Improving the University Library Experience with Natural Light and Green Space
A typical library on a university campus in the United States is not a very welcoming building to say the least. I’ve been inside dozens of university libraries on campuses in California, Texas, the Southeast, the Northeast, and the Midwest, but there hasn’t been a single one that made me think “this seems like an enjoyable place to study for multiple hours.” The main aspects of these libraries that give them this uninviting atmosphere are their dreary brutalist-style architecture, their lack of natural lighting, and the monochromatic sea of beige that engulfs anyone unlucky enough to pass through their doors. Although I’ve seen many libraries with these characteristics, by far the most depressing library I’ve ever set foot into is the Perry-Castañeda Library (PCL) on the UT campus. Nothing screams hopelessness like the expansive grey cement exterior with a few window slivers, the flickering florescent lighting, and the beige walls, furniture, and floors of the PCL.
It should not be this way. Study after study has shown that work spaces with an abundance of natural lighting, views of green spaces, indoor plants, and more colorful decor improve the well-being and productivity of workers in a variety of ways. This strategy could be harnessed in the design of university libraries to reduce the stress levels of college students and improve their productivity while studying, ultimately improving their academic performance. Imagine a renovated PCL with a green roof, exterior green walls, large windows lining every interior wall, and indoor green spaces on each floor. Wouldn’t that be a library you would want to spend more time in than the cement block we have now?
Creating a more natural environment for university students to study and work in has numerous benefits and few detriments outside of the cost of renovations. As stated by Armitage and Murugan in their 2013 article, “The human benefits of a green workplace are massive.” Green workplaces usually include an abundance of daylight, outdoor views from workstations, and widespread use of indoor plants, which provide fresh air and a more natural indoor environment, and this style of workspace is gaining popularity worldwide (Armitage and Murugan 2013). In fact, the benefits of abundant natural lighting on employee wellbeing are so great that many European countries require that all workers be stationed within twenty-seven feet of a window (Edwards and Torcellini 2002). Workers in green work environments are happier and healthier than their counterparts in non-green work environments, as is evidenced by the plethora of studies showing improved mental and physical health, productivity, and overall satisfaction of workers in these green spaces (Aries et al 2010; Armitage and Murugan 2013; Edwards and Torcellini 2002; Raanaas et al 2011; Thompson et al 2012).
There is a wide body of evidence showing a positive relationship between green space in the workplace and overall health, whether mental, physical, or social (Thompson et al 2012). For example, one 2010 study found that worker proximity to windows and natural outdoor views significantly improved comfort at work and sleep quality at home, positively impacting both mental and physical health (Aries et al). The evidence for improved mental health is particularly strong: natural environments, especially daylight in work spaces, promote psychological restoration, improve mood, and reduce stress, anxiety, and incidence of seasonal affective disorder in workers (Thompson et al 2012). These positive findings have relied on self-reported perceived improvements from workers as well as formal scientific measurements. For example, a 2012 study measuring daily patterns of salivary cortisol as an objective measure of stress found that even brief interactions with green space during the work day reduced stress levels in workers (Thompson et al). Additionally, green workspaces have been shown to reduce negative physical health symptoms associated with sick building syndrome (SBS) including asthma, fatigue, respiratory allergies, headache, poor concentration, and muscular pain (Armitage and Murugan 2013). Abundant daylight in workspaces also reduces eyestrain in workers, a problem that is growing as we become more and more reliant on technology for work (Edwards and Torcellini 2002).
Other studies have shown that green workspaces that have abundant daylighting and vegetation improve productivity, focus, and learning in people using the spaces (Edwards and Torcellini 2002). Attention Restoration Theory (ART) states that natural environments including contact with outdoor vegetation, views of natural elements through windows, and indoor plants can have a restorative effect on attention (Raanaas et al 2011). In support of this theory, Raanaas et al’s 2011 study on the impacts of indoor plants on student attention capacity shows that the presence of indoor greenery aids in student focus and learning. Additionally, multiple studies comparing students in well day-lit spaces to students in spaces with little to no daylight have shown that daylighting significantly improves learning and academic success (Edwards and Torcellini 2002). These studies provide solid evidence for the position that incorporating more natural light and greenery in university libraries, including the PCL, would positively impact students using these spaces to work and study by improving their productivity, focus, and overall academic achievement. These effects, in conjunction with the positive health impacts of green workspaces, could work to improve the overall satisfaction, morale, and happiness of students using libraries, as they have been shown to do for workers in green offices.
In order to see and learn about the impacts of green spaces on health in the real world, I visited the Dell Children’s Medical Center in Austin to take a tour of the facilities and find out how the building’s sustainable design has helped patients and their families. When walking through the hospital, it is clear that much more natural light comes into the building than in a typical hospital with widespread fluorescent lighting. There is also a lot more greenery in and around the hospital, giving patients and their families access to natural environments, a luxury not provided in most hospitals. The healing garden and courtyard are striking features of the medical center and set it apart from any other hospital that I’ve been to. My guide at the medical center emphasized the “healing environment” that is created by the architecture and sustainable choices of Dell Children’s. The combination of natural lighting, natural views, and green space in the hospital has improved patient outcomes and led to widespread praise of Dell Children’s in the healthcare community.
