Designing landscapes for psychological restoration: Adding considerations of sound

Environmental psychology literature has established the need for restorative spaces to rejuvenate the mind, body, and spirit. However, the soundscape is rarely considered in the creation of these spaces. In order to design sonically-appropriate places for restoration, an understanding of sound preferences is beneficial. A survey of 104 landscape architecture undergraduate students at the University of Guelph was conducted using the Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS), which was integrated with sound preference questions. The subjects were questioned regarding a "break" scenario, a "favourite" place scenario, and an "unpleasant" place scenario. The PRS was used to determine the restorative status of the places chosen. The survey results showed sound preferences in restorative spaces for the sound categories of wind in trees (100%), songbirds (95%), crickets (80%), and children laughing (80%). The locations fell into seven categories. Chi-squared analysis showed significant overrepresentation of natural, residential, and food service locations for the break scenario, and of natural places in the favourite scenario. These data will be used to develop design guidelines for the creation of restorative spaces for university campuses.