Greenness Index and Preferences for Interior Landscapes in Residential Spaces

Abstract

Modern people have limited opportunities to experience the natural environment due to reduced outdoor activity time and are not provided with enough opportunities to encounter landscape, even in indoor spaces. Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the time spent indoors is getting longer. As the number of health-conscious people increases, interest in the introduction of indoor plants, which help purify the air and improve emotional stability, has increased. This study aimed to identify the direction of creating interior landscapes in residential spaces by examining the Greenness Index (GI) and resident preferences. This study targeted 65 households in residential spaces with over two rooms and growing plants. Pictures and descriptions of interior spaces were collected and analyzed. Case studies were conducted to analyze interior landscape planning preferences. The results indicated that public spaces (72.3%) contained foliage plants (98.5%) and containers using soil (93.8%). Residents perceived all components, from plants to containers, considering the GI. Residents’ subjective perceived GI (15% on average) was higher than the objective GI (10% on average) calculated from photos. Psychological stability and visual beauty were high for all items. Preferred locations for interior landscapes were living rooms (55.4%), which are public spaces, and living room verandas (38.5%), which are functional spaces, with foliage plants (52.3%) being predominant. These findings indicated that interior landscape could link the indoor environment in residential spaces and external spaces using nature, creating aesthetic and environmental effects indoors. Furthermore, this study is meaningful, as it identified residents’ preferences for interior landscape planning in residential spaces.