The Psychological Impact of Biophilic Design: The Case of Taman Literasi Martha Christina Tiahahu, Jakarta

Abstract

Abstract The built environment has a profound effect on its users, both psychologically and physiologically. These effects must be taken into consideration within the designers’ thinking process to achieve a resulting design that will not only accommodate the users’ spatial functional requirements but also provide comfort, specifically in the case of this research, through visual sensory points. One of the many benefits of the biophilic design concept is to shift the human psychological state from negative to positive. This design concept has been profoundly implemented in the Taman Literasi Martha Christina Tiahahu, Jakarta. This study uses Taman Literasi Martha Tiahahu (Martha Tiahahu Literary Park) as its object with the purpose of investigating the psychological effect of the Biophilic design concept on the park’s observers through physiological evidence. The study uses the latest biophilic theory of the 14 Biophilic Patterns by William Browning (2014) to identify the biophilic elements found in the park. These elements are documented and matched with which of the 14 patterns mentioned in the theory. This study uses 30 participants to partake in the study, in which their psychological conditions are measured by filling out questionnaires. Their physiological conditions, through blood pressure and heart rate, are measured. The results of this study work in favour of the emotional state shift from negative to positive on its users when experiencing the biophilic spaces.