).

Interiority as a figure

The thematic article collection that this article accompanies Footnote 1 addresses this complex relation between interior design and interiority, between architectural structures and the subjectivity that they engender or challenge. The house (interior) as a home (interiority) is particularly revealing because the modern rationalist design emerges in debates concerning interior design. Already in the middle of the 19th century, Jakob von Falke (the first curator of the Viennese Museum of Applied Arts) referred to the Renaissance interior as rational and adaptable to modern life (Von Falke, 1866 ). The Renaissance interior was also the model for Georg Hirth as it harmonises structure and ornament (Hirth, 1886 ). The rational adaptability that modern life requires was related to interior design. Cornelius Gurlitt, besides famously revaluing Baroque architecture, also described the rules that the bourgeois house was supposed to follow (Gurlitt, 1888 ). Modern life, from the middle of the 19th century onwards, is centred around an interior that accommodates its fundamental values, that is, the rational spatial division, the employment of honest materials and linear shapes that accentuate function. Nevertheless, Gurlitt integrates interior design into the broader reflection on taste: even though the bulk of his Im Bürgerhause consists of a collection of thoughts on each segment of a modern home, he relates questions of style to literature and painting. Before asking what a stylish interior is, Gurlitt wonders whether the style of a poem is something eternal and human or something ephemeral, “measured to us and our time” ( das uns und unserer Zeit Gemässe , Gurlitt, 1888 , p 33).

Reflecting on the interior means debating our interiority, more precisely clarifying our understanding of the past, both its aesthetic values and our specific understanding of style, including the role that fashion plays. Reflecting on interior design is not just a question of arranging and designing furniture, choosing appropriate colours or adapting past building to new requirements; it is a question of building up a scenography for our subjective life, our values, emotions and thoughts. The modernist adaptation of forms to functions means precisely that the interiority of the modern subject has become an adaptable machine. A lot of contemporary interior design, especially in the context of retail, aims at the mechanisation of human interiority, its adaptation to a flat process of consumption, adjusting it to one function only: consume.

However, the correlation between interior design and interiority is immanent for reasons of representation. Theorists like Gaston Bachelard and novelists like Georges Perec were quite aware that the interior has always been a figure of consciousness in all its dimensions. Interiority is a space where all the trajectories of consciousness as intentional experience unfold, from awareness to remembrance and imagination. In this sense, the interior is a constitutive figure of consciousness, as Jean-Louis Chrétien has shown, from Augustine to Montaigne and beyond (Chrétien, 2014 ). In medieval times, closing the door of a room and falling back on oneself was an opportunity to encounter God in the cubiculum cordis , the so-called closed “room of the heart” (Chrétien, 2014 , p 47). One could be on one’s own but this condition facilitated prayers, reflections, meditations, etc. The interior was a closed room but interiority (the cubiculum cordis ) was directed somewhere else. With Montaigne ( On Solitude ), being alone captures the modern condition of reflecting autonomously, alone with oneself. Even though Augustine wrote his Soliloquies in order to know himself, this self-knowledge constantly presupposes the presence of the Almighty. With the moderns, the interior of a room is a safe space of a monologue, with no necessary relation to any God (Chrétien, 2014 , p 93). Nevertheless, interiority in all its forms–from the monk’s cell (Guillaume de Saint-Thierry) to cultivating one’s garden (Voltaire)–shapes both the secular and the religious consciousness.

Significant here is that this representation of the inner space affects the way we represent the world to ourselves. It is in this sense that interior design is significant: the interior is a figure of our subjectivity but this is only important because it signals how we think of the world outside of ourselves: Voltaire’s garden suggests a reflective stance that delimits the complex world to limited, local and direct activities; Montaigne’s closed room suggests that thinking the world necessitates this temporary seclusion. The pre-modern understanding of the interior as an openness towards divinity becomes in modernity a position that thinking takes towards the world. We could quote the usual examples and move from Xavier de Maistre’s Voyage Around My Room (1794), which represents an entire world from the confines of a bedroom, to George Perec’s interior as a seralisation of objects, movements and operations. Perec’s significance becomes obvious when we read Species of Spaces ( 2008 ) together with An Attempt at Exhausting a Place in Paris ( 2010 ) and Penser/Classer ( 2003 ). This parallel reading proves that interiority, the inner life of the mind, becomes a way of perceiving the 'public interior' (to use Pimlott’s notion) as sequences, classification and processes. With Perec, the interior is a model for representing the exterior world. In Thomas Bernhard’s Old Masters ( 2010 ), a museum room with a Tintoretto painting and a settee facilitates an entire narrative improvisation and social commentary. The museum interior is here an opportunity to criticise modern society, its values and cultural choices. The interior opens up the protagonist’s interiority, a space with own depth, imagination, directions and borders.

From art history to theory

Hence, the precisely delimited enquiry of the interior as interiority: the interior is analysed in order to deduce how the world as a horizon is represented, addressed and modified. The accompanying thematic collection approaches this subject from a systematic point of view, combining different positions, from the history of art and architecture to architectural theory and philosophy. The content can be divided into two thematic sections, the first concerning conceptual approaches of the interior as interiority, and the second discussing art historical approaches of the same topic. Regarding the first approach, Verschaffel’s essay addresses the interior as a concept distinguished from a generic “outside”; interior design debates this dialectic and makes sense when the interior is thematised as a series of demarcations and transitions, from the original womb to the house (Verschaffel, 2017 ). The essay provides descriptions of the interior’s constitutive elements: the floor (related to earth), the wall (related to the world) and the roof (related to heaven). A similar topological approach returns in Forino’s intervention, a profound and original look into spatializing elements within the interior (the Renaissance studiolo , the bed, the window) that crystalize inherently human dimensions like attention and reflection (Forino, 2017 ). The notion of interno nell’interno tackles precisely the architectural potential that these “residual spaces” have. These elements represent subjectivity as an interiority where memory, reflection, mediation and introspection define its infinite propensity.

Consciousness is thus built on architectural principles and these tectonic figures return in the paper by Wambacq and van Tuinen ( 2017 ). The authors compare the anthropological philosophy of Peter Sloterdijk with the one signed Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari. Sloterdijk’s images of interiors (from the bubble to the uterus) is contrasted to Deleuze and Guattari’s reception of the Umwelt (Jakob von Uexüll) as an opening up of organisms towards the world. For Sloterdijk civilisation is a process that projects the protective sense of an interior onto an increasingly colonised and foreign exterior. The interior is a process that formats the unknown, rendering it familiar. For Deleuze and Guattari, organisms fold on each other, like the orchid and the wasp, one entity emulating a part of the other. Instead of borders that divide the interior and the exterior, the known and the unknown, Deleuze and Guattari propose an absolute exterior, imagined as a series of transitions between intervals that interact and fracture (spatial) identities. From intervals to a historically layered conception of the interior, Brooker advances the notion of interiorscape (Brooker, 2017 ). Referring to the work of Katsuhiro Miyamoto, Brooker observes the blend between old and new structures, an amalgamation that the adaptation of old buildings requires. An intermediate space set within existing fragile structures can generate a novel spatial context. The interiorscape is a design approach that combines structures in order to show the present as built between the layers of the past but also in order to represent history as a layered space.

In regard to the art historical approach, this collection introduces a case study of modernist interiors. Campens ( 2017 ) addresses the architecture of the Belgian architect Juliaan Lampens and raises a fundamental question concerning the relationship between the prescriptive ways of living that modernist interiors presuppose and their necessary adaptability to new conditions. Binstock ( 2017 ) is the Vermeer specialist and Vermeer is the interior painter par excellence. His essay addresses Vermeer’s interiors as affective dimensions of interiority: melancholy, love, worry, attention and reflection are figured in these implicitly constructivist approach of the Dutch 17th century painter. The art of looking depends on the art of spatial arrangements and temporary states of mind are indistinguishable from an adaptable studio. Bauer’s contribution addresses a common isotopy in modern literature, namely the common ground that emerges between characters and their surrounding environment (Bauer, 2017 ). Concentrating on Balzac’s novel Colonel Chabert ( 2012 ), Bauer shows how the interior becomes a scenography for the experience of historical time: houses bear a physiognomy and in The Cabinet of Antiquities ( 1987 ) objects and people blend into a tableau. Shifting between media and ages, one can see how Vermeer’s clear depictions contrasts with Balzac’s grotesque vision of the human condition.

The interior becomes a figure of interiority

In conclusion, the interior coagulates architectonic space and turns into a readable place, a locally and temporally determinable dimension of meaning that generates specific movements, activities and roles. In this research context, the interior as interiority proposes a specific approach: instead of conceiving interior design strictly as the disposition of objects in space, the interior becomes a figure of interiority. The decorum of our lived space, its furniture, walls and roof, is significant because it is a representation of our subjectivity: how we live is a sign of how we think, feel and imagine the world. Relating the interior to interiority, interior design addresses a different challenge than that of comfortable spatial arrangements; it overcomes the reflection on interior space as a question of taste and decoration. The interior becomes an issue concerning representation: it is a model of our subjective life that in turn allows us to better understand the world we live in.

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

A participatory interior design approach for a restorative work environment: a research-intervention.

\nMargherita Pasini

  • 1 Department of Human Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
  • 2 Independent Consultant, Verona, Italy
  • 3 Amnesty International Italia, Human Resources Department, Rome, Italy

Exposure to environmental stressors has physical and psychological consequences. A demanding physical environment involves the allocation of additional attentional resources and an increase in psycho-physical stress. This study illustrates the process of a research-intervention aimed at designing a workplace, using a participatory design approach, and considering the beneficial effect of restorative environments in reducing stressful elements and improving well-being at work. Stressful situations occur daily, compromising proper functioning while causing the occurrence of physiological and/or psychological disorders. To be able to safeguard their psycho-physical well-being, people normally adopt coping strategies, i.e., remedies that allow them to cope and manage situations that generate stress. One of these strategies is the exposure to natural environments, which promotes recovery and sustains psycho-physical well-being. The restorative properties of natural environments have been scientifically proven. However, even built spaces can be thought of as restorative environments, in particular when certain conditions are granted. An applied science, known as biophilic design, provides useful indications from this perspective. This project involved 57 employees of the Italian site of an international non-governmental organization, in the transition from a site no longer adequate to a new site requiring renovation. In a first phase, a survey was conducted, to verify the perceived quality of the current workplace and to detect the unmet workers' needs, and to assess some other important psychological constructs connected with perception of restorativeness and well-being. In a second phase, the findings emerged from the survey was analyzed in depth through a participatory interior design process, together with an interdisciplinary team of architects, technicians of the organization and environmental psychology researchers. The team, together with some representatives of employees, worked together through possible scenarios, adopting a biophilic design approach, to design the new workplace. At the end, the same survey of the first phase was conducted, to detect differences in perceived quality in the new workplace compared to the previous one.

Introduction

Workplace in an historical perspective.

The nature of the workplace in the modern world has transformed drastically after World War II. In the 1950s, office layouts were inspired by the factory floor with rows-and-rows of desks cramming clerks tightly together. In parallel, executives enjoyed privileged amenities, such as private corner offices fitted with large windows through which they could make sure employees were hard at work. In the 1960s, as drinking and smoking were common in the office, the “three-martini lunch” was born. In 1978, ING Bank directors shared a vision for a new 49,982 m 2 headquarters in Amsterdam. The focus of the building design was to maximize natural lighting, integrate organic art and install water features to enhance worker productivity and create a new image for the bank. After the relocation, absenteeism decreased by 15% and employees reportedly looked forward to coming to work and voluntarily tended to the planted vegetation features in the building ( Romm and Browning, 1994 ). In addition to saving an estimated £1.3 million per year in operation costs from their new energy system and daylighting strategies, the new headquarters enhanced ING's image as a progressive and creative bank ( Romm and Browning, 1994 ). In the 1980s people began to talk about and lobby for work-life balance, and wellness programs became a part of office life. Corporate culture was a priority. It was essential that businesses had a culture, defined it, and importantly that every employee knew about it in their cubicle fields. Whatever luster the cubicle had back in the 1960s, it faded away by the new millennium. The early 2000s saw the rise of open-floor office plans and telecommuting began. On the one hand, open-plan offices often lead to loss of productivity, problems with noise, temperature, and fatigue, increase of sickness, decrease of overall well-being of employees; on the other hand, open-plan offices save costs on real estate, increase communication and improve teamwork ( Seddigh et al., 2014 ; Danielsson et al., 2015 ). Nowadays, companies aim for their employees to be fully engaged and productive, although rarely workplaces support their outcomes ( Browning and Ryan, 2020 ). Lowered productivity can stem from noise distraction, attention fatigue, lack of sleep and bad moods ( Maas, 2011 ). The physical workplace can either amplify or dampen many of the underlying factors of productivity. Hence, research in this sector is very valuable to touch on perspectives, challenges and lessons learned by project teams or owners when improving the workplace.

Workplace and Its Effects on Stress

Stress management programs in the workplace typically focus on psychosocial factors and tend to disregard the growing body of research on workplace and environmental psychology ( Van der Klink et al., 2001 ; Korpela et al., 2017a ). Environmental psychology can be described as the study of the impact of the physical environment on people and the impact of people on the physical environment ( Proshansky, 1987 ). It is an area of applied psychology, although a substantial portion of the research work is devoted to theoretical and methodological development, with only limited attention still to evidence-based results in this field. Common environmental psychology research settings are hospital, neighborhood, home, school and work environments (e.g. Andrade et al., 2013 , 2017 ; Maxwell, 2016 ; Haapakangas et al., 2019 ; Mueller et al., 2019 ; Tobia et al., 2020 ). The bulk of environmental psychology research focuses on stress and stress-reducing effects of physical environments. Indeed, exposure to environmental stressors has physical and psychological consequences. Evidence shows that the office design influences employees' stress-level, productivity and well-being ( Veitch et al., 2007 ; Vischer, 2007 ; Rashid and Zimring, 2008 ; Varjo et al., 2015 ; Kang et al., 2017 ). A demanding physical environment involves the allocation of additional attentional resources and an increase in psycho-physical stress. Exposure to environmental stressors appears to erode individuals' resilience, or ability to cope with additional task demands, reducing not only work performance but also overall well-being ( Lamb and Kwok, 2016 ). As Vischer (2007 , p. 178) claims: stressors in the work environment affect employee performance adversely when they are high intensity or prolonged, they slow down the individual's ability to process and understand the number and predictability of “signals,” which increase with task complexity. These sorts of stressors can be functional or symbolic (based on nonverbal communication of implicit intra-group meanings). Inadequate control over the physical environment is in itself a stressor that interferes with work objectives. Physical environments are perceived as more pleasant when people have some control on them, which contributes to a higher quality of work.

