S09 - Session O6 - How are They Related? A Study on Perceived Biophilic Design and Environmental Qi in Therapeutic Landscape and Human Health

Authors: Shih-Han Hung *, Chun-Yen Chang

Evidence on the relationship between landscape and health has been continually verified over the 30 decades. The Biophilia Hypothesis was proposed by Wilson (1984) stated that human beings have the instinct affiliation with nature, which is related to our evolutionary survival for food and security with nature. Most people live in urban, the connection with nature is decreased, while through the biophilic design, it might increase a sense of being in urban nature and provide health-related benefits as well. While eastern philosophy value the harmonious perception of the environment and humans. Environmental Qi is an invisible substance that exists on earth and might influence human health. Therefore, a holistic view that encompasses both Western and Eastern perceptions of environmental attributes and health outcomes could help to fill gaps in our knowledge of what humans perceived as the environment and elicit health. This research aims to test the relationship between perception on biophilic design and environmental Qi as bringing up to the therapeutic Landscape and Human Health in urban nature. An online data collection represented what participants perceived with urban nature and their psychological human-nature experience of biophilic and Qi. The results indicated the overall environmental perception showed a high correlation between perceived biophilic design and environmental Qi. Moreover, a sense of security, satisfaction, attraction, attachment, etc., were highly associated with environmental Qi experience with physical and psychological health benefits. Furthermore, the sense of balancing between environment and building in the urban green space both in biophilic design was related to the visual quality in the eastern perception of the landscape. From conceptual to evidence, this research might be important to link the difference and similarities of what humans perceived as the environmental attributes in the urban green space and might be contributing to therapeutic landscape and human health.