LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
importance is derived from the research conducted by Olszewska-Guizzo et al using electroencephalogram (EEG) data. The length of ‘exposures’ in these experiments was short, comprising 20- 60 seconds in a laboratory setting, and between 5 and 7 minutes in an outdoor ‘naturalistic’ environment. Momentary mood improvements were recorded, with the book’s author observing that ‘the participants’ mood disturbance after the exposure was significantly lower than before; more specifically, the negative emotions of fatigue, depression, and confusion were alleviated during the exposure’. It was also found that participants diagnosed with depression benefited more than people in the ‘healthy’ group.
The proper ‘dosage’ Agnieszka Olszewska-Guizzo asks what might constitute the proper ‘dosage’ for exposure to contemplative landscapes, signposting research undertaken by Meredith et al (2020), that confirms that as little as 10-20 minutes of time spent in nature ‘on passive recreation (sitting or walking) can already improve key psychological and physiological markers’, and that carried out by Barton and Pretty (2010), which suggests that ‘the effects can be maintained for two to four hours’ afterwards. The author remarks that research
results have confirmed ‘that not all green space will have the same effect on health’ – thus suggesting that architects and landscape architects can influence the extent of the resulting health and wellbeing effects through the decisions they make during the design development process. It is especially useful that the CLM can be used to assess both existing
A person’s environment shapes approximately 10% of their overall health, and the benefits of contact with a more naturalised environment have been recognised since the 1960s. Research undertaken in recent years has recorded increased lower frequency brainwaves (Alpha and Theta) arising from exposure to landscapes, which encourage a contemplative state of mind
landscapes and proposed schemes – from photographs / plans, visualisation, videos, augmented reality, or actual direct ‘real-world’ experience, using the scoring criteria outlined in Chapter 12 of the book. Consequently, it can be deployed to evaluate the potential cognitive benefits of both proposed and completed mental health facilities, in relation to both the associated external spaces and the immediate landscape setting.
Contemplative
landscape components The figures in brackets below (combined mood and brain activity scores) are the recorded extent to which each component is deemed to contribute to positive neuropsychological outcomes for users of external green spaces.
i) Character of peace and silence (18%) In relation to the urban green spaces which are the principal focus of the book, the founding principle of a contemplative landscape is the provision of reorientation – in the form of a distinctly different environment to that being experienced by the receptors, for the majority of the time.
Consequently, a certain degree of physical and visual separation between therapeutic landscape spaces and adjoining buildings / associated car parking / service areas should be achieved where at all possible. Agnieszka Olszewska-Guizzo emphasises that it is important to endeavour to make contemplative places as welcoming and friendly as possible to ensure that they are inclusive and easy to navigate, stating in her book that ‘landscape contemplation as per its conceptual basis works best as a solitary journey’. Consequently, it is important, wherever possible, that adequate provision be made within the external landscape areas for solace and reflection. Thus, alongside the inclusion of walking routes, the provision of places for rest and relaxation, incorporating comfortable seats and benches which invite the user to linger, is an important element of this component. In many instances this involves looking beyond the conventional upright bench and – where safety considerations permit – including seats, side tables, and small outdoor exercise equipment which can be moved to accommodate a user’s specific requirements. Since tranquillity can be difficult to achieve in the majority of mental health settings, consideration should be given to the inclusion of noise attenuation features in some situations. However, Agnieszka Olszewska-Guizzo also makes reference to ensuring, while achieving the above objectives, that the perception of safety is not compromised, through the careful location of ‘refuge’ spaces, and the incorporation of ‘prospect’ views from them over adjoining open areas.
The provision of places for rest and relaxation, incorporating comfortable seats and benches which invite the user to linger (as show here at Colwyn Bay), is, Mark Stefan emphasises, ‘an important element’ of providing a calm and relaxing environment, reflecting ‘peace and silence’.
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ii) Layers of the landscape (18%) Although in the context of smaller spaces associated with buildings, the distances involved – in the three recognised distance zones (foreground, middle ground, and background) – are much reduced, use can still be made of ‘borrowed landscape’. Agnieszka Olszewska-Guizzo explains that the psychological benefits associated with views have their origins both in Jay Appleton’s ‘prospect-refuge’ research (carried out in the 1970s), and the attention restoration theory (Kaplan, 2011). In the context of mental health facilities this could translate to locating, orientating, and designing a building to optimise views
FEBRUARY 2024 | THE NETWORK
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