The design of a workplace also affects the quality of the work done by the people in it. Some of these effects are more direct: such as, visual or auditory stimuli which negatively affect concentration and consequently performance and are considered often problematic by employees (e.g., Haynes, 2008 ; Szalma and Hancock, 2011 ). More generally, all the functionally uncomfortable features of an office directly causes stress and reduces quality of work life ( Vischer and Wifi, 2017 ). Others are more indirect, considering that, as people attach symbolic meanings to components of their workplace, this affects the way tasks are carried out. Workplace design influences worker performance, as it shapes mood, which in turn, influences how broadly or narrowly people think. In a synthesis of related research, Veitch (2012) points out that working under preferred conditions can create a state of positive affect (mood) that in turn leads to benefits in the form of increased cooperation, reduced competition, improved intellectual performance, and increased creativity. Schwartz and Porath (2014) surveyed 19,000 employed people to learn about the extent to which the thought of those individuals increased their work-related satisfaction and performance. The researchers found that people are quite aware of how their workplaces influence their performance: they normally feel and perform better and more sustainably when basic needs are met at four levels, such as renewal (physical), value (emotional), focus (mental) and purpose (spiritual). E.g., “the opportunity and encouragement to intermittently rest and renew our energy during the work day serves as an antidote to the increasing overload so many of us feel;” “feeling valued creates a deeper level of trust and security at work, which frees us to spend less energy seeking and defending our value, and more energy creating it;” “better focus makes it possible to get more work done, in less time, at a higher level of quality;” “the sense that what we do matters and serves something larger than our immediate self-interest is a uniquely powerful source of motivation” ( Schwartz and Porath, 2014 ). Meeting even one of the needs in any of four core realms had a dramatic impact on every performance variable studied. Workplace design can contribute directly to feeling refreshed and valued and being able to focus on the task at hand. Schwartz and Porath's (2014) results are consistent with Leaman's (2003) findings: the better the occupants think the indoor environment is, the more likely people are to say they are productive, healthy, and happy ( Leaman, 2003 ). Designing workplaces where people perform to the best of their ability is clearly a complex process. Research, however, can effectively guide designers' efforts in this direction. The physical-spatial dimensions commonly studied and analyzed concerning organizational outcomes are particularly: privacy, noise, natural and artificial lighting, air quality ( Veitch, 2012 ).

Restorative Environments and the Implication on Workplace Design

The concept of a restorative environment is linked to the notion of environmental stress. Stress occurs when environmental demands on people exceed their capacity to respond. Stressful situations emerge on a daily basis, compromising proper functioning, while also causing the occurrence of physiological and/or psychological disorders ( Baroni and Berto, 2013 ). To be able to safeguard their psycho-physical well-being, people learn coping strategies, i.e., remedies that allow them to cope and manage situations that generate stress. One of these strategies is the exposure to natural environments, promoting recovery and sustains psycho-physical well-being. Existing theoretical frameworks, such as the biophilia hypothesis ( Wilson, 1984 ), the attention restoration theory ( Kaplan and Kaplan, 1989 ; Kaplan, 1995 ) and the stress restoration theory ( Ulrich, 1983 ; Ulrich et al., 1991 ), suggest that nature contact can influence both productivity and well-being. The restorative properties of natural environments have been proven scientifically ( Menardo et al., 2019 ). According to the literature (e.g., Kaplan, 1995 ; Korpela and Hartig, 1996 ; Pasini et al., 2014 ), some features of an environment enhance the quality of restoration in individuals. Kaplan (1995) identified four factors which characterize restorative environments: fascination, which refers to how an environment might attract the involuntary attention of a person; being away, which refers to how an environment causes a person to fell freed from everyday demands and obligations; extent, a characteristics which has two components, that are coherence which refers to how an environment is perceived as organized or not and scope that refers to how an environment offers the possibility of exploration; compatibility which refers to the correspondence between the characteristics of an environment and expectations of a person.

Restorative effects might appear after even very brief nature contact through so called micro-restorative experiences, particularly when stress levels are constant but not too high ( Kaplan, 2001 ). Micro-restorative experiences include simple actions like glancing at a green landscape out of a window, or at a nature image on the wall, at an indoor plant, or other such similar experiences. For example, images of nature and nature view from the window reduce stress and anger, and help workers feel happier and healthier ( Bringslimark et al., 2009 ; Korpela et al., 2017a ). In the workplace, green plants can induce parasympathetic activity and greater stabilization of the autonomic nervous system ( Ikei et al., 2014 ). Exposure to nature at work is related with well-being also longitudinally ( Korpela et al., 2017b ). Nature is restorative because it is filled with intriguing stimuli, modestly grabs attention in a bottom-up fashion, allowing top–down directed-attention abilities a chance to replenish. Unlike natural environments, urban environments are filled with stimulation that captures attention dramatically and additionally requires directed attention (e.g., to avoid being hit by a car), making them less restorative ( Berman et al., 2008 ).

A Biophilic Design Approach for Workplaces

Not only natural settings but also built spaces can be thought of as restorative environments ( Ulrich, 1983 ; Kaplan, 1995 ; Berto et al., 2015 ). This has been effectively explored by biophilic design, an applied science that focuses on designing spaces with a special attention to certain characteristics, such as the level of environmental stimulation, coherence, complexity, the opportunity for visual contact with natural elements and the presence of biomorphic forms and structures. Biophilic design has received increased interest in recent years and is also being hailed as a strategy for reducing workplace stress while, at the same time, restoring attention, enhancing performance and increasing overall well-being. Numerous studies have been carried out highlighting the relevance of biophilic design in the workplace ( Lottrup et al., 2013 ; Browning et al., 2014 ; Mangone et al., 2017 ). Considering possible effects of this approach, “Biophilic design promotes positive interactions between people and nature that encourage an expanded sense of relationship and responsibility for the human and natural communities.” ( Kellert and Calabrese, 2015 , p. 7).

A holistic biophilic workplace design strategy recognizes well-being as the aggregate of all our senses visual, aural, gustatory, olfactory, tactile, temporal. Our experience of tranquility relies on the harmonization of sensory inputs ( American Society of Interior Designers, 2018 ), which may differ among build space user groups. Emphasis on effective daylighting, thoughtful spatial configurations, a multisensory experience and, when possible, natural ventilation strategies, along with interior greenery and ample views to nature, tends to create dynamic and healthful workplace experiences ( Browning and Ryan, 2020 ).

The effect of restorative environments applied to workplace on organizational outcomes is still the subject of current research. Exposure to real nature enables better focus, mental stamina and productivity ( Browning and Ryan, 2020 ). A simple device like strategic workstation orientation emphasizing a view to nature can have itself economic value by enhancing worker's performance and, thus, long-term productivity and profits ( Heschong, 2003 ; Loftness, 2008 ). View and daylight quality can significantly affect how employees behave where they work, eat and break ( Elzeyadi, 2011 ), as well as how much time is spent working at the office and sleeping at home ( Figueiro et al., 2008 ; Boubekri et al., 2014 ). Noise-induced distraction has significant quantifiable negative impacts on ideation, reading comprehension, logical reasoning and useful interpretation of long-term memories ( Banbury and Berry, 1998 , 2005 ; Hongisto et al., 2008 ; DeLoach et al., 2015 ; Haapakangas et al., 2019 ). Attaching positive subjective meaning to the aural workplace experience can help combat noise distraction and associated health impacts. Nature-inspired acoustic treatments and water soundscapes can be incorporated to improve task performance and positive employee perception of well-being ( Pheasant et al., 2010 ). Thus, financial repercussions of biophilic design in the workplace can be broken down into three categories: reduced absenteeism, improved cognitive performance and improved employee retention rate (from higher satisfaction). Each of these either saves a company money or increases their profit margin. A selection of research studies is summarized here: those with views of nature and daylight have 57 vs. 68 h of sick leave ( Elzeyadi, 2011 ); views of nature are connected to 6–7% faster call handling, 8–16% improved cognitive performance ( Heschong, 2003 ); indoor plants make to 10% improved task performance ( CBRE, 2017 ) and 15% improvement (quicker and more accurate) in productivity tests ( Nieuwenhuis et al., 2014 ); plants and window views are positively correlated with job satisfaction and organizational commitment ( An et al., 2016 ); interior wood is related to an average. 10.7% reduction in completion time and 7.8% improvement in accuracy across 5 cognitive tests ( Shen et al., 2020 ); nature sounds to an average of 13.9% increase in direct attention task score from before and after nature sound being used ( Van Hedger et al., 2019 ); a combination of biophilic elements is connected to 14% improvement in short-term memory tasks ( Yin et al., 2018 ). Biophilic changes made to a workplace can reduce absenteeism over a long term, limit complaints that drain human resource productivity and help retain employees over many years. Browning et al. (2012) calculated that the lost productivity value of absent employees engaged in office buildings in New York City is about $4.7 billion. Studies have shown that biophilic work environments can reduce about 10% of workers' absenteeism ( Elzeyadi, 2011 ). Therefore, biophilic work environments could help a city such as New York City recoup $470 million in reduced absenteeism ( Browning et al., 2012 ).

Bolten and Barbiero (2020) tried to identify the features that scientifically relevant publications describe ( Browning et al., 2014 ; Sturgeon, 2017 ; Kellert, 2018 ) share together, so that they can be considered as essential ones. Bolten and Barbiero (2020) group them in the following categories: light, protection and control, air, views, greenery, curiosity, and materials, finishing and colors. The first group of three elements, standing on the authors comment, concerns the search for refuge, while the second group concerns search for resources, in an evolutionary perspective. They also noted that the acoustic aspect, namely “quiet and silence,” is never considered among these relevant publications, even if it is an important aspect ( Berto and Barbiero, 2014 ). Exposure to a noisy environment for long periods can interfere with cognitive performance and affect physical and mental health (e.g., causing fatigue, irritability) which will influence workers' productivity indirectly ( Banbury and Berry, 2005 ; Mak and Lui, 2012 ; Rasheed et al., 2019 ).

Participatory Design: Design as Democracy

Participatory design is an approach attempting to actively involve multiple stakeholders (e.g., employees, partners, customers, citizens, end users) in the design process to meet their needs, while empowering them to be active shapers of their world. Participatory design is not a design style, rather a new perspective to processes and procedures of design. Recent research suggests that designers create more innovative concepts and ideas when working within a co-design environment with others as compared to when they generate ideas on their own ( Mitchell et al., 2015 ; Trischler et al., 2018 ). The book Design as Democracy ( Peña et al., 2017 ) defines Participatory Design as “hands-on democracy in action. It is grounded in the everyday places and lives of people. For over half a century it has guided us in understanding communities, honoring differences, creating vibrant neighborhoods and ecosystems, challenging environmental injustice, and fostering citizenship. Yet, in spite of our creative potential as designers, we tend to draw upon the same palette of techniques that were developed 50 years ago, without adapting or innovating for the contexts we now encounter.” This approach activates a participatory process relying on techniques and tools aimed at developing spaces that recognize and respond to fundamental human needs and rights. Participatory design has many applications in developing the built environment, particularly in relation to community regeneration projects ( Kuiper, 2007 ). Giving employees more control over the design of their workplace makes a positive contribution to their well-being, according to a research study by the Helen Hamlyn Center for Design at the Royal College of Art, London, with architectural firm Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design Gensler (2017) . However, data on its effectiveness and ways in which it can be applied to workplace design are poor. An evidence gap persists in research and interventions that adopt this approach. To address such limitations, the team set out to carry out a research-intervention project in the field of Interior Participatory Design to test out this approach empirically.

The Aim of the Study

The aim of the present study is to illustrate a research-intervention project concerning the design of a workplace following some guidelines coming from environmental psychology research and biophilic design. The project involved employees and managers in the transition from a site no longer adequate for the needs of the organization to a new site to be renovated. The design suggestions are aimed to reduce stressful elements and improve the restorative qualities of the workplace. The intervention followed the Participatory Design approach, involving employees, managers, architects, internal designers, technicians, and environmental psychologists. To evaluate the effectiveness of the process, a pre-intervention ad a post-intervention assessment was conducted on employees, considering their perceptions of the quality of some features of the workplace, as well as other psychological variables.

Research Design

This study illustrates an intervention research aimed to verify the effect of a participatory design intervention on the perceived quality of the physical features of the workplace. To do this, participants have been involved in three phases: a first assessment (T1), to measure the perceived quality of some features of the workplace, a second phase (Intervention) consisting in the participatory design intervention, and a final phase (T2), aimed to assess the same variables measured in the first phase, to detect changes in satisfaction about the quality of the workplace. The study involved all the employees and the managers of the Italian site of an international non-profit organization during the transition period from the old site to a new site to be renovated. A small team involving one manager, an architect, and the environmental psychology researchers was created first, to discuss the research-intervention project. This project was presented in an assembly session to all the employees. In this assembly the staff was informed about the project and trained on the state of art of the research related to biophilic design and potential restorative characteristics of work environments and their impact on workers well-being.

In the same context, an on-line survey was launched to verify employees' satisfaction for the quality of some features of the current workplace, to detect the workers' unmet needs. The on-line survey was available for 2 weeks. Six months later, the organization moved to the new site, and 2 months later, the same survey was conducted to assess the change in quality satisfaction for the old site compared to the new one. The survey was available for 2 weeks here too. The surveys were conducted online, and all participants agreed to participate after filling in the informed consent.

After the first assessment wave, a participatory interior design process started, including volunteers among the employees, together with an interdisciplinary team of architects and technicians of the organization, supported by the environmental psychology researchers. The team worked together through possible scenarios adopting biophilic design, designing together the interiors of the new workplace.

