EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF BUILDING DESIGN ON THE LEVEL OF STUDENTS' ENGAGEMENT WITH THE COURTYARD - A PILOT STUDY

Students suffer a daily routine of pressure and stress while they are at a critical stage of development of their bodies and minds. In this regard, natural spaces can provide a suitable environment for users' engagement with nature. It can also create a health-supportive and sustainable environment to improve the quality of users' daily lives and promote educational quality. However, buildings are not always well integrated with the surrounding natural environment. We hypothesize that the arrangement of interior spaces surrounding the courtyards impact the level of users' engagement. The aim of this research is to study how university users perceive the campus' courtyard at the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) and how those courtyards are beneficial for human's health and wellbeing. A sample of students was selected to examine three building courtyards in the UAEU campus. Participants were asked to make some choices regarding the outdoor spaces that they would enjoy visiting. Ethnographic interviews were used to trigger the emotional experience of me courtyard users. The study started with site description that was developed including sketch map of the courtyards. Two colour photographs of the area which helped in triggering the responses, and a descriptive text of the physical characteristics of me courtyards. The engagement of the participants was collected, reported, and analysed. Findings of this study showed that paying attention to the courtyard design and its surrounding space arrangements and how it can play a vital role in impacting users' engagement with the nature. The outcome of this study provides design feedbacks to architects and urban planners which will develop a better concept of the courtyards to enhance health benefits and create a healthier environment.