Abstract:

The increase in popularity of Mindfulness-based health practices has introduced important insights into how the design of building typologies can greatly enhance the user experience. In the educational buildings for example, spatial design has the potential to increase students’ stress management capabilities and overall mindfulness. To promote consistency of positive design across educational spaces, this research team investigated the tangible elements of a space and the associated effect each element had on the student’s ability to practice mindfulness. Through a mixed-methods approach including qualitative and quantitative analysis of students’ experiences and perceptions across a variety of spaces, this research team gathered valuable data. By noting the similarities in spaces which most students associated with mindfulness, the researchers were able to create a compilation of design elements that were defined as contributors to the mindfulness qualities of a space. After determining the elements of design that contributed to enhancing student’s mindfulness, a scoring rubric was developed so that participants of this research study would be able to assign a “mindfulness grade” to spaces. The conclusions of this research pointed to greater student satisfaction from spaces that included a balance of daylight and artificial lighting, natural materials, and the option for students to manipulate the space via lighting, temperature, movable furniture, and privacy screens. A direct visual connection to the natural environment was also determined to create a greater sense of mindfulness whether through windows or plantings within the space. By providing a tangible guideline for developing spaces for mindfulness practice in educational environments, educational institutions across the globe can maintain consistency in their mindfulness qualities. In this paper, this research team will share their research process, data collection and analysis methods, and outcomes. Insights gathered during this research were formulated as a tangible guidelines to assist other designers in developing spaces to practice mindfulness in higher educational environments.

Keywords:

Mindfulness, Education Design, Design, Students, Stress Management, Design Principles, Mindfulness Grade, Health, Wellness, Higher Education.