The participatory design process consisted of two steps. The aim of the first step was to develop proposals for the interior design of the new headquarters. In this step employees were assigned to three groups based on their work unit and role. For each group, the work was developed in four sessions. In the first session, titled “ Creativity takes courage ,” participants were asked to individually draw “The office I would like” on a blank piece of paper. At the end of this session all the drawings were shared between all the participants. In the second session, titled “ None of us is as smart as all of us together ,” participants were asked—divided into small groups—to “draw the formal and informal common spaces of the new headquarters” using the plans of the new headquarters. In the third session, title “ Description of the drawings ,” all the drawings were shared by all the small groups in a plenary session. In the last session, titled “ Reflections and feedback ,” the proposals were discussed by participants and the interdisciplinary team of architects and internal technicians with the support and the facilitation of the researchers.

In the second step of the participatory design process, a small group composed by employees' representatives and the interdisciplinary team of architects and internal technicians, with the support of the environmental psychology researchers, analyzed the proposals developed in the first step. The aim was to identify the technical and economical sustainability of the proposals and to find a design solution, good enough for all the parties. The biophilic design perspective was strongly considered, to find the most suitable final solution, taking into account all the possible aspects, such as the restorative qualities of the environment, light, acoustic, air, as well as the presence of views of nature and the visual contact with natural elements, and the presence of biomorphic forms and structures.

At the end of this step, the identified design solutions were shared with all the employees in a plenary session.

Participants

The participants were employees of the Italian site of an international non-profit organization who, on voluntary basis, decided to participate in the research-intervention project. 55 workers have been invited to participate at the first wave, and 57 workers at the second one (the same of the first invitation, and 2 more new workers). At the first wave of the survey 39 employees participated (response rate: 71%), belonging to 12 work units. 74% were females. Considering age, 16 (41%) were in the range 30–39, 16 (38.5%) were in the range 40–49, and 8 (21%) were over 49. Considering the educational level, 9 (23%) had a high school degree, 4 (10%) a bachelor's degree, 18 (46%) a master's degree, and 8 (20.5%) a PhD or a post graduate degree. They were mainly officers (77%, 23% heads of a unit) and most of them worked in the non-profit organization from more than 5 years (77%). The participatory design process involved 24 of them belonging from all the work units. At the second wave of the survey 51 employees participated (response rate: 89%). 715% were females. Participants' age was as follow: 3 (6%) were under 30, 18 (35%) were from 30 to 39, 20 (39%) from 40 to 49, and 10 (20%) over 49. Regard to the educational level, 11 (22%) had a high school degree, 8 (16%) a bachelor's degree, 21 (42%) a master's degree, and 11 (22%) a PhD or a post graduate degree. Again, participants were mainly officers (73%, 27% heads of a unit) and most of them worked in the non-profit organization for more than 5 years (78%). A total number of 61 participants were involved, and 26 of them participated in both surveys.

Physical environment perception was assessed, as well as some measures of psychological well-being.

Physical environment perception was assessed considering two main measures. The first one was related to the perceived quality of the physical features of the workplace, following the conceptual framework developed by Bolten and Barbiero (2020). The second one was related with perceived restorativeness ( Ulrich, 1983 ; Kaplan, 1995 ), applied to the work environment.

Perceived quality of the physical features was assessed with 20 ad-hoc items to evaluate workers' satisfaction for the workplace in five dimensions: natural light/light control, air, view connected with nature, acoustic comfort, and destress areas. For all these dimensions from 3 to 5 items has been formulated, and internal consistency was verified both for the first and the second assessment, using Cronbach's alpha. All responses were given on a 6-point Likert scale from 1 (not at all satisfied) to 6 (completely satisfied).

Natural light/light control (4 items) assessed the satisfaction for natural light, the possibility of controlling light in the personal work area, and the adequacy of the light in the personal work area. An example of item is: “Evaluate how much you are satisfied for the quality of your workplace, in respect of natural light.” Cronbach's alpha was 0.90 on T1 assessment and 0.91 on T2 assessment.

Air (4 items) assessed the quality of thermal comfort, control of thermal control, and smell. An example of item is: “Evaluate how much you are satisfied for the quality of your workplace, in respect of the thermal control.” Cronbach's alpha was 0.89 for T1 and 0.95 for T2.

View connected with nature (3 items) evaluates the satisfaction for real nature (plant, green, water, landscape), artificial nature (artificial plants, poster of nature), and the presence of objects recalling local ecological characteristics of the environment. An example of item is: “Evaluate how much you are satisfied for the quality of your workplace, in respect of the view on natural green (e.g., plants, water, greenery, landscape, …).” Cronbach's alpha was 0.91 for T1 and 0.90 for T2.

Acoustic comfort (4 items) concerned the evaluation of quiet and silence, and acoustical privacy. An example of item is: “Evaluate how much you are satisfied for the quality of your workplace, in respect of acoustic distractions (e.g., phone rings, conversations.” Cronbach's alpha was 0.85 for T1 and 0.95 for T2.

Destress areas (5 items) assessed the satisfaction for break areas, coffee break and lunch break areas, areas for distressing events and purposes. An example of item is: “Evaluate how much you are satisfied for the quality of your workplace, in respect of the lunch break area.” Cronbach's alpha was 0.80 for T1 and 0.91 for T2.

Restorativeness of work environments was assessed within an adaptation of Rest@work scale ( Pasini et al., 2011 ) composed by 12 items related to three dimensions: physical and/or psychological “ being-away ” from demands on directed attention, four items, Cronbach's alpha 0.63 for T1 and 0.69 for T2; “ fascination ,” a type of attention assumed to be effortless and without capacity limitation, 3 items, Cronbach's alpha 0.80 for T1 and 0.86 for T2; the “ coherence ” perceived in a workplace, 5 items, Cronbach's alpha 0.69 for T1 and 0.60 for T2. Answers were given on a 7-point Likert scale, from 1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree. Examples of items are “My workplace awakens my curiosity” (Fascination), “My workplace is well organized, and I can easily find what I need” (Coherence), and “My workplace is designed as a place in which I can take some small breaks to think at pleasant things sometimes” (Being-Away). Cronbach's alpha for the whole scale was 0.72 for T1 and 0.77 for T2.

The following outcomes variable for psychological well-being were chosen:

Physical and Psychological well-being was assessed with the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ; Goldberg and Williams, 2000 ), a standardized scale which is often used to measure psychological functioning. The validity and reliability of the 12-item version has been extensively evaluated (e.g., Piccinelli et al., 1993 ; Balducci et al., 2017 ). Six items are focused on positive mood states conditions (e.g., ability to concentrate, feeling useful) and six are focused on negative mood states conditions (e.g., loss of sleep, inability to overcome difficulties). Respondents are asked to indicate how frequently (in the last 15 days) they have experienced the different symptoms, with a four-points rate scale (positively phrased labels: “more so than usual,” “same as usual,” “less than usual,” “much less than usual;” negatively phrased labels: “not at all,” “no more than usual,” “rather more than usual,” “much more than usual”). The Likert method (all items coded 0–1–2–3) has been used for the scoring, with a higher score indicating worse physical and psychological well-being. Cronbach's was 0.77 for T1 and 0.88 for T2.

Work engagement was assessed with the 3-item version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale ( Schaufeli et al., 2019 ). Each item represented a dimension of work engagement: (1) “At my work, I feel bursting with energy” (vigor); (2) “I am enthusiastic about my job” (dedication); (3) “I am immersed in my work” (absorption). Responses were given on an 8-point Likert scale (1 = “never;” 8 = “always”), and Cronbach's was 0.85.

Job satisfaction is evaluated with a single-item measure. Respondents are asked to rate their overall job satisfaction on a scale from 1 (very unsatisfied) to 8 (very satisfied).

Unfortunately, work engagement and job satisfaction were measured only on the second wave survey, for organizational reasons. An organizational climate analysis had been carried out only few weeks before the beginning of this project, and it was decided it was not appropriate to repeat a similar analysis so close to the previous one, while for the second wave there was not this problem, and the two variables could be assessed.

Participatory Interior Design

Step 1: proposals' development.

The main results of the first step of the participatory interior design process were the groups proposals for the interior design of the new headquarters developed after the four work sessions. Already in the first session “ Creativity take courage ,” in which participants were individually invited to draw the office they would like, the drawings showed characteristics related to the biophilic design (see Figure 1 ).

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Figure 1 . Examples of participants' drawings, for the session “The office I would like” (Step 1 - Session 1).

In fact, most of the drawings reported the opportunity for visual contact with natural elements and the presence of biomorphic forms and structures. In particular in the individual drawings, some elements recurrently emerged among all units (reported in order, by frequency and relevance): plants (on the floor, windows, desks, wall); large windows and natural light (views of nature and of the historical city where the building is located); large desks (L shape, rectangular, squared); joined desks; office and desk lights giving the effect of natural light; comfortable chairs, with wheels, ergonomic; use of wood for tables and furniture; extra seats in every room (stools with wheels, armchairs, sofas).

In the second session, “ None of us is as smart as all of us together ,” when small groups worked on the design of the formal and informal common spaces using the plants of the new site, most of the participants underlined the need of features of places recalling natural environments (see Figure 2 ).

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Figure 2 . Examples of participants' drawings of the formal and informal common spaces of the new headquarters (Step 1 - Session 2).

The groups elaborated their proposal for informal and formal common spaces beginning from their desires and then using the floorplans to choose the best solution for each space.

Considering informal spaces, silence/privacy area essentials were considered as very important by most of the participants. Suggested amenities included: a small light-refreshment area offering coffee, herbal teas, water, apples and seasonal fruit; warm and soft light; soft seating arrangements environment including poufs, hugging armchairs, leaning beds; again plants. They also proposed colored LEDs in the bathroom for relaxation. For the canteen they chose to connect the kitchen to the terrace to have the possibility to use the terrace for the lunch break and other breaks during the work time. Terrace essentials were considered as very important by the majority of the employees. For these places the groups proposed: a small vegetable garden or windows with aromatic plants was proposed; natural wood furniture getting rid of laminated items; elimination of plastic (e.g., coffee machines with biodegradable pods; personalized ceramic cups; separate garbage collection; biodegradable bags; absence of plastic utensils; minimal use of paper; natural foods in snack dispensers); a water dispenser (not inside a plastic tank).

Considering formal common spaces, for instance, reception hall essentials have been considered as very important by the majority of the participating group. General preference has been to get rid of chairs and armchairs and glass top tables in favor of organizing a sofa area, fitted with a soft/upholstered bench, or a long wooden seat with additional armchairs and a display containing magazines and promotional materials concerning the organization. Again, suggestions included plants, a refreshment corner with coffee and a water dispenser for visitors. Designing the conference room, the employees pointed out to the need to have potted plants; use natural materials, especially wood; set up a small stage/platform hosting organizational meetings and a wheelchair access ramp; a TV screen with running images; a projector positioned in the middle of the room; a raised table with the logo of the organization.

After the third and fourth sessions, aimed at sharing the small groups drawings in the plenary session and discussing the proposals with the interdisciplinary team of experts, the architect elaborated the first draft of the project.

Step 2: Identified Solution and their Implementation

In the second step the final project was drawn up by the architect based on the participants' proposals. A first draft was discussed with representative of the participants of the first step and then finalized after their agreement and that of all the employees.

The following are the characteristics of the new headquarters which highlight the attention to the biophilic design (see Figure 3 ).

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Figure 3 . Some views of the new headquarters.

Natural light/light control —the new workplace is provided with very high ceilings and windows to make the most of sun exposure to both south, west, east and north sides. This allows to maximize natural sunlight, while minimizing electric light use.

Air —Operable windows and curtains give employees the opportunity to control both temperature and air variability in the office. Natural ventilation is therefore maximized, while artificial air is minimized.

View connected with nature —in order to maximize inside and outside views, two open spaces, namely a balcony and a terrace were created. They are dedicated to moments of restoration, evoking a sense of perspective and refuge.

Destress areas —small green spaces were customized by employees who also look after them (see photos) taking the advantage of micro-restorative experiences. Outdoor rest areas support recovery and engagement opportunities with nature (i.e., plants, water, animals). Here, employees meet and have conversations, while enjoying the sky and finding relief from the boundaries of the office space. A dining room was designed to evoke a feeling of being “at home” (see photo), while functioning as a central focal point that keeps people united, involved and connected.

Connection to a shared mission and values —transparent doors, posters and paintings of the historical milestones of the organization (see photo) were placed in the office to inspire employees, while conveying the organization's values.

Natural materials and colors —throughout the building laminate flooring connects to nature (see photo), furthermore each team had the opportunity to choose from a range of natural colors to personalize the walls of their own office.

Survey Results

Descriptive statistics and improvement in perceived quality of the workplace.

The first part of Table 1 summarizes the main results concerning the descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation and sample size) for the psychological variables considered in the study. We are going to describe them looking at the two moments of the assessment, the first referring to the old site, and the second referring to the new one, which has been design after the participatory design process, looking at the possible aspects, such as the restorative qualities of the environment, light, acoustic, air, as well as the presence of views of nature and the visual contact with natural elements, and the presence of biomorphic forms and structures.

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Table 1 . Descriptive statistics for the considered variables in the two surveys, and results of the paired sample t -test comparing first and second assessment on the same variables.

A first set of variables concerns the Perceived quality of the physical features: natural light/light control, air, view connected with nature, acoustic comfort, destress areas. The level for the first assessment, which considered employees' perceived quality of these characteristics referring to the old site, is quite low, going from the highest value of the air quality (M = 2.7, SD = 1.3), considering a scale from 1 to 6, to the lowest value of acoustic comfort (M = 1.5, SD = 0.6). One of the most important aspect, considering the biophilic design perspective, that is view connected with nature, shows a very low level as well (M = 1.6, SD = 0.9).

Perceived restorativeness of the old site also shows low values, with no one of the dimensions reaching at least the medium level of 4 on the 1-to-7-point scale. The overall perceived restorativeness score is 3 (SD = 0.6), and the lowest score is for the dimension “fascination,” with a mean score of 2.7 (SD = 1.0).