Dell Children’s in Austin is the first hospital in the world to achieve LEED Platinum Certification as determined by the U.S. Green Building Council (Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas 2018). It’s six internal courtyards and rooms overlooking natural areas contribute to a healing atmosphere that improves patient outcomes, improves staff productivity, and aids in recruiting and retaining staff members. Data from the past ten years shows that the average patient length of stay at Dell Children’s has dropped from 4.76 days at the center’s previous location to 4.13 days at the new facility in Mueller (Eisner 2011). In addition to outdoor spaces like the three-acre healing garden, the medical center has windows of varying shapes, sizes, and colors lining every wall and providing daylight to over eighty percent of the facility (Beciri 2010). The successes of Dell Children’s Medical Center give us a good idea of what smart, green design can look like with an example from our own backyard. Touring the facility inspired me to think about how many of our campus buildings, especially the PCL, could be easily improved with some simple renovations and additions to improve student wellbeing.
I also visited Austin’s new Central Library on West Cesar Chavez downtown to see how green space and natural light is practically applied to a library setting. This library has been receiving a lot of buzz since it opened in October of 2017 and even made it onto TIME’s World’s Greatest Places list for 2018. According to the library’s website, the Central Library is LEED Certified, operates 30% more efficiently than the energy code requires, and has energy savings equivalent to the energy needs of 130 households per year (Austin Public Library 2018). The library has a beautiful rooftop garden with green space, outdoor seating, and a large solar installation. The interior of the library has an abundance of natural lighting, making it a very enjoyable place to study, read, and spend time. During my visit, there were many more people using the library space than I usually find when in a public library, and I suspect this is due to the library’s modern design and welcoming environment rather than a city-wide uptake in reading frequency. Although I could not spend much time in the library on my first visit, the building’s open layout, natural features, and overall pleasant atmosphere were very compelling to me and I hope to go back soon. The success of Austin’s new Central Library should be an indicator to other entities (cities, school systems, etc.) that designing green and aesthetically pleasing libraries is the key to reinvigorating public use of library space and can breathe new life into communities who have not been utilizing public spaces as frequently as in the past.
With this body of evidence on the impacts of green spaces in mind, I think UT could greatly improve the Perry-Castañeda Library with changes such as introducing more natural light into the building and adding more green space both inside and outside to improve the views through the windows and the atmosphere within the library. The windows of the library could be expanded to let in more natural light and make the indoor environment much less dreary while effectively improving student health, happiness, and achievement. Courtyards and other green spaces such as green walls could be introduced to create a more natural indoor space and produce similar positive effects. Additionally, the currently unused roof could be converted into a green roof to not only give students a place to take a break in a natural environment but also to reduce energy costs of the building and even to serve as a plot for UT Microfarm or UT Farm Stand. At the very least, UT could place potted plants around all floors of the PCL, a simple and inexpensive way to compensate for areas of the library that have no natural views or daylight. Although these changes will cost the university some money, I think the impacts of a green workspace on student success and wellbeing are well worth the investment, as evidenced by Austin’s very own Central Library and Dell Children’s Medical Center.
Aries, M.B.C., Veitch, J.A., and Newsham, G.R. (2010). Windows, view, and office characteristics predict physical and psychological discomfort. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 30 (1), 533–541.
Armitage, L. & Murugan, A. (2013).The human green office experience: Happy and healthy or sick and frustrated? The Australian and New Zealand Property Journal, 4 (1), 35–41.
Austin Public Library (2018). About the Central Library. Retrieved from https://library.austintexas.gov/central/about.
Beciri, D. (2010). Green Architecture — Dell Children’s Medical Center. RobAid. Retrieved from http://www.robaid.com/tech/green-architecture-dell-children%E2%80%99s-medical-center.htm.
Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas (2018). About Our “Green” Building. Retrieved from https://www.dellchildrens.net/about-us/building-details/about-our-green-building/.
Edwards, L. and Torcellini, P. (2002). A Literature Review of the Effects of Natural Light on Building Occupants. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, doi: 10.2172/15000841.
Eisner, P.S. (2011). Dell Children’s Medical Center: Austin, TX. High Performing Buildings. Retrieved from http://www.hpbmagazine.org/Case-Studies/Dell-Childrens-Medical- Center-Austin-TX/.
Raanaas, R.K., Evensen, K.H., Rich, D., Sjøstrøm, G., and Patil, G. (2011). Benefits of indoor plants on attention capacity in an office setting. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 31 (1), 99–105.
Thompson, C.W., Roe, J., Aspinall, P., Mitchell, R., Clow, A., and Miller, D. (2012). More green space is linked to less stress in deprived communities: Evidence from salivary cortisol patterns. Landscape and Urban Planning, 105 (1), 221–229.
