Green vertical structures, according to a study by NTU Singapore, may function as stress relievers
In a groundbreaking study co-led by Sarah Chan, a Ph.D. candidate from the Interdisciplinary Graduate Programme at NTU, and Associate Professor Lin Qiu from the Psychology programme at the NTU School of Social Sciences, it has been discovered that integrating vertical greenery into the built environment can promote mental health.
The research, published in Landscape and Urban Planning, suggests that vertical greenery on building exteriors may help buffer people against stress. The study used a control condition to compare the effects of vertical greenery with the colour green.
111 participants were asked to walk down a virtual street for five minutes, with half viewing streets featuring planted greenery and the other half viewing streets with only green painted walls. The results showed that participants who viewed buildings with only green paint experienced a significant increase in stress, as recorded by heart rate variability, while those who viewed the buildings with the green plants did not experience any change in stress.
The study provides evidence that the colour green itself may not be the sole factor contributing to positive effects, but rather the presence of green vegetation. This finding is significant for city planning and design, particularly for high-density urban areas with land constraints.
The study also found that vertical greenery systems may help moderate the detrimental consequences of stress. Additionally, walls of greenery can help lower ambient temperature, reduce energy consumption from cooling systems, reduce carbon emissions, and lessen the effect of 'urban heat island'.
The study provides additional impetus for city planners to adopt a 'biophilic design' concept, which seeks to connect people more closely to nature. Cities such as Singapore, Wellington (NZ), and San Francisco favour this approach. However, the most likely city for further research by the group around Lin Qiu and Sarah Chan on the psychological effects of vertical greenery in architecture is not specified in the provided search results.
For future research, the team plans to use Virtual Reality (VR) to investigate the psychological impact of using nature in architecture more thoroughly. This study is a step forward in understanding how urban design can impact mental health and well-being, and it's an encouraging sign for greener, healthier cities in the future.
The DOI for the study is 10.1016/J.LANDURBPLAN.2021.104127.
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