Mental health, evaluated with the General Health Questionnaire, shows a quite good score (M = 1.9, SD = 0.4). A score higher than 2 should ought to alarm about the possibility of low mental health. This score was mainly attributed to their personal work condition (61%) and to both home and work condition (29%), while only 10% attributed their answers only to their private life. This means that this score, in this sample, can be considered a valid way to assess the quality of work condition for employees' well-being.

Looking at the same variable assessed in the second survey, when employees had to evaluate the new workplace, the majority or the variable showed an increased level of perceived qualities of the physical environment and restorativeness. Descriptive statistics were computed considering all the respondents at the second survey (48 employees), while a paired sample t -test were performed considering the 26 participants who gave their responses participated in both the surveys.

The scores about the perceived quality of the physical features ranged from the lowest value of view connected with nature (M = 3.0, SD = 1.3) to the higher score for air quality (M = 4.3, SD = 1.0), on a 1-to-6-point scale. Perceived restorativeness ranged from the lower score for the dimension “fascination” (M = 3.0, SD = 1.2) to the higher score of “coherence” (M = 4.2 SD = 0.8).

Comparing results of the two assessments, almost all the variables showed better scores in the second survey (the one considering the new site). Results of paired sample t-test are reported in Table 1 , in the last five columns. Large effect size was found for the improvement of perceived quality of all the five aspects of physical environment, with Cohen's d ranging from 0.88 (natural light/light control) to 1.85 (acoustic comfort).

About perceived restorativeness, being-away and fascination did not significantly change, whereas coherence highly improved (Cohen's d = 0.99). Considering together the four dimensions, an improvement in overall perceived restoration was found, with a medium size effect (Cohen's d = 0.58).

No significant changes were found in mental health, even if the score decreased from 1.9 to 1.1, that is an indicator of better mental health. Even in the case of the second survey, the scores were mainly attributed to the work condition (60%) or both to work and private life (30%) and only 10% of respondents attributed their answers at the General Health Questionnaire to their private life. This allows us to consider mental health as strongly connected to work experience in our sample.

The second survey also assessed two additional psychological states which can be considered indicators of well-being at work: work engagement and job satisfaction. As shown by Table 1 (last two rows), the level of both variables is quite high, with a mean score of work engagement of 5.3 (SD = 1.6) and a mean score for job satisfaction of 5.5 (SD = 1.3) on a 1-to-8-point scale, which are on the top half of the scores. Nevertheless, not having a comparison with the data of T1, the analysis of these results does not give much information. The analysis of relationships between well-being indicators and the environmental quality evaluation could probably give more interesting information. This kind of analysis is described in the following paragraph.

Relationships Among Perceived Quality of the Environmental Features, Restorativeness and Well-Being

A second step of the analyses concerned the relationships among the variables considered in the T1 and T2 surveys. Table 2 show Pearson's correlation coefficients between the perceived quality of the five aspects of physical features in the workplace, separately for T1 assessment (below the diagonal) and T2 assessment (above the diagonal).

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Table 2 . Pearson's correlation coefficients between the study variables about quality and restorativeness of the workplace (T1 assessment below the diagonal, N1 = 39, and T2 assessment above the diagonal, N2 = 48).

The correlations among the five aspects of the workplace that has been evaluated, that is natural light/light control, air, view connected with nature, acoustic comfort, and destress areas, are all significant in the T2 survey, and almost all significant in T1 survey, excepted for the relationship between air and view connected with nature, and air and acoustic comfort. Natural light/light control is related with view connected with nature in both the surveys, with a strong correlation coefficient, higher than 0.50 ( p < 0.001 in all cases). Also, satisfaction for the destress areas are highly correlated with all the other aspects, mainly with air and acoustic comfort in the evaluation of the old site, and with air and view connected with nature in the evaluation of the new site.

An interesting result concerns the correlation between the perceived quality of the physical features, in the 5 aspects, and the perceived restorativeness of the work environment. Results on the old site show a correlation between the overall score of restorativeness and the perceived quality of 4 of the 5 workplace features. It's difficult to understand why no correlation was found between overall perceived restorativeness and view connected with nature. Nevertheless, it's possible to note that the variability in the first sample on these two variables is low, and this can lower the correlation between these two variables ( Goodwin and Leech, 2006 ).

Looking at the results for the new site, correlation between perceived restorativeness and perceived quality of the physical feature in the new workplace are all significant, except for coherence and being-away. The higher correlation is between perceived quality of the destress areas and overall perceived restorativeness of the workplace ( r = 0.73, p < 0.001). This means that when people perceive a good quality of destress areas, they also perceive the workplace as a restorative environment. The perceived quality of the destress areas seems also to be strongly connected with two dimensions of perceived restorativeness, that is fascination ( r = 0.65, p < 0.001) and coherence ( r = 0.60, p < 0.001). Finally, the perceived quality of only one aspect of the physical workplace correlates with all the dimension of perceived restorativeness, that is view connected with nature (being-away: r = 0.39, p < 0.01; fascination: r = 0.44, p < 0.01; and coherence: r = 0.34, p < 0.05).

Finally, we were interested in exploring the relationship between physical environment perceptions and psychological well-being outcomes. Table 3 shows Pearson's correlation coefficients between perceived quality of the physical features and restorativeness of the workplace, and psychological well-being outcomes. Considering results at T1, in which the only psychological well-being measure collected was mental well-being, measured with GHQ-12, a significant correlation was found between the dimension “coherence” of perceived restorativeness and GHQ-12 (r = −0.32, p < 0.05). Considering GHQ-12 scoring method, in which higher scores indicate worse mental health, the negative correlation means that high perceived coherence is associated with high mental well-being.

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Table 3 . Pearson's correlation coefficients between the study variables about quality and restorativeness of the workplace and psychological well-being outcomes.

The analysis of correlations between well-being outcomes and perceived quality of the physical features in the new workplace and restorativeness dimensions highlighted the importance of the possibility of a view connected with nature in relation to all the outcomes. The strongest relationship was found with job satisfaction ( r = 0.54, p < 0.001), followed by work engagement ( r = 0.48, p < 0.001) and by physical and psychological well-being ( r = −0.30, p = 0.044). Natural light and light control, and destress areas seemed more related with job satisfaction than with work engagement, respectively (job satisfaction: r = 0.50, p < 0.001; r = 0.58, p < 0.001; work engagement: r = 0.34, p < 0.001; r = 0.54, p < 0.001). For the quality of the air the relationship with both the outcome variables was.34 ( p = 0.022). Considering restorativeness, we found only a positive correlation with work engagement and job satisfaction ( r = 0.47, p < 0.001). Analyzing the specific dimensions of the construct, emerged how only being-away was positively correlated with physical and psychological well-being ( r = −0.33, p = 0.022) and work engagement ( r = 0.36, p = 0.014). However, even if it was not statistically significant, the correlation between physical and psychological well-being and coherence was −0.26 ( p = 0.084). Fascination and coherence positively correlated with work engagement and job satisfaction, highlighting the role of restorativeness dimensions also on the organizational outcomes.

This study describes the process and the results of a research-intervention project aimed at designing a workplace, using a participatory design process and following some guidelines coming from environmental psychology research results and the biophilic design approach. The research-intervention was aimed at designing the new site of an Italian non-profit organization, and the process was carried on in the old site. Employees and managers have been involved in this process, together with an interdisciplinary team of experts, including architects, technicians of the organization, and some environmental psychology researchers. At the end, based on the shared drawings and shared ideas, the new site has been designed and the project has been realized. Employees have been also involved in an assessment procedure, aimed at evaluating individual perceptions of the physical environment, including some important aspects in line with biophilic design perspective, as well as some measures of psychological well-being. These last variables allow to empirically verify the connection with physical aspects of the workplace—actually their individual perceptions—and psychological well-being. At the moment, few research has been designed to give empirical evidence of what is deeply explored in the literature. Furthermore, still less are research on this topic which joined participatory design methodologies. At the end of the process, the new site was implemented, and employees moved into the new workplace. The assessment was carried considering both in the old site (Time 1) and in the new site (T2) for all the variables concerning the physical environment perception, to verify the improvement of some aspects connected with biophilic design. Physical and psychological well-being, measured with General Health Questionnaire ( Goldberg and Williams, 2000 ), a standardized scale which is often used to measure psychological functioning, was also assessed twice, to explore whether an improvement in Physical and psychological well-being could be found in moving through the two workplaces. At the end, psychological well-being directly connected with work experience, such as work engagement and job satisfaction, was evaluating 2 months after the use of the new site.

The new site has been designed following some important characteristics according to biophilic design guideline. The goal of biophilic design is not simple, and well-recognized guidelines for a concrete implementation are not easy to find. Kellert (2018) suggested 72 design attributes grouped in six elements: environmental features, natural shapes and forms, natural patterns and processes, light and space, place-based relationships and evolved human-nature relationships. Browning and Ryan (2020) propose 15 patterns of biophilic design which they group in three categories: nature in the space, natural analogs and nature of the space. Bolten and Barbiero (2020) , propose a synthesis which includes light, protection and control, air, views, greenery, curiosity, and materials, finishing and colors. Based on these approaches, our research-intervention highlighted the importance of some physical elements in the design of the new workplace: light, considering both the presence and quality of natural light and the personal control on light, air quality, the presence of view connected with nature, the acoustic comfort, and the quality of destress areas. These five aspects were considered, among others, in the design process, and at the same time the survey assessed the perceived quality and satisfaction on these five aspects, both for the old site (T1) and the new one (T2). Furthermore, perceived restorativeness of the workplace has been studied, considering three important dimensions applicable to the workplace experience: being-away, fascination and coherence, together with the overall perceived restorativeness.

Survey results showed that perceived quality and satisfaction for the physical environment features significantly improved in all the five considered aspects, comparing the new site with the old one. The overall perceived restorativeness also improved, mainly due to a significant improvement in coherence, but also to a small improvement in fascination. Coherence and fascination are two important dimensions to be considered, and a physical environment which enhance a perfect balance between coherence and fascination, high legibility and curiosity, can reduce mental fatigue and help to avoid other sources of stress in workers. Stress in the workplace can occur when there is an imbalance between physical setting demands and human resources, because individuals cannot cope with demands in the proper way. In fact, physical and mental resources put in jeopardy by stress due to the workplace physical characteristics can lead to a lack of well-being in the work context.

Results also highlighted the relationship between perceived quality of the five aspects of work environment and the perceived restorativeness. This correlation has been found for overall perceived restorativeness and all the five physical characteristics in the second assessment, and for all aspects except one in the first assessment. However, it is important to note that the low variability of measures at T1 could have lowered the correlations between these variables. This relationship between restorativeness and physical aspects of the workplace, as light, air, acoustic comfort, view of natural element and the quality of destress areas, as far as we know, has not been explored, and this is one of the first study that empirically describes this result.

An important result consists in the significant relationship between the perceived quality and satisfaction for the five physical aspects or the workplace, and the well-being outcomes, such as psychophysical well-being, work engagement and job satisfaction. As shown by the correlation analysis, the improvements in the perceived quality and satisfaction in four of the five physical aspects, were strongly linked with job satisfaction and slightly less with work engagement.

Weaker seemed the relations with physical and psychological well-being, which was found related only to the view connected with nature. Probably this weaker relation and the absence of the effect of the other physical aspects could be explained considering the pandemic context which could have influenced employees' perceptions especially on personal health. However, it also highlighted the strength of the view connected with nature which, also in pandemic situation seemed to have the possibility to positively affect physical and psychological health.

The present research also confirmed the positive relationship between restorativeness dimensions and organizational outcomes. The positive effect of restorativeness and job satisfaction and work engagement have been already documented ( Bellini et al., 2015a , b , 2019 ). Organizational outcomes are also affected by the quality of the physical aspects of workplace ( Leder et al., 2016 ). A possible explanation, considering the psychological mechanisms behind this relationship, is the mediation role of restorativeness in the relationship between physical characteristics of the workplace and well-being at work.

Being-away is the only restorativeness dimension that is significantly linked to the physical and psychological well-being. Maybe, the other aspects of restorativeness are less directly connected with general psychological and physical health, whereas the possibility of feeling away by the everyday routine is an actually important aspect.

Furthermore, the results of the present research-intervention highlighted how the use of the participatory techniques added a great value to the biophilic design application process. At the same time, it grew employees' awareness about the biophilic design potential in increasing their well-being at the workplace. Furthermore, participatory techniques allowed to design environments more effectively, thanks to the knowledge, needs and wishes of employees developed in the previous site. Moreover, this, to our knowledge, is the first case in which the effectiveness of biophilic design realized through participatory techniques has been empirically tested.

Beyond the discussed results, that try to shine a small light on this topic, using a research-intervention design, this study presents some limitations, which must be highlighted. First of all, the study was conducted during the pandemic period due to the COVID-19, and this situation could have influenced the results. Workers spent much more time at home, working remotely, and this could have affected their evaluation of the workplace, in which they spent less time than usual.

Another limitation regards the small sample size. The number of the workers of this organization was not so large, and, mainly during the first survey, a response rate of 71% (considering the workers that completed the survey) make this initial number not so high. The number of workers involved in the second assessment was larger, and also the response rate increased (89%), but only 26 workers completed the first and the second assessment, allowing a comparison, that is the 67% of the workers which answered to the first survey. This limitation should be considered in the double sense: whereas some significant results in line with expected theoretical results have been found, it is not possible to establish whether other not-significant results could be due to the small sample size.

A limited internal validity is also connected with the confusion between the qualities of the physical environment of the workplace, which maybe actually improved in the new site, explaining the increasing of workers' satisfaction, and the novelty effect. It is impossible to establish whether a new site, planned with different criteria, not in line with biophilic design principles, would be positively evaluated in a similar way. It should have been interesting to control for this novelty effect, assessing the same variables in a different group of workers, involved only in a site change, with no attention paid to the biophilic characteristics of the new workplace. In the future, this possibility should be considered from the beginning. Moreover, other important variables generally used in environmental psychology could have been considered. One of this is place attachment ( Scrima, 2015 ): attachment to the workplace maybe act as a moderator, buffering the positive effect of the new site.

