Biophilic design that is inspired by natural forms is visually complex and can be abstracted into its fractal pattern features. Fractal patterns are a cascade of self-similar patterns over a range of magnification scales, building visual stimuli that are inherently complex. The complexity varies between the fractal objects based on the relative contributions of the coarse and fine-scale patterns. Previous studies discovered that low-to-mid-range complexity fractals, which are particularly prevalent in scenes of nature, are aesthetically preferred and processed more efficiently by occupants. However, these studies have not adequately tested occupants’ perceptions of fractal patterns in architecture as they are applied to architectural materials, such as flooring, ceiling, and partitions, or as objects in space. This problem is magnified by the complexities of replicating and testing fractal-based architectural components in real environments due to financial and methodological constraints of producing and applying them. This study aims to test alternative methods of simulating fractal-based patterns in virtual environments (VR) and compare occupants’ perception of them to real physical environments. In a within-subjects experimental design, the study tested the different perceptions of participants (n=19) of fractal patterns applied as carpets on the basement floor for a public lobby space of a laboratory building. Each participant was asked to rate their perception of both environments in terms of their excitement, stress, engagement, boredom, and appeal in space. The initial findings suggest that participants found fractal-based patterns in surfaces with the complexity dimension of D=1.6 to be appealing and exciting. Paired Samples t-tests revealed no significant differences between Real and VR ratings for all five judgment types. This finding suggests that VR environments--when well designed and simulated to match real spaces--can provide a high factor-of-reality and are similarly perceived to real settings when studying fractal-based architectural materials and objects in space.

This study investigates how three-dimensional spatial configuration and lighting jointly influence occupants’ emotions and productivity in an immersive virtual reality environment. A within-subjects design was used in which forty-two participants experienced eight virtual rooms created by combining four spatial configurations (Base, Wide, High, Deep) with two lighting conditions at correlated color temperatures of 2600K (warm) and 5200K (cool). Participants reported emotional responses using State-Trait Anxiety Index items and completed cognitive tasks, including the Stroop Test, the Operation Span Task, and Tetris. Workload was evaluated using selected NASA-TLX items. Results revealed that calmness and relaxation were significantly lower in the High room, and worry ratings were significantly higher, indicating that increased vertical height reliably reduced emotional comfort and heightened perceived tension. Warm lighting significantly enhanced positive emotional responses across several spatial configurations relative to cool lighting. Cognitive performance also varied across room types. Stroop accuracy was significantly lower in the High room than in the Wide and Deep rooms, suggesting impaired attentional control in vertically enlarged spaces. In contrast, OSPAN math accuracy was significantly higher in the High room than in the Wide room, indicating improved cognitive processing under vertical expansion. This effect was more pronounced under Cool lighting, which produced significantly higher math accuracy than Warm lighting within the same spatial conditions. Tetris performance was significantly higher in the Deep room than in the Base room, reflecting stronger spatial reasoning in deeper configurations. Workload responses were generally stable, though irritation was significantly higher in the High room than in the Deep room, showing that room geometry shaped frustration levels. Overall, the findings demonstrate that spatial configuration and lighting produce significant differences in emotional comfort, cognitive performance, and perceived workload. These outcomes highlight the importance of evaluating architectural features as integrated components within immersive virtual design processes.

Hemp-lime composite research has grown 19% annually since 2007, yet social dimensions account for just 2.92% of the literature. Questions about occupant experience—factors that drive market adoption—remain unanswered. This study addresses that gap through phenomenological interviews with twelve occupants across eight households in the UK, France, and Netherlands, each with at least five years of occupancy. Analysis of over 1000 coded segments across nine categories produced unambiguous findings. Comfort and Wellbeing achieved a perfect score. Thermal performance proved consistent across climate zones. The substrate required virtually no maintenance over 10–15 years. Most significantly, 100% of participants would choose hemp-lime again—unprecedented consensus in building material research. Each dwelling represents a hyper-local response to a global materials challenge. This research lifts those local stories to a global scale, translating tacit knowledge into structured findings—making lived experience as visible as technical metrics for the adoption decisions that the construction industry's decarbonization agenda urgently requires.