Exterior views of natural features such as vegetation.
(e.g., window view of Central Park)

VIEWS & VISTAS

Research

Preferred by children in hospitals (Lambert et al., 2014).
Restores directed attention (Berto, 2005; Tennessen & Cimprich, 1995).
Tree views had lower blood pressure during seated treatment than without view (Hartig et al., 2003).
The more natural a girl’s view from home, the better her performance at self-discipline Taylor, Kuo, & Sullivan, 2002).
Without nearby trees and grass reported more procrastination in facing their major issues and assessed their issues as more severe, less soluble, and more long-standing than did their counterparts living in greener surroundings= reduced mental fatigue (Kuo, 2001).
Shorter postoperative hospital stays (Ulrich, 1984).
views of natural environments and exposure to natural materials may promote creative performance (McCoy & Evans, 2002)

References

Berto, R. (2005). Exposure to restorative environments helps restore attentional capacity. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 25(3), 249–259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2005.07.001

Hartig, T., Evans, G. W., Jamner, L. D., Davis, D. S., & Gärling, T. (2003). Tracking restoration in natural and urban field settings. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 23(2), 109–123. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0272-4944(02)00109-3

Kuo, F. E. (2001). Coping with poverty impacts of environment and attention in the inner city. Environment and Behavior, 33(1), 5–34.

Lambert, V., Coad, J., Hicks, P., & Glacken, M. (2014). Young children’s perspectives of ideal physical design features for hospital-built environments. Journal of Child Health Care, 18(1), 57–71. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367493512473852

McCoy, J. M., & Evans, G. W. (2002). The Potential Role of the Physical Environment in Fostering Creativity. Creativity Research Journal, 14(3–4), 409–426. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15326934CRJ1434_11

Taylor, A. F., Kuo, F. E., & Sullivan, W. C. (2002). Views of nature and self-discipline: Evidence from inner city children. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 22(1–2), 49–63. https://doi.org/10.1006/jevp.2001.0241

Ulrich, R. (1984). View through a window may influence recovery from surgery. Science, 224(4647), 420–1. https://doi.org/10.116/science.6143402