A future direction of this specific research intervention is to do a third wave assessment, to verify the persistence of the increased evaluation of the quality of the physical environment of the new site, after a longer period of work in the workplace. This third assessment has already been planned, for the next months, and it will be really important, also considering the more time spent working in the office instead of remotely, due to the pandemic restrictions reduction.

Data Availability Statement

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

Ethics Statement

Ethical review and approval was not required for the study on human participants in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements. The patients/participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.

Author Contributions

MP and MB organized the database and performed the statistical analysis. All authors contributed to conception and design of the study and contributed to write the first draft of the manuscript, and on the revision, read, and approved the submitted version.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher's Note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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Keywords: biophilic design, participatory design, environmental psychology, restorative environments, workplace, organizational well-being

Citation: Pasini M, Brondino M, Trombin R and Filippi Z (2021) A Participatory Interior Design Approach for a Restorative Work Environment: A Research-Intervention. Front. Psychol. 12:718446. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.718446

Received: 31 May 2021; Accepted: 05 August 2021; Published: 17 September 2021.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2021 Pasini, Brondino, Trombin and Filippi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Margherita Brondino, margherita.brondino@univr.it

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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Future-Proofing Design: How Interiors Will Evolve in 2023 and Beyond

interior design research articles

  • Written by Materials
  • Published on January 12, 2023

As we take stock and analyze the year 2022 from the most visited articles in our Materials section , it is clear that issues related to interiors have strongly resonated with our readers. While humanity spends more time indoors, both in physical and now even virtual realms like the metaverse , the forms and functions that define these interior spaces have acquired greater importance and value. Experimenting with fluid, flexible and versatile spaces is a trend that we have been witnessing for some years now, driven mainly by the impacts of the countless lockdowns still present in our memory. The chaos and uncertainty we experienced made us understand the importance of buildings with spatial awareness and sensitivity –those able to anticipate and take responsibility for the effects they have on their inhabitants. Factors such as orientation, the size and distribution of rooms, the use of natural light and ventilation, and the overall aesthetics of the space are essential. Technological advances have taken center stage and disrupted traditional interior design, giving rise to new and innovative approaches to domestic efficiency and circularity.

Through three different approaches –operations, aesthetics and energy–, below we provide a forecast of how we think interior spaces will evolve from 2023 onwards.

Space and Operation: Small Gestures for a Better Life

Envisioning a sustainable and smart future, current trends are following ‘living layout’ designs through the creation of customizable, changeable spaces, which respond to the challenge of maximizing and enhancing the use of space. Allowing the connection between traditionally separated areas and playing with several spaces in one enables dynamic layouts that apply a user-center strategy.

From daily arrangements to repurposing and updating existing buildings, simple, yet high-impact gestures adapt spaces to life and not the other way around

Complementing these architectural operations, the organization of elements within a space is key to determining the flow of movement, where both integrated and self-standing furniture are allies in the design of spatially-conscious buildings. 

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According to the UN , reshaping how urban dwellers live through the digitization of design “encompasses various smart technological innovations that enable ubiquitous computing (making technology more seamlessly integrated into our lives, available whenever and wherever it is needed), big data collection, machine learning and autonomous decision-making”. All of this translates into futuristic systems such as robotics, visual techniques, artificial intelligence and automated processes with the ability to improve various facets of society’s well-being.

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How can virtual tools influence our everyday spaces in the near future? It is already happening: technological advances linked to holographic projections are making it possible to alter the spatial experience of any environment, creating mutable scenarios that can be customized for different purposes, situations and users. By integrating artificial intelligence into architectural design , images take a step forward by helping users to inspire and visualize potential interventions in a real space. Home automation, for its part, allows efficient use of lighting resources to virtually modify spaces , making smaller rooms feel larger and more open, for instance.

Future-Proofing Design: How Interiors Will Evolve in 2023 and Beyond - Image 7 of 18

The assimilation of these tools within architecture allows us to envision a future in which digitalization enables design to adapt to dynamic and ever-changing circumstances. Thus, it promotes the cohesion of architecture with ongoing living trends, such as supporting remote living through mutable layouts with changeable functions throughout the day and designing transformative spaces able to evolve (and grow over time) without becoming obsolete. 

Space and Aesthetics: The Modernized Return of Rusticity

Emerging from years of unprecedented changes, we have dictated how we want our living spaces to look like: functional, appealing, calm, with a strong identity and in harmony with the outdoors. Reflecting on the aesthetic trends that gained ground in 2022, we witnessed a renewed appreciation for a "modernized rusticity" and all that it implies: tradition, the local, the richness of materials, light, views, and everything that makes us feel good and connected to our surroundings.

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Soul-less, overly minimalist interiors are no longer desirable; as Nikos Salingaros once said, “We are repelled by environments that do not provide us with meaning, either because of a lack of visual information, or because the information present is unstructured.” Instead, we find value in texture, color and ornaments, leaning towards personalized spaces guided by liveliness, naturalness, and warmth. From digitization to robotics, new technologies allow architects to design with meaning while meeting modern demands.

Traditional organic materials have been updated in ways that optimize performance and sustainability without losing their ruggedness, natural beauty and intrinsic biophilic qualities.

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2022 saw some notable examples: the use of cross-laminated timber in a high-rise building, and the innovative development of Structural Engineered Bamboo . Rusticity was also embraced by re-discovering the beauty of materials’ natural life cycle, whether it be oxidized copper, weathered stone, untreated wood or even high-tech materials changing their appearance as a response to external stimuli, such as self-healing concrete or thermochromic glass .

Future-Proofing Design: How Interiors Will Evolve in 2023 and Beyond - Image 13 of 18

So, with this promising background, what does the future hold for aesthetics? Interiors will be transformable, modular , smarter and (literally) greener, merging nature with technology and consuming resources efficiently. VR and AR tools will create increasingly immersive experiences, biophilic design will evolve into living surfaces that grow plants or fungi , and programmable materials will be modified by computer algorithms to suit users’ needs. Along with artificial intelligence , the data revolution will govern all aspects of design, transforming the way architects work by helping them identify and measure trends and consumer preferences to create more personalized design solutions.

If we imagine a world where these visions take shape, the concept of aesthetics might even become obsolete, as nature and technology will ultimately define how spaces will look, feel and the emotions they will evoke.

Space and Energy: Powering Everyday Life Efficiently

Observing buildings, and their interiors, as living organisms is not exactly new. Currently, however, circularity adds a layer of complexity and consistency to this concept. With a circular urban metabolism, resources are conserved and waste is minimized by the reuse of materials and energy, reducing extraction and waste. Interior spaces should efficiently use the energy needed to function, while also taking care of what is wasted.

Future-Proofing Design: How Interiors Will Evolve in 2023 and Beyond - Image 15 of 18

Unlike in the past, energy can be generated decentrally –through sun, wind, earth and water– and no longer requires large power plants or public infrastructure. There is a movement of self-powered homes or even off-grid buildings which work as their own ecosystems, handling all their own needs.

Although technologies such as wave power are still not very accessible, some options are becoming more affordable. This includes small-scale wind turbines , photovoltaic systems or harnessing temperature at the center of the Earth to heat and generate electricity.

Future-Proofing Design: How Interiors Will Evolve in 2023 and Beyond - Image 16 of 18

But just as important as generating energy is using it in the most efficient and intelligent way. A building's metabolism can be optimized in many ways; by using low-energy systems and appliances, with appropriate envelope materials and design, green infrastructure, and by taking advantage of the resources we receive for free, such as natural lighting and ventilation. Altogether, this reduces buildings' energy consumption and improves indoor air quality .

Future-Proofing Design: How Interiors Will Evolve in 2023 and Beyond - Image 17 of 18

In the coming years, cities and indoor spaces are expected to prepare for the great challenges of the future, namely societal changes and the climate crisis. Circularity applied in all spheres –from the home environment to urban guidelines– is a key concept for a more encouraging future. If smart lighting or digital assistants like Alexa no longer surprise us, in the near future we should have access to the integration of robotics and automation. Home automation technologies , coupled with the application of IoT (Internet of Things), should be facilitators of a circular economy, promoting a better use of resources and reducing environmental impact. Moreover, robotics and automation are expected to be further incorporated into our routines, not only revolutionizing the way we live, but also how we interact with the environment. Along with this flood of technology, we are also seeing how much we miss nature, and the biophilic design trend will surely continue (and strengthen) looking ahead.

Future-Proofing Design: How Interiors Will Evolve in 2023 and Beyond - Image 18 of 18

Although it is too early to understand what the limits of artificial intelligence, robotics and other new technologies will be, the field is rapidly advancing and evolving with new innovations coming to light every day. It will be intriguing to observe how these developments will unfold in the coming years, but until then, one thing is certain: studying, appreciating and reflecting on the natural world will always be an insightful and smart move. Our future still cannot be written with absolute certainty, but we can expect three words to be present: nature, technology and well-being.

This article is part of the ArchDaily Topics: Year in Review presented by Randers Tegl .

“When creating unique architecture, visionary ideas aren’t always enough. A unique look demands character, courage, and distinctive materials. And a format to achieve the extraordinary. At Randers Tegl , we aim to add a unique touch to exceptional brickworks by bringing premium bricks to life and into the world of architecture. Making the impossible possible. We are proud to be a part of unique architecture worldwide since 1911.”

Every month we explore a topic in-depth through articles, interviews, news, and projects. Learn more about our ArchDaily topics . As always, at ArchDaily we welcome the contributions of our readers; if you want to submit an article or project, contact us .

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面向未来的设计: 2023 年及以后的室内设计发展

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The Living Space: Psychological Well-Being and Mental Health in Response to Interiors Presented in Virtual Reality

1 Lise Meitner Group for Environmental Neuroscience, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, 14195 Berlin, Germany; ed.gpm.nilreb-bipm@akutzs (I.M.S.); ed.gpm.nilreb-bipm@camidus (S.S.)

Izabela Maria Sztuka

Kira pohlmann.

2 Clinic and Policlinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany; [email protected]

Sonja Sudimac

Simone kühn, associated data.

Data is available from the corresponding authors upon request.

There has been a recent interest in how architecture affects mental health and psychological well-being, motivated by the fact that we spend the majority of our waking time inside and interacting with built environments. Some studies have investigated the psychological responses to indoor design parameters; for instance, contours, and proposed that curved interiors, when compared to angular ones, were aesthetically preferred and induced higher positive emotions. The present study aimed to systematically examine this hypothesis and further explore the impact of contrasting contours on affect, behavior, and cognition. We exposed 42 participants to four well-matched indoor living rooms under a free-exploration photorealistic virtual reality paradigm. We included style as an explorative second-level variable. Out of the 33 outcome variables measured, and after correcting for false discoveries, only two eventually confirmed differences in the contours analysis, in favor of angular rooms. Analysis of style primarily validated the contrast of our stimulus set, and showed significance in one other dependent variable. Results of additional analysis using the Bayesian framework were in line with those of the frequentist approach. The present results provide evidence against the hypothesis that curvature is preferred, suggesting that the psychological response to contours in a close-to-reality architectural setting could be more complex. This study, therefore, helps to communicate a more complete scientific view on the experience of interior spaces and proposes directions for necessary future research.

1. Introduction

Built (man-made) environments have become fundamental components of human existence. For the majority of our waking time, we navigate and interact with architectural environments while we live, connect, learn, work, and recreate. The spaces encountered in daily life vary in their physical and aesthetic properties, and may have an influence on affect, behavior, and cognition, and eventually impact mental health and psychological well-being [ 1 , 2 ]. These effects are likely the outcome of an interaction between the physical properties of the perceived space on the one hand, and the perceiver’s characteristics and the meaning they create on the other [ 3 , 4 , 5 ].

When accounting for the considerable time spent inside buildings, two-thirds of which is in dwellings [ 6 ], the glaring gap in linking variations in physical features of architecture to psychological states is surprising [ 7 , 8 ]. It has been previously suggested that this can be attributed to methodological and disciplinary incongruences between architecture and psychology [ 7 , 8 , 9 ]. Architectural research connecting the human response to design relies on philosophical constructs, whereas traditional psychological research investigating the human–environment relationship relies on observation and subjective measures [ 9 , 10 ]. A better understanding of the human–environment interaction could contribute to informing design strategies in ways to optimize psychological well-being and mental health [ 11 ]. Although the discussion has been initiated, a commonly accepted methodology across disciplines is still lacking [ 12 ].

