Creating restorative corridors - Perceptual and physiological feedback of children on the audiovisual environment in primary school corridors

Abstract

The corridor space of the primary school campus is frequently used for recess and relaxation by the students, which brings stress and emotional recovery from the intense academic work. How to integrate natural restorative environment into the corridor has attracted academic and practical attention. Based on Kaplan's theory of Restorative Environment, this study combined subjective evaluation with physiological feedback to explore the primary school children's perception and evaluation of corridor space, and proposed the effects of different audio-visual indicators. Based on a questionnaire survey of children's activities and restoration in two schools, the paper found the association between perceived restoration and high interaction behavior in the corridor, including floriculture and interacting with hands-on devices. The richness of amenities and colors in the corridor space had the highest correlation with children's restorative ratings, followed by interface openness and sky visibility. Natural soundscapes also had a strong correlation with children's auditory restorability. Subsequent virtual audition experiments validated above findings, suggesting the benefits of increased greenery, sky and natural sounds in reducing children's stress.