|
Sensory Satisfaction for the Workplace Plants Offer Aesthetic, Acoustic and Way-finding Advantages
May, 2008
By Kenneth Brewer
The five senses, which include sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste, are affected physiologically by everything in their path. Plants can engage all five senses in many ways. They can heighten and satisfy the senses and help make workplace environments happier and healthier.
Plants are installed in buildings because they look attractive and help to provide a pleasant, tranquil environment in which to work or relax. Research has shown that healthy, well-maintained plants can improve air quality, reduce background noise and affect people's behaviour.
Heart rate, blood pressure and skin conductivity all benefit from the presence of plants, and it has been found that people in plant-filled offices recover from stress more quickly than those in work environments without plants. Easy-care indoor plants can provide sensory satisfaction and can even be placed on desks throughout an office.
Sight
Plants are not only visually stimulating and pleasing to the eye, they also act as visual navigating cues. Well-designed plant displays can be very useful and inexpensive tools to help people find their way around a building.
Larger public buildings, such as airports, hospitals and shopping centres, function best when people know where they are and where they are going. Merchants within large shopping centres need to entice casual browsers into their stores. Hospitals need to provide patients and visitors easy navigation routes to find treatment rooms quickly without adding to the stress they may already be undergoing.
The Fiddle leaf fig (Ficus pandurata) is one visually arresting indoor plants that can provide navigational support. Its bold leaves make a lasting impression. The Variegated Bowstring (Sansevieria laurentii) is also durable and strikingly vertical, making it ideal for restricted space. Meanwhile, the Peace Lily, Spathiphyllum is one of the few indoor foliage plants that regularly flowers.
Sound
Research suggests that interior plants can absorb, diffract or deflect background noise in buildings. The effect appears to relate to plant type, planting density and placement. Sound frequency is better moderated in spaces that feature hard surfaces like marble walls, exposed concrete and stone floors. The impact of plants is less likely to be noticed in an acoustically quiet space containing soft furnishings, carpets, heavy curtains or well- upholstered chairs, which have a greater capacity to absorb sound.
Plants are generally more efficient at absorbing high frequencies than low. Recommended plants include the Schefflera actinophylla (Umbrella Tree), multiple plantings of Dracaena massangeana (Corn Plant) and various species of Ficus (Weeping Fig). The greater the depth of the planting and the more diverse the mix, the better the results.
Open-plan offices can be noisy places. Often spaces are divided up with partitions or ranks of filing cabinets, but plant screens can be an effective alternative. Suggested floor plants include Chamaedorea erumpens (Bamboo Palm), Dracaena Janet Craig (Janet Craig Dracaena) and Aralia elegantissima (False Aralia). The tops of filing cabinets can also be used to hold small bushy plants in narrow troughs. They take up little space, but can still be useful to absorb sound.
Touch
Many plants are a pleasure to touch, but the following stand out as a distinct connection to nature. Calceolaria hybrida (the Pocketbook Flower) has velvet like blossoms. Bromeliads have architecturally radial foliage with strikingly brilliant flowers in a multitude of hues. Zamioculcas zamiifolia (ZZ Plant) has dark green foliage with a more intense natural shine than almost all other indoor plants, while Beaucarnea recurvata (Ponytail Palm) has curling, papery foliage that rustles when touched.
Scent
Humans can identify hundreds of odours and many can trigger positive reactions and emotions. Fragrant plants in the workplace can be a mood enhancer.
Generally, white or pastel blossoms have stronger scents. Gardenias, hyacinths, lilies and roses are all noted for striking fragrance. Blooming chrysanthemums possess a spicy aroma unique to their family alone.
Taste
It is unwise to consume any ornamental plant produced for visual rather than edible purposes, but some plants evoke flavours. The orchid Oncidium Sherry Baby is noted for its intense chocolate fragrance.
Depending on the season and environment, foliage plants belonging to the genus Polyscias (often referred to as Aralia) periodically emit a scent from their foliage reminiscent of freshly brewed coffee, but this attribute should be enjoyed as a bonus if it occurs, rather than an expected event.
The strong fragrance of blooming citrus trees is uniquely memorable. The satisfying scent of rosemary and eucalyptus give rise to taste and aroma associations. Even Weber's Blue Agave, Agave tequilana may bring to mind a refreshing, tasty libation. And of course, the exotic Vanilla fragrans is the basis for an extract with flavour beyond compare.
Kenneth Brewer is the national technical and health & safety manager for Ambius, a provider of interior landscapes for commercial environments. For more information, see the web site at www.ambius.com
|