A domain in which first successful attempts have been made to link architectural features to psychological responses in human beings concerns contours. We refer to contours here to describe the “edge or line that defines or bounds a shape or an object” [ 13 ]. The interest in the response to contours derived from empirical studies in various disciplines such as arts, aesthetics, visual cognition, and (social) psychology among others, which have reported differences in perception. Early studies from the first quarter of the 20th century have found that straight lines were associated with unpleasant “feeling tones” that denote strong motor expression (e.g., agitating, hard, furious, and serious), whereas curved ones were associated with adjectives indicating relatively more pleasantness and less movement (e.g., gentle, quiet, and lazy) [ 14 , 15 ]. Subsequent studies have investigated the hypothesis that curved/rounded/curvilinear conditions are more appealing to humans than angular/edgy/rectilinear ones. This hypothesis has been shown to be correct using different types of visual stimuli including lines [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ], font types [ 19 , 20 ], geometric shapes and simple forms [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ], irregular shapes and meaningless patterns [ 3 , 4 , 16 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ], images of familiar objects [ 3 , 26 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 ], sketches of familiar objects [ 33 , 37 ], in addition to sketches and images of designed products [ 38 , 39 ]. Different studies have found the effect to be present across species humans and apes [ 35 ], cultures—Western vs. non-Western [ 14 , 16 , 19 , 24 , 29 , 35 , 38 , 39 , 40 ], and ages—toddlers [ 27 ] and infants [ 18 , 23 ]. However, the source of this preference is still under debate. Some researchers proposed that angularity conveys threat, suggesting that the preference reflects adaptive behavior [ 31 , 32 ]. Other research has attributed the observed effect to higher cognitive processes and susceptibility to the influence of semantic meaning and perceptual qualities that are not strictly limited to contour [ 35 ]. Conversely, additional studies proposed a “curvature effect” that was not linked to a negative response to angularity for what it affords but rather caused by intrinsic characteristics of the curved stimuli [ 29 ], with preference modulated by positive valence [ 34 ]. Moreover, other studies have investigated additional variables beyond simple curves and angles. Those included both properties of the stimuli—e.g., complexity [ 22 , 24 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 38 ], symmetry [ 24 , 36 ], balance [ 22 , 24 ], novelty/innovativeness [ 38 ], meaningfulness [ 26 , 29 ], typicality [ 38 , 39 ], familiarity [ 4 , 33 ], as well as individual differences of the perceivers—e.g., sex [ 3 , 27 , 30 ], expertise in art/design [ 3 , 4 , 24 , 33 , 38 ], academic degree [ 33 ], personality traits [ 3 , 22 , 33 ], cognitive styles [ 26 ], and neurological disorders such as autism [ 4 , 21 , 30 ], in an attempt to understand whether they affect or modulate contour perception. Different outcome measures have been used in previous studies, including forced-choice response [ 29 , 31 , 32 ], rating/visual analogue scales [ 4 , 16 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 24 , 29 , 30 , 33 , 37 , 39 ], and selection procedures [ 26 ], in addition to more implicit measures, such as association [ 14 , 17 , 20 , 25 , 28 ] and approach-avoidance tasks [ 3 , 16 , 28 , 36 ], reaction and/or viewing time [ 18 , 22 , 26 , 27 ], and observed postural behavior [ 21 ]. With regard to contours in the indoor environment, similar effects were proposed by the scarce set of studies available until now. Spaces with curvilinear/curved features, in comparison with those with angular/rectilinear ones, were preferred among different ages [ 41 ], and induced higher positive emotions such as pleasure [ 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 ], relaxation, safety, privacy [ 46 ], and a desire to approach [ 44 ]. The majority of these studies relied largely on subjective semantic scales, where stimuli were rated according to a limited list of paired opposite adjectives to depict emotional responses (i.e., valence, arousal, approach-avoidance, and some spatial properties). It is worth noting that the stimuli used, for the most part, did not reflect realistic environments. More recent research used different approaches and new experimental tools to investigate the architectural experience. The effect of contour on aesthetic judgment and approach-avoidance decisions was examined in one of the very first functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies to examine architectural perception [ 8 ]. Images of existing real-life indoor environments were presented for three seconds in the scanner, and participants rated each image and used a joystick to indicate whether they would like to enter or exit the environment. Results showed that curvilinear interiors were more likely judged as beautiful, compared to rectilinear ones. Moreover, they were found to activate the medial orbitofrontal cortex—titled as anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in the publication exclusively, which has previously been related to positive valence and pleasantness [ 47 ]. In contrast with previous fMRI evidence from studies investigating familiar objects [ 31 ], no amygdala activation for rectilinear spaces was found. Consequently, given the amygdala’s role in processing information related to fear and arousal [ 48 ], the results did not confirm the hypothesis of the threat effect evoked by angularity. Additionally, unlike what was hypothesized, contour did not affect approach-avoidance decisions. The stimulus set was partially tested in more recent studies that examined individual differences. Eight images were presented to experts and laypersons [ 49 ], and 80 to quasi-experts, individuals with autism spectrum condition (ASC), and a matched neurotypical group [ 4 ]. Results were not consistent across the different studies, with the latest one finding a preference for rectilinear spaces within all three groups. Two major setbacks may have caused the inconsistencies between the reported results. The first concerns the use of 2D images (static stimuli) to represent realistic environments and investigate a real-life experience [ 50 ], and the second relates to the fact that the stimuli were not well-matched. Creating controlled testing environments in which separate architectural design features can be altered and tested each at a time represents, in fact, one of the main challenges in quantifying the impact of design on human experience [ 7 ]. With the recent technological advancements in virtual reality (VR) and computer-aided design (CAD) software, it is now possible to develop experimental settings that can replicate the experience of a real environment under controlled conditions [ 51 , 52 ], while evoking similar user responses [ 53 , 54 ]. Combining human monitoring techniques with advanced VR environments can enable the acquisition of objective evidence for evaluating the human response to indoor design [ 9 , 52 , 55 ]. For example, one study investigated different interior form features using VR combined with electroencephalogram (EEG), during active exploration of empty white-colored virtual environments [ 10 ]. Results showed higher pleasure and arousal ratings and increased theta activity in the ACC when exploring curved geometries, as opposed to more linear ones. However, source localization of the EEG signal in the brain is a complex task with forward and inverse problems, calling the exact location of the source ACC into question. Another example study examined neurophysiological and behavioral responses during the appreciation of virtual environments, using EEG and explicit ratings of novelty, familiarity, comfort, pleasantness, and arousal [ 56 , 57 ]. Despite the fact that the two virtual rooms used in the studies represented contrasting contours (i.e., the “modern design” room had angular furniture, and the “cutting edge design” room displayed furniture with rounded edges), the researchers rather focused on style in their categorization of the stimuli. Whereas the interest of the study was not in finding a preferred environment, but rather to explore the relationship among each of the perceptual dimensions and correlate them with brain activity, modern and cutting edge environments were perceived, respectively, as more familiar and more novel, but no differences in ratings of pleasantness, arousal and comfort were reported. Taken as a whole, the evidence for curvature preference, although seemingly robust with abstract shapes and lines, is yet far from being confirmed in the context of indoor architecture, and requires further thorough investigations.

Another line of research exploring the response to built environments has investigated the restorative properties of indoor spaces. The attention restoration theory (ART) proposes that natural environments, filled with “soft fascinations”, could restore cognitive capacity, reduce mental fatigue, and increase focus and attention [ 58 ]. Being in restorative environments could, therefore, change negative states to positive ones. Building on the biophilia hypothesis, which suggests that humans have an innate connection with nature [ 59 ], a framework for biophilic design has emerged [ 60 ]. By bringing elements of nature into living spaces (directly or indirectly), positive effects might be initiated. Studies investigating biophilic interventions in virtual indoor environments have found a stress reduction and restorative effect [ 61 , 62 ].

Within the scope of the present study, we aimed to systematically examine the influence of contours (angular versus curved) in virtual indoor architectural settings on affect, behavior, and cognition. Given the significant time urban dwellers spend in the home environment, which has considerably increased since the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020, we selected the residential space as the context of our present investigation. Interiors are considered a major part of architecture, more than ever in the revolutionary works of modernist architects who regarded interior spaces as the essence (e.g., Bruno Zevi, Hans Scharoun), highlighted the importance of furniture, and influenced modern furniture design (e.g., Alvar Aalto, Marcel Breuer). Furthermore, we wanted to account for the evidence that architectural style and layout influence the response to form [ 44 ], and to architecture per se, knowing that results of studies on the perception and evaluation of style are inconsistent [ 63 , 64 ]. Hence, we included style as an explorative second-level variable. Previous studies investigating aesthetic styles have used classifications such as modern/contemporary vs. classical [ 65 , 66 , 67 ] vs. traditional [ 68 ], among others. We opted for “modern vs. classic” for the interdisciplinary potential of the dichotomy. We refer to “classic” to denote the variant styles of the traditional abacus of architecture, up to the beginning of the 20th century [ 69 ]. “Modern”, on the other hand, refers to the architecture of both 20th and 21st centuries, starting from modernism and the stream of styles it inspired by completely breaking with the past [ 70 ].

As we aimed to delve deeper beyond the mere investigation of pleasantness, beauty, and arousal, our behavioral measures covered a larger set of affective and psychological dimensions, for a better overview of spatial perception. To inspect the impact of contour on cognition and restorativeness, we included a measure of perceived restored attention, building on the attention restoration theory (ART) [ 58 ], and a mental arithmetic task from the Trier social stress test [ 71 ], previously used in environmental VR studies [ 72 ]. We present here a new paradigm that allows the collection of both explicit and implicit measures of the human response to indoor environments while allowing for a close-to-reality experience. To the best of our knowledge, none of the previous studies have explored high-quality photorealistic, yet well-matched virtual stimuli representing contour contrasting conditions within a free-exploration setting, while controlling for style. Extending on the findings of the scarce studies inspecting contours in the architectural context [ 8 , 10 , 44 , 46 , 49 , 73 ] and the seemingly robust scientific and empirical evidence supporting curvature preference in other domains (references above), we expected curved conditions to positively impact the self-reported emotional and spatial experience, and to improve cognitive performance as well as the self-reported feeling of restorativeness.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. participants.

A sample size estimation using G*Power—version 3.1.9.7 (Dusseldorf University, Dusseldorf, Germany), resulted in the need for 36 participants to enable medium effect size. Due to the high potentiality of technical errors, and the increasing rate of cancelled sessions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the recruitment process was kept open until reaching N = 36 individuals who provided usable complete sets of behavioral VR data. Eventually, 48 healthy adults were enrolled, aged between 18 and 40 years, with no severe visual impairments. Further inclusion criteria included fluency in German language and absence of diagnosed mental or neurodegenerative disorder or cognitive impairment. Subjects were recruited through the Castellum Database of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin (MPIB) and an online platform ( https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/ ) and were compensated with 10 euros/h. All participants signed the consent form before the experiment.

2.2. Stimulus

Two pairs of living rooms were created for the purpose of the study ( Figure 1 ). Rooms of each pair were identical in their design, except that one had angular window openings, furniture, fixtures, accessories, patterns, and other specific details, while the other had curved counterparts. The main contrast between the pairs was style (classified under: modern vs. classic), with some differences in layout, furniture components, and materials, which were seen necessary to reflect the style. “Classic rooms” included features from the neo-classicism period (e.g., “ornamental” furniture of Louis XV and VI style; wallcovering; detailed door and windows; more objects in the room), while “modern rooms” followed the “less is more” principle (e.g., Ludwig Mies van der Rohe) in a minimal style (e.g., less detailed furniture, door and windows; less objects in the room). Moreover, the classic pair included elements of biophilic design (e.g., wood furniture, plants, images of plants, more surfaces with green color). The main challenge was to design objects/elements that reflect well-proportioned, yet matching counterparts in both contour versions, without causing a change to style or familiarity. Hence, furniture design was inspired from common pieces that exist in both contour versions, although changing contours or proportions of famous designer pieces was completely avoided. In order to control for additional confounding factors, rooms’ boundaries, ceiling, floor, door and windows locations, main seating positions, main light, and primary color (green) were kept identical between the pairs, in addition to the outdoor window view portraying a natural environment.

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Virtual 3D environments, created for the study. Upper images display the modern style, and the bottom ones the classic style. Top left: angular modern (AM). Top right: curved modern (CM). Bottom left: angular classic (CA). Bottom right: curved classic (CC). Images were taken from the Unity project with a perspective that does not represent a human eye view, to show maximum coverage of the room.

The size of the virtual room was similar to the MPIB VR lab space dimensions and fixed accordingly to (L × W × H = 4.9 × 3.9 × 3 m) so that free movement was possible during participants’ exploration. Three-dimensional models of all the objects and details of the rooms were created using 3Ds Max—version Theseus, 2020 (Autodesk Inc., Mill Valley, CA, USA), and the paradigm with all the tasks was implemented using the gaming software Unity—version 2019.2.1f1, 64-bit (Unity Technologies, San Francisco, CA, USA). The rooms were rendered in real-time during the experiment, using Unity High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP, version 6.9.1) and were displayed with Steam VR (Valve Corporation, Bellevue, WA, USA)—multiple updates during experiment, no standing version to report, through an HTC Vive Pro headset (HTC corporation, New Taipei, Taiwan), connected to a wireless adapter to allow for unobstructed movement. In order to increase immersion, a real physical large couch was included in the set-up, positioned at the same location as in the virtual rooms. Participants could use it within their exploration time, and were asked to sit on it to perform the cognitive tasks ( Figure 2 ).

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Virtual reality (VR) laboratory set up. Left side: VR setup in pilot session, participant about to start responding to rating scales. The physical couch is shown on the right side of the participant. Middle: general layout showing the virtual space in relation to the actual laboratory conditions, experimenter position, physical couch position, starting point of each exploration task, and virtual screens that appear successively during the paradigm. Top right: teleportation room, presented at the start of the VR session, and in between each of the rooms. Bottom right: training room, simulating the laboratory appearance.

Additionally, a virtual training room was created, simulating the lab appearance ( Figure 2 ) including the physical couch, with one version having angular edges (for the couch, lighting fixture, and door accessories), while the other had curved counterparts.

As the study comprised a within-subject design, all participants were tested under all conditions in randomized order, always starting with the training room. Participants with odd ID numbers were first exposed to the training room with curved features, while those with even IDs were assigned to the one with angular ones. Using counterbalancing through a Latin square design, and after eliminating sequences where rooms of the same pair would have been shown successively, four groups were identified, to which participants were randomly assigned: Group A (AM, AC, CM, CC); Group B (AC, CM, CC, AM); Group C (CM, CC, AM, AC); and Group D (CC, AM, AC, CM), where AM is “angular modern”, CM is “curved modern”, AC is “angular classic”, and CC is “curved classic”.

2.3. Measures

The main part of the experimental paradigm consisted of the VR session. In each room, participants started exploring the virtual space for 3 min, followed by a 2-min cognitive task in a sitting position, and responded to a set of questions. Multiple questionnaires were administered before and after the VR session (we mention below only those included within the present analyses).

2.3.1. Questionnaires

The in-VR questionnaires included two sections assessing respectively the affective and spatial experience (ASE), and momentary affective state (MAS). ASE consisted of 20 items related to the subjective perception of emotional and spatial dimensions. Participants provided self-reports on 20 bipolar (−5 = “describes strongly”, 0 = “neutral”, 5 = “describes strongly”) dimensions using 11-point numeric scales, tagged by two opposite descriptive adjectives on each of the sides. Dimensions encompassed valence, arousal, and dominance, but also covered other spatial aspects (e.g., organization, spatiality, naturalness), and were retrieved from previous studies [ 7 , 8 , 56 , 74 ], with some additions that were found to be relevant to the study ( Table S1 ). All anchor adjectives were translated to German, for the purpose of this experiment. MAS was assessed using 11-point intensity rating scales for 11 dimensions (original German version used in previous studies [ 75 ]). The dimensions assess different domains: emotional feelings, bodily sensation, valence and arousal, and cognitive and motivational states ( Table S2 ). The first 6 scales were unipolar (0 = “little”, 5 = “neutral”, 10 = “very”), followed by 5 bipolar scales tagged by one to four descriptive adjectives as anchors (−5 = “describes strongly”, 0 = ”neutral”, 5 = “describes strongly”). A pre-measure was also collected before the VR session to control for the baseline affective state. In sum, participants responded to 31 dimensions, in-VR, after exposure to each of the rooms, with a total of 155 questions (including the training room).

