Consider the subtle affects if nature on the human experience:

Images of Nature

Besides directly experiencing natural components in the landscape, indirect experiences gained through images can be just as psychologically and physiologically satisfying. Images may be of plants, animals, whole landscapes, or other natural elements. There are all kinds of ways to this, such as via paintings, murals, sculptures, photographs, mosaics, or others. Using designs and patterns in architecture is also said to impact positively on people’s psychological health; it isn’t just a shrub or tree that impacts positively. Examples of artwork or designs on buildings can be seen extending back centuries e.g. in Arabic, Greek, Roman culture, and even ancient civilisations (e.g. rock art).

Natural Materials

Materials which are natural or perceived as being natural invoke a sense of mastery of survival when we look at them. We have worked with natural materials throughout evolution. Natural materials stimulate our senses. Visually they look attractive. We often want to feel them and often enjoy their textures. All sorts of natural materials can be used in both exterior and interior environments. Examples include straw, wood, stone, clay, cotton, wool, linen and leather. Natural materials can be used for furniture, furnishings, pots, fountains, and structures.

Natural Colours

Natural colours help us to find our way around landscapes and encourage movement. They help us to distinguish food on plants and identify animals. Colours like green tend to have a calming effect on our dispositions.

The most favourable natural colours are those which are quite earthy looking - browns, greys, and greens i.e. those which most accurately represent the natural environment. Bright and gaudy colours are best avoided or used sparingly so they replicate natural scenes like the blooming of flowers in a meadow. Sharply contrasting colours can be too stimulating, and some colours may look vulgar together.

Information Richness

Natural environments are abundant in information. They provide us with great variation colours, shapes, sizes, textures, movement, and so forth. The stimulation provided by this great diversity imparts in us a positive sense of wellbeing.

This level of information richness can also be provided in built environments and simulated landscapes, so long as it is not haphazard, but all the components complement one another.

Age, Change, and the Patina of Time

In the natural world, nothing remains the same. Trees grow and die, rocks become exposed from the earth and tiny lichens grow on them, the edges of a lake recede, and land is eroded. These sorts of change associated with aging and the never-ending forces of nature instil in us a sense of awe about how nature adapts. However, it works best when coupled with a sense of stability. In the landscape, the inclusion of naturally aging materials such as wood can replicate this natural phenomenon.

Natural Geometries

There are many naturally occurring mathematical properties found in nature. These include things like representations of the Fibonacci sequence, the Golden Ratio, recurring patterns, and hierarchies of scale. These geometrical patterns remind us of nature and impart a sense of contentment and relaxation.

Bio-mimicry

Bio-mimicry refers to imitating the forms and forms and functions which occur in the natural world. It is particularly applicable to other species. The more we learn about them, the more we can mimic them in our built environments. The answers to many of our engineering problems can be found by making direct observations of nature. For example, the climate control used by termites in their mounds has been imitated in an office complex in Harare, Zimbabwe.

When we incorporate these non-human functions or forms into our own technology it not only benefits us as a species, but it also stimulates our admiration for nature.

Experience of Space and Place

Prospect and Refuge

During our evolution we have come to recognise opportunities and dangers in the natural landscape. Humans have had to do this to survive. Elements of a landscape which provide refuge are seen as safe and secure. Those which provide prospect afford long uninterrupted views.

The presence of prospect and refuge in the built environment provide both function and self-satisfaction. Inside buildings they can be achieved through providing windows with distant views, having a connection between inside and outdoors, having sheltered space with outward views, and so forth. Outdoors, they can be achieved through the positioning of vistas, archways framing distant views, gazebos, and so on.

Organised Complexity

We get great satisfaction from organised complexity in our environments. Whether built or natural, complexity in the form of different options and possibilities is stimulating. However, if it is perceived as being disorganised or chaotic it is more likely to cause us to feel stressed.

Integration of Parts to Wholes

We tend to prefer wholes rather than parts of things in the landscape. Gestalt psychologists would say "the whole is greater than the sum of the parts." In the built environment this can be satisfied through linking components together. A built landscape could have garden rooms for example which follow on from one another in a unified theme. Some sort of focal point, e.g. a central arch or fountain, can also be used to unite different spaces.

Transitional Spaces

People have a need to understand the connections from one area to another. We have evolved to interpret the environment as a continuum of interconnecting spaces, and we use transitions from one space to the next to help us move around the environment. When applied to interiors, buildings have demarcated entrances, hallways, reception rooms, etc. In exteriors, we may have roadways, gateways, fence lines, paths, boundaries, etc.

Mobility and Way-finding

In any environment, people must be able to find their way around comfortably. This adds to our sense of enjoyment of the space. It is particularly important for more complex spaces. Landscapes which are not well set out can cause confusion to users, and ultimately stress and anxiety. People like to explore but they don't like to get lost. Landscape components can be used appropriately to help delineate areas and guide people. In a public space, well positioned and clearly signed footpaths will help.

Cultural and Ecological Attachment to Place

We all have a sense of place, and we like a 'place to call home'. Indeed, some social commentators argue that without it, societies become disconnected and disintegrate. Without any attachment people don't take pride in, or nurture, their environment.

• Culture and ecology can be used to promote a sense of attachment.
• Culture can be reflected through designs which depict cultural values e.g. through basketry, mosaics, bonds in brickwork, paintings, etc.
• Ecology is mostly reflected through the use of indigenous plants species, local fauna, and ways of mimicking the local climate.
• An emphasis on local culture and ecology also helps people to foster greater awareness of their local resources and build stronger attachments to them.