Exposure to Biophilic Design: Understanding the Psychological, Cognitive, and Physiological Benefits

Biophilic design, which integrates natural elements into built environments, is increasingly recognized for its potential to enhance human well-being. This approach hypothesizes that exposure to nature, even within artificial settings, can improve psychological, cognitive, and physiological health. We present a series of experimental studies examining the influence of nature-inspired design on well-being across various settings. The first two studies investigate the effects of a plant wall, comparing its impact in a real university office and a virtually replicated environment. These studies are grounded in Stress Recovery Theory (SRT) (Ulrich, 1991) and Attention Restoration Theory (ART) (Kaplan et al., 1995). SRT posits that non-threatening natural elements reduce psychological and physiological stress, while ART proposes that exposure to nature restores attentional reserve. To test these hypotheses, we collected psychological data to assess mood shifts, physiological data to measure stress reduction, and cognitive performance data to evaluate attention restoration. Two additional ongoing experiments focus exclusively on Stress Recovery Theory to explore the stress-relieving potential of biophilic elements. In one study, a group of participants who watch videos of natural environments after completing a stress-inducing task is compared to a control group that sits alone without exposure to any natural elements. In the second study, a different group of participants is exposed to a biophilic indoor virtual room following the same stress-inducing task, while a control group experiences a virtual non-biophilic room. In both studies, psychological and physiological data are being collected to assess the impact of these interventions. The results of these studies will be discussed in terms of the potential of biophilic design to improve well-being and reduce stress. This research will provide scientific evidence for the application of biophilic-based interventions across various settings.