As part of the post-VR PC-based questionnaire, subjects reported on more aspects of the virtual, spatial, and cognitive experience. Perceived restorativeness (PR) was measured using an adapted 12-item German version of the Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS) [ 76 ], under four categories: fascination, being away, coherence, and scope ( Table S3 ). Each item was rated on a five-point Likert scale from 0 (not at all) to 4 (completely).

2.3.2. Cognitive Task (CT)

Cognitive performance was evaluated using the results of an in-VR two-minute skip counting task [ 72 ]. After exploring each of the simulated conditions, participants were asked to keep subtracting 13 from a starting 4-digit number that was shown on a virtual screen and to pronounce the intermediate results out loud. When participants made mistakes they were prompted to start anew from the same starting number. The sequence of numbers was the same for all participants, and answers were collected manually by experimenters. Individual scores were calculated by dividing the total number of correct answers (in all attempts) by the number of attempts.

2.3.3. Additional Measures

To evaluate the overall VR experience, and control for specific undesired effects, cyber-sickness was measured using an adapted German version of the Simulation Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) [ 77 ], administered both pre and post-VR sessions. SSQ consists of 16 items based on a four-point Likert scale ranging from 0 (symptom not existent) to 3 (very severe symptom), which can be computed into three representative subscores: Nausea-related (N), Oculomotor-related (O), Disorientation-related (D), in addition to a Total Score (TS) representing the overall severity of cybersickness experienced by participants. Moreover, presence was assessed using the iGroup Presence Questionnaire (IPQ) [ 78 ]—adapted from the German version available online ( www.igroup.org , Accessed on 15 September 2020) administered post-VR. IPQ contains 14 items rated on a five-point Likert scale (1–5) tagged with different anchors, according to the four sub-scales that measure different components of presence: General Presence (GP), Spatial Presence (SP), Involvement (INV), and Experienced Realism (REAL). Both SSQ and IPQ were administered right after the VR session, as part of the post-VR questionnaire. Additionally, we collected information related to demographics and other individual differences that are beyond the scope of the present analyses.

2.4. Procedure

All experimental sessions were conducted in the VR lab at the MPIB (November to December 2020), in compliance with the institute’s COVID-19 regulations for lab hygiene. The experiment was composed of three parts: (1) pre-VR questionnaires and preparation; (2) immersive session; and, (3) post-VR questionnaires and tasks. Participants received the consent form via email before the day of the experiment. They were encouraged to read and sign the form, and to fill in the pre-VR questionnaire before coming to the lab, otherwise, those were completed on the day of the experiment. Upon arrival, participants were presented with an introduction to the study, filled a PC-based questionnaire to collect baseline measures for the affective state and simulation sickness symptoms, and performed a short training session on the cognitive task. Next, they were prepared for the VR session. Details were described thoroughly, the head-mounted display (HMD) was put on with the help of the research assistance staff, and subjects were guided to stand in the teleportation areas next to the room door. The VR session started with an empty teleportation room showing instructions for 20 s, followed by the training room, for familiarization with all in-VR tasks. Each room was simulated for 3 min of free exploration, and participants were encouraged to explore as they needed to, until they felt they could later recognize the room from a photo. At the end of the exploration time, a message was shown at eye level with a message to sit on the couch. Instructions for the cognitive task were displayed on a screen at the wall facing the couch, and when participants confirmed readiness, the starting number was shown. Answers were manually written down by the experimenter, who prompted the participant to “restart” after a wrong number was named, until a “stop” sign was shown at the end of the 2 min. Later, a screen appeared in the middle of the room with instructions on how to answer the questionnaire using the controller. Once all questions were answered, participants were asked to leave the controller on the couch and go to the teleportation spot at the door. The sequence of events and tasks is displayed in Figure 3 (upper side). The process was repeated for all rooms, with the teleportation instruction room presented for 20 s in between. At the end of the immersive session, a sign was shown at eye level indicating “the end”, HMD was dismantled, and participants took a break. The third part of the experiment included the PC-based questionnaire in addition to further tasks that were not used for the present data analysis. Details of the experimental paradigm are displayed in Figure 3 .

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Details of the experimental paradigm. Bottom: The bar shows all phases of the experiment (pre-VR, immersive, and post-VR sessions) along with the respective approximate duration. The mentioned durations are based on the average of the time spent by different participants. Up: The upper layouts display the sequence of events denoting tasks and instructions in each of the virtual environments. Room AM (angular modern) is displayed in a top view layout as an example. The average duration in each virtual room was 12 min (with an approximate total of 60 min). Some events were fixed and had a predefined time (e.g., teleportation room, exploration tasks, cognitive task), while others depended on the participant’s speed (e.g., reading cognitive task instructions and readiness to start, rating tasks, moving back to teleportation spot). Q1 and tasks in the last section mentioned as “other tasks” are excluded from the present analyses. Note: SSQ = simulation sickness questionnaire, IPQ = IGroup presence questionnaire and PRS = perceived restorativeness scale.

2.5. Data Analysis

We preregistered our research plan, which can be retrieved from ( https://aspredicted.org/vp93z.pdf , Accessed on 23 February 2021). During data preprocessing, sessions with technical software/hardware errors, and those where participants requested breaks or showed severe symptoms of simulation sickness were excluded. Out of the 48 participants enrolled, a range of 36–40 (85.36% born in Germany; ASE and MAS: F = 25, M = 16; CT: F = 27, M = 15; PRS: F = 23, M= 13) were included in the analyses ( Table S4 ).

Self-reports assessed with questionnaires (MAS, ASE, PRS) in addition to the cognitive task scores were analyzed using paired samples two-tailed t -tests to examine differences in contour (angular vs. curved) and style (modern vs. classic). When the normality assumption was not met, instead of paired sample t -tests, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used. Statistical tests were performed separately for each of the dimensions of the ASE and MAS. For ease of reference, we will be referring to rooms according to their condition in the following parts of the paper (e.g., angular rooms, classic rooms, etc.).

Considering that we collected 33 separate outcome variables, and conducted two different tests with each (angular vs. curved, modern vs. classic), eventually we had to conduct 66 frequentist statistical tests. When performing multiple statistical tests, one should take into account that setting the alpha value to 0.05 will result in 5/100 significant results purely by chance, in our case 3.3 significant tests. According to the Bonferroni correction method, which strongly controls for family-wise error rate, the critical value for each comparison is the type I error rate divided by the number of comparisons: α/k = 0.05/66 = 0.00076. However, we also checked for the false discovery rate (FDR) correction, as the Bonferroni correction has been considered overly conservative [ 79 ]. FDR correction controls for the proportion of “discoveries” (significant results) that are false positives.

To examine if the observed non-significant results in the frequentist approach represent an absence of the predicted relation between room contour and dependent variables measuring mood and cognition, we examined the amount of evidence in favor of the null hypothesis using the Bayesian framework [ 80 ]. The BF 01 in the Bayesian framework indicates how much more likely it is that the data occur given the null hypothesis.

The analyses within the frequentist approach were conducted using R Studio—v1.4 Tiger Daylily (RStudio, Boston, MA, USA), and Bayesian analyses using JASP—version 0.14.1.0 (University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands).

3.1. Behavioral Measures

3.1.1. affective and spatial experience (ase).

The paired-samples t -test revealed that participants rated angular rooms higher compared to curved rooms on dimensions novelty ( t (40) = 3.95, p < 0.001), order ( t (40) = 6.20, p < 0.001) and symmetry ( t (40) = 2.13, p = 0.039), whereas curved rooms were rated as more exciting ( Z = 2.01, p = 0.044) and harmonious than angular rooms ( t (40) = −2.39, p = 0.022).

Regarding the room style, modern rooms were perceived as more novel ( Z = 5.31, p < 0.001), more simple ( t (40) = 6.26, p < 0.001), more ordered ( t (40) = 2.78, p = 0.008) and more spacious ( Z = 2.49, p = 0.013) compared to classic rooms, while the latter were rated as warmer ( t (40) = −3.23, p = 0.002) and more enclosed ( Z = −1.45, p = 0.014) than modern rooms.

We found no statistically significant difference in any of the dimensions: pleasantness, beauty, lightness, calmness, brightness, comfort, cheerfulness, liveliness, familiarity, experience, and naturalness neither for contour nor style comparisons. Participants’ responses on the affective and spatial dimensions are illustrated in Figure 4 .

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Display of participants’ responses to the bipolar dimensions of the affective and spatial experience questionnaire. The scales were converted from (−5, 0, 5) to (1–11) for analysis and display purposes. Individual scores were calculated based on averaging responses to every two rooms presenting the same condition, and the charts’ scores represent means on each of the dimensions. Plot ( a ) displays results for contour conditions (angular vs. curved), and plot ( b ) shows results of style conditions (modern vs. curved). Significant dimensions are marked with asterisks (*** for p < 0.001, ** for p < 0.01, and * for p < 0.05) and are written in black color for ease of reference. These graphics were created in R Studio, using package fmsb (Minato Nakazawa, 2021, Available on https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/fmsb/index.html ).

3.1.2. Momentary Affective State (MAS)

Contrary to our hypothesis, we did not find any effects of contour on momentary affective states. Moreover, Bayesian factors show that the evidence for no effect ranges from anecdotal evidence for a null result for contour effect on the self-report of being active (BF 01 = 1.16), to moderate evidence for a null result in the case of self-reported fear (BF 01 = 8.41). Similarly, there was no effect of style on momentary affective state, and Bayes factors span from anecdotal evidence for the absence of the style effect—on the heartbeat (BF 01 = 2.00) up to moderate evidence—in the case of alertness (BF 01 = 5.37). Participants’ responses are shown in Figure 5 .

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Display of participants’ responses to the momentary affect questionnaire. Emotional feelings and bodily sensation were rated on unipolar scales (0–10), while arousal and valence (tension, activity, positivity) and cognitive (alertness) and motivational (interest) states ratings were presented on bipolar scales (−5, 0, 5). Both scales were converted to (1–11) for analysis and display purposes. Individual scores were calculated based on averaging responses to every two rooms presenting the same condition, and the charts’ scores represent means on each of the dimensions. Plot ( a ) displays results for contour conditions (angular vs. curved), and plot ( b ) shows results of style conditions (modern vs. classic). These graphics were created in R Studio, using package fmsb (Minato Nakazawa, 2021, Available on: https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/fmsb/index.html ).

3.1.3. Perceived Restorativeness (PR)

There was no difference in self-reported restored attention after having been immersed in angular compared to curved rooms— t (35) = −0.79, p = 0.436, nor in modern compared to classic rooms— t (35) = −0.94, p = 0.352. Bayesian factor indicates that there was anecdotal evidence in favor of an absence of effect of contour (BF 01 = 2.7) and moderate evidence of absence of style effect on perceived restorativeness (BF 01 = 3.7).

3.2. Cognitive Task (CT)

In line with the behavioral data, we found no effect of contour ( Z = −0.43, p = 0.667) or room style ( Z = 0.59, p = 0.552) on cognitive performance. The evidence in favour of null results is moderate for both contour (BF 01 = 5.12) and style (BF 01 = 4.79) effects on cognitive performance.

3.3. Virtual Reality (VR) Experience

A paired sample Wilcoxon signed-rank test indicated a significant increase of the overall cybersickness symptoms experienced by participants ( Z = 4.5423, p < 0.001) from pre- ( Mdn = 7.48, IQR = 22.44) to post- measurements ( Mdn = 26.18, IQR = 29.92) ( Table S5 ). This suggests that the total stay in VR increased the simulation sickness symptoms. We calculated a (post-pre) total score and performed additional analyses to control for the effect of simulation sickness on participants’ responses. However, no main effects were found.

IPQ scores were computed for each of the subscales. On a 1–5 scale, mean scores were respectively GP ( M = 3.93, SD = 0.91), SP ( M = 3.44, SD = 0.63), INV ( M = 3.27, SD = 0.98), and REAL ( M = 2.68, SD = 0.47), indicating above medium values for all the subscales, and an acceptable feeling of presence.

3.4. Additional Analyses

Out of the 66 frequentist tests we conducted, we expected 3.3 to be significant by pure chance. However, five returned significance in contour comparison, and six in style (marked with asterisks in Table 1 and Table 2 ). When applying the Bonferroni method, with the corrected threshold of p < 0.00076, four tests survived the correction: novelty and order in contour comparison in favor of angular rooms, in addition to novelty and simplicity in favor of modern rooms when comparing style. However, when applying a less stringent correction method, the FDR correction, warmth remains significant in style comparison with classic rooms perceived as warmer than modern ones.

Results of the statistical analyses performed on contour conditions using a classical frequentist approach and a Bayesian approach, in addition to the central tendency. Where data is normally distributed, means with standard deviation, and Student t -test results are reported. In the case of unmet normality assumption, we report median and IQR, and Wilcoxon signed-rank test results. Effect sizes and alternative hypotheses are also shown for each of the outcome measures.

1 Rows in bold indicate statistically significant outcome measures (bolded for ease of reference). Significance is also marked with asterisks next to p -values.

Results of the statistical analyses performed on style conditions using a classical frequentist approach and a Bayesian approach, in addition to the central tendency. Where data are normally distributed, means with standard deviation, and Student t -test results are reported. In the case of unmet normality assumption, we report median and IQR, and Wilcoxon signed-rank test results. Effect sizes and alternative hypotheses are also shown for each of the outcome measures.

