A Verification Tool for the Validity of Educational Environments According to the Biophilia Hypothesis

Today's academic students spend a lot of time indoors, which puts them at risk for psycho-physiological stresses that have a negative impact on their cognition. This study aims to investigate the impact of incorporating biophilic design patterns in the academic environment on student motivation and to develop a verification tool that helps to design and evaluate educational buildings in terms of providing motivating learning environments in accordance with the biophilia hypothesis. The developed verification tool will be applied later to one of Eastern Mediterranean University's buildings in Northern Cyprus. To conduct the present study, a qualitative research method based on a case study analysis is adopted. Literature review for books, scholarly articles, and other sources relevant to the study issue is used, to understand the psychological impacts of incorporating the Biophilic Design patterns in an Educational environment on students’ psychological health. Biophilic design indicators are extracted from a set of existing biophilic buildings in order to set the verification tool. The verification reveals that the case study featured nine biophilic design patterns, which have a positive impact on the learning process.