A growing range of scientific and anecdotal evidence is pointing to a range of benefits wooden buildings bring to the occupants. The cause of this effect is thought to be biophilia which can be described as the comfort and attraction humans feel to natural and life like things.
Supporting this theory, a recent study at the University of British Columbia and FPInnovations has established a link between wood and human health. It was found that the presence of visual wood surfaces in a room lowered sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activation. The SNS is responsible for physiological stress responses in humans.
This result opens the door to a myriad of stress-related health benefits that the presence of wood may afford in the built environment. The application of wood to promote health indoors is a new tool for practitioners of evidence-based design.
Image credit: Kris Krug