In line with the frequentist approach findings and the FDR correction, the harmonic mean of the Bayesian factors BF 01 only indicated strong evidence for the alternative hypothesis (<0.1) in the case of the five aforementioned dimensions in the respective comparisons. All statistical tests and Bayes factors are reported in Table 1 and Table 2 .

4. Discussion

Within the scope of the present study, we primarily examined the potential psychological response to indoor virtual living rooms with contrasting contour conditions (angular and curved) on affect, behavior, and cognition. Such findings would contribute to understanding the relationship between humans and the built environments they occupy, and would inform the design of therapeutic settings in ways to optimize cognitive functioning, physical and mental health, and well-being. The very few studies that have investigated these conditions in indoor architectural settings have used for that purpose either photos of existing spaces [ 4 , 8 , 49 ], computer-generated three-dimensional images in color [ 45 ] and greyscale [ 44 ], sketches and line drawings [ 46 ], or schematic virtual environments where the overall form of the room was manipulated [ 10 , 73 ]. Most of these studies reported a preference for, and higher positive emotion in curved/curvilinear conditions as opposed to angular/rectilinear/linear ones (references above), with more recent studies reporting an opposite effect [ 4 ]. This may be the result of problems that are prominent to this new field of study [ 12 ], among which is a lack of systematic development of a coherent theoretical and experimental framework [ 57 ]. We took several measures in an attempt to address some of the methodological shortcomings of previous studies. The first one concerns the nature of the stimuli. For that, we ensured that the virtual environments presented are fully matched in terms of contour contrast, and avoided the possible effects of other confounding variables (e.g., lighting conditions, outside view, room size, floor finish, ceiling height and finish, door location and size, and so on). All these variables were kept identical in all four simulated rooms. Moreover, we included a second level-variable, architectural style, so that we presented to participants a variety that could cover different aesthetic preferences, noting that findings of previous studies were inconsistent with regard to preference. The second shortcoming is related to the lack of real-life architectural experience in previous studies and the predominant use of static stimuli. Therefore, we opted for a VR set-up that stimulates 3D rather than 2D perception, with a free-exploration paradigm and no restrictions on the path; subjects were able to explore the space from different viewing angles, whether standing, sitting, or crouching to see a specific detail. Moreover, we presented high-quality and detailed immersive environments, which were created via high-definition photorealistic instant renderings and post-processing methods (videos of the room can be found on https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1rIPx0GBHubAsQaWxBWnkY7odOPXn_yiL , Accessed on 19 September 2021). However, we respected the recommended guidelines to reduce VR-induced symptoms and effects by providing high-quality graphics and ensuring that the immersive session did not exceed the recommended maximum duration [ 81 ]. Moreover, we familiarized all our participants with the VR system by means of a training session. Third, with regard to outcome measures, we aimed to extend beyond the limited conventional ratings of valence and arousal, criticized by some as not representative of the spatial aesthetic experience [ 53 ]. Hence, we included a relatively large set of affective, behavioral, and cognitive measures. Extending from previous evidence on the curvature preference and positive affective effects in both non-architectural and architectural settings, we expected the curved conditions to positively influence momentary affect, emotional and spatial experience, cognitive performance, and perceived restorativeness.

To our surprise, we did not find relevant positive effects of contour in most of the outcome measures, although the study had a comparably large sample size (e.g., N = 18 [ 8 ], 17 [ 10 ], 71 × two groups [ 49 ]). In fact, the only differences observed between the two contrasting conditions, after correcting for false discoveries, favored angular versions on “novelty” and “order” ratings. This finding stands in contrast to some experimental studies where ratings of pleasantness, attractiveness/beauty, and arousal indicated more positive responses to curved rather angular conditions (e.g., [ 8 , 44 , 46 , 49 ]). In particular, we were surprised that in our analysis, differences in self-reports on both “pleasantness” and “beauty” were statistically insignificant. While results indicated a non-significant trend in the predicted direction indicating higher pleasantness ratings for rooms with curvature, the Bayes factor indicated no evidence in this direction. As for beauty, ratings’ means were very similar in both conditions. This is in line with a previous study, where contour had no effect on beauty judgments in laypeople [ 49 ]. We also did not find any differences in ratings of arousal dimensions neither in ASE nor in MAS (e.g., excitement, liveliness, calmness, interest, tension, heartbeat, alertness, activity). In terms of momentary affect in general, our results mainly indicated no evidence for the threat hypothesis, as ratings on “fear” were at the lower extreme in both conditions. As a matter of fact, all scores on negative affect were considerably low (e.g., shame, anger, sadness), while all items related to positive dimensions in both MAS and ASE were above average (considering 6 is the midpoint of the 1–11 scale) for both conditions. This effect is consistent with a previous study [ 56 , 57 ], where no differences were reported on valence (pleasantness, comfort) and arousal dimensions between simulated furnished rooms (cutting edge with rounded furniture and modern with angular edges), albeit those were highly rated when compared to an empty room. One could think that participants reported a pleasant experience in all of the furnished rooms because they were impressed by the degree of realism in those, or by the virtual experience per se. But then the effect would drop after “affective habituation” [ 82 ]. As response bias was proposed as a function of presentation order in lengthy sequential preference judgments [ 83 ], we controlled for the stimulus presentation sequence and found no main effects. We also did not find any differences in perceived restorativeness, nor in cognitive performance, while Bayes’ factors showed poor evidence of the alternative hypothesis.

In our exploratory analyses of style, results primarily validated our stimuli’s second-level contrast with modern rooms being rated significantly higher than classic ones on the “traditional/novel” scale. This effect was reconfirmed within the Bayesian analysis which indicated strong evidence for the alternative hypothesis. No main difference in the general assessment of style on positive or negative affect or aesthetic value measures was observed, consistent with some previous studies [ 63 , 65 , 66 , 67 ], except for complexity and warmth, in favor of classic rooms. While the results of complexity ratings confirmed some previous findings [ 67 ], and could be argued as a natural result of the classical style being inclusive of more details (e.g., ornaments) in its principles, the slight difference in the color palette between the two styles could be a confounding factor in the case of warmth. On the other hand, the inclusion of more “green” or “biophilic” features did not impact ratings on naturalness or perceived restorativeness. We also find this surprising as these elements are considered within the biophilic design framework. No other effect of style was found in any of the other outcome variables. Future studies primarily investigating architectural style should aim at maximizing the control for confounding variables by providing well-matched high and low-level properties.

Comparing our almost null results in terms of contour comparison to previous findings of studies that investigated indoor environments and familiar objects, it could be explained by several points. The first concerns the relatively extended viewing time in our study (3 min of exploration time), when compared with previous ones, which mostly relied on gut reactions, by either presenting the stimuli very shortly (84 to 3000 ms) (e.g., [ 8 , 31 ]), or by instructing participants to immediately respond without thinking (e.g., [ 44 ]). Previous investigations have found that preference for curved stimuli, which was pronounced under limited times (84 to 150 ms), faded when the stimulus was displayed until response. This finding was replicated with images of real objects [ 26 , 35 ] and abstract shapes [ 29 ]. An influence of meaning and semantic content on preference was suggested. In fact, when presenting the same images of indoor environments until response, effects were not consistent with previous studies [ 4 , 10 , 46 ], and a preference for rectilinear interiors was actually found across the three groups of participants in the most recent study: individuals with autism spectrum condition, neurotypical adults, and design and art students. Another point to consider concerns the use of forced-choice dichotomous scales in some of the previous studies reporting the preference of curved conditions (e.g., beautiful/not beautiful, or like/dislike). The lack of a response options in the middle might have boosted the preference response, as proposed by some researchers, when interpreting the different effects found in their study investigating abstract shapes [ 29 ]. We opted for a psychometric 11-point scale to allow for undecided responses. The third point relates to the fact that most of the previous research investigating contour, in general, has targeted similar populations, particularly female participants and psychology students [ 30 ], causing limitations in terms of generalizing results. However, we included a rather heterogeneous sample, recruited via more diversified databases. Last but not least, additional potential reasons concern the cultural and individual differences between the populations of the different studies. Culture was proposed to effect aesthetic preference and sensitivity, with the latter suggested change over time, exposure, and perspective [ 3 ]. From an architecture point of view, interiors, with the potential affordances (see James Gibson) they create, host the complex interaction between specific atmospheres shaped by different spatial compositions, the perceiver’s characteristics, and their interpretation [ 5 ]. A probabilistic model of aesthetic response was proposed to explain the ongoing interaction between humans and their physical environments [ 50 ], and identified, in addition to design attributes, a series of factors including biology, personality, social and cultural experience, goals, expectations, associations, and internal constructs. These factors are suggested to contribute to the aesthetic response, impacting affect, physiological response, and behavior. The model acknowledged the complexity of the architectural experience, and further highlighted the major limitation caused by the neglect of the human movement’s influence on the spatial experience in studies that use static stimuli. More than two decades after its publication, most of the known effects still relate to static stimuli rather than real-life experiences.

Even though recent research is targeting inter-individual differences in shape preferences in spaces and objects’ contexts, the role of individual measures on preference is as yet uncertain, requiring further investigations [ 33 , 84 ]. However, when looking closely at previous studies, an interesting sex effect appears. While a curvature preference was observed when the sample predominantly consisted of female psychology, art, and design students [ 44 , 49 ], environments with rectilinear properties were preferred when the sample had a prevalence of male (design students, neurotypical or autistic participants) [ 49 ]. The same set of images showed a preference for curved interiors when the sample size consisted of more females than males [ 8 , 49 ]. The authors interpreted the preference for rectilinear spaces in their study as the result of familiarity, which was previously found to be relevant for preference formation [ 34 , 38 ], although other studies investigating drawings of familiar objects have found it to modulate preference for curvature [ 33 ]. The sex effect was also found when presenting sketches of familiar objects, where females judged curvilinear objects as more peaceful than males [ 37 ]. Additionally, another recent study presenting abstract shapes as stimuli has found that curvature preference was stronger for female students in psychology [ 30 ]. This effect was potentially attributed to gender rather than biological determinants. In this present study, post hoc analyses showed a sex effect, however, beyond the preference of one of the conditions over the other (Post-hoc)). Namely, when looking solely at angular rooms, males performed better than females in the cognitive task. Additionally, they rated those rooms higher than females on six out of the 20 affective and spatial dimensions, and reported higher scores on positive affect after exploring them. Although such results could possibly hint at a higher appreciation of angularity in males, this finding is to be interpreted cautiously for many reasons. First, our sample was not balanced in terms of sex and consisted of females more than males. Second, higher scores related to angular conditions do not necessarily indicate the preference of a shape over the other. This suggests that future works could benefit from including equally sized sex groups.

However, there are some limitations to the present study. Although the stimuli were still presented during rating tasks, the evaluation time was relatively long (3 min of exploration vs. an average of 9 min for CT and self-reports). Participants had to provide ratings in each room for 31 questions. This might have caused an effect known as the “museum-fatigue effect” [ 85 ], which has been found in many experimental observations and laboratory experiments. Causes were originally attributed to fatigue, but later to other cognitive factors such as satisfaction, information overload, and limitations in attentional capacity [ 83 ]. In terms of momentary affect, we had selected a scale that includes a broad range of negative emotions, to evaluate the threat hypothesis previously proposed [ 31 ]. However, participants scored very low on negative emotions and used more of the given scale for questions that offered both positive and negative anchors. In future studies, more focus should be directed to positive emotions. Concerning cognitive performance, the selected task was stress-inducing, which is why it is part of the Trier stress test. Although it had proven efficacy in previous studies investigating physical environments [ 72 ], it could be that the stress induced by the task might have overlapped the possible effects of contours.

Future studies may want to focus more strongly on implicit measures of emotions, less stress-inducing cognitive tasks, a lower number of outcome variables, and a more positive set of emotions. Sex could be further explored through the selection of a well-balanced sample. One route is to examine inter-individual differences, which include personality traits and expertise in arts and design. However, more differences should be taken into account, such as cultural background, previous experience with VR, information on familiar and lived architectural environments, among others.

5. Conclusions

In summary, while the evidence for curved contour preference in the context of abstract shapes and lines seems robust, it does not appear to be as strong in architectural settings, as multiple studies fail to demonstrate or replicate findings. The present study addressed previous limitations and found that exposure to contrasting contours in virtual interiors within a heterogeneous sample did not elicit significant differences in response to a broad set of psychological dimensions, with tasks and questionnaires administered directly after free exploration, yet within the virtual space, to record an immediate response. The fact that we assessed multiple domains during a close-to-reality architectural experience of fully controlled stimuli, not finding major effects in any of them, makes the study the most comprehensive in the field until now. This suggests that the psychological response to indoor design is much more complex and cannot be reduced into a generalized effect of contour or style, and could involve further multifaceted layers that affect the judgment of spaces on a more individual and contextual level. These results will help to convey a more real-life perspective of the response to the architectural experience in experimental settings and highlight the necessity of further investigations by providing directions for future research.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Rami Saad Architects (Beirut, Lebanon) for offering the 3D modeling of objects and furniture.

Supplementary Materials

The following are available online at https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/ijerph182312510/s1 , Table S1: Affective and spatial experience (ASE) dimensions with their respective domains, along with the tagged descriptive adjectives and numeric scales, Table S2: Momentary affective state (MAS) dimensions with their respective domains, along with the tagged descriptive adjectives and numeric scales, Table S3: Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS) items, along with the respective original subscales they represent, Table S4: Included/excluded participants for each set of measures, along with reasons for exclusion, Table S5: Scores on the SSQ, including the three subscales (Nausea, Oculomotor disturbance, and Disorientation), in addition to the total score, Post-hoc: Exploratory analysis of sex, Videos: Short videos inside the rooms

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, S.K., N.T. and I.M.S.; methodology, S.K. and N.T.; software, K.P.; formal analysis, S.S. and N.T.; investigation, N.T. and I.M.S.; writing—original draft preparation, N.T.; writing—review and editing, S.K.; visualization, N.T.; supervision, S.K.; project administration, N.T., stimulus design, N.T. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

This research received no external funding.

Institutional Review Board Statement

The study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by the Local Psychological Ethics Committee of the psychosocial center at Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf protocol code LPEK-0215 20 October 2020.

Informed Consent Statement

Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

Data Availability Statement

Conflicts of interest.

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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