Promoting Mental Health Through Campus Landscape Design: Insights from New Zealand Universities

Abstract

Mental health challenges among university students and staff are a pressing concern globally and in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Despite adopting frameworks like the Okanagan Charter to promote health and well-being, there is a lack of empirical research on how campus landscapes contribute to mental health promotion. This is a preliminary study based on a Ph.D. research project aiming to investigate the role of campus landscapes in supporting relaxation and internal recovery through everyday activities. We conducted a comparative multi-case study involving 66 participants from the University of Auckland, Lincoln University, and the University of Otago, exploring how they use and prefer campus landscapes for relaxation. Our findings indicate that ‘enjoying nature’ is the most preferred relaxation activity, with participants engaging both actively and passively with various spaces such as gardens, open lawns, and forested areas. Additionally, in campus settings, the proximity of relaxation spaces appears to be more important than design quality because of the limited time during working hours, which points to the importance of thoughtful campus planning. This study also found that university staff are often overlooked in discussions about healthy universities, despite their significant role in the campus setting. Overall, this study highlights the importance of biophilic design principles in creating health-promoting campus environments and offers initial insights for integrating natural elements into campus planning to enhance mental health and well-being.

1. Introduction

The intersection of mental health and university life has become increasingly prominent, with institutions often characterised as ‘anxiety machines’ [1,2,3]. Studies and reports identified concerns with students’ mental health situation in multiple countries. For example, Lipson and colleagues analysed 10 years of data from the Healthy Minds Study and found significantly increased rates of mental health treatment and diagnosis among students in the United States [4,5]. The New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations [6] produced the Kei Te Pai? report in 2018 (Kei Te Pai means fine or good in Te Reo Māori). It reviewed tertiary students’ mental health and found that university students commonly experience moderate levels of psychological distress.

Similarly, in the past two decades, academic work has become more demanding. The main reason for this includes the dramatically increasing student numbers [7] and the students-as-consumer model derived from commercialised culture [8]. As a result, universities have then been characterised as “a generator of anxiety and pressure” [9]. Guthrie et al. [10], commissioned by the Royal Society and Wellcome Trust, explored the mental health of researchers, including academic staff and postgraduate students in universities, in the United Kingdom. They found that the level of job stress among university staff was comparable to that of healthcare workers, a high-risk group, with over 40 per cent of postgraduate students reporting symptoms of depression, emotional or stress-related problems, or high levels of stress. They also noted a lack of effective interventions and support for researchers, with even less literature evaluating the situation. Nicholls and colleagues conducted a meta-analysis of 26 papers and identified seven key themes of academic researchers’ mental health experiences [11], highlighting that lack of job security coupled with high expectations has left researchers at risk of poor mental health and well-being.

However, universities need not be synonymous with stress; they can be places that foster health and well-being. This can be achieved not only through the curriculum but also by creating environments that promote healthy lifestyles. In 2015, the World Health Organization presented the Okanagan Charter, highlighting the role of higher education institutions in enhancing the health of those who live, learn, work, and play on campuses [12]. Universities are well-placed to educate students about healthy life choices and to instil the value of maintaining health and well-being in everyday life. They are also workplaces for staff who spend a significant portion of their daily lives there. As the Okanagan Charter has pointed out, work should be a source of health rather than consuming it.

The International Health Promoting Campuses Network has been established in 16 countries across five continents such as the African Health Promoting Campuses Network (AHPCN), the Tertiary Wellbeing Aotearoa New Zealand (TWANZ), the Asean University Network, the German Network of Health Promoting Universities (Arbeitskreis Gesundheitsfördernde Hochschulen), and the U.S. Health Promoting Campuses Network (USHPCN) [13]. Universities worldwide have gradually adopted the Okanagan Charter and prioritised health promotion in their agendas. However, as Travia et al. pointed out in their study in 2020, universities globally are still in the early stages of embracing well-being as one of their core objectives [14].

From a landscape architecture point of view, nature and landscapes have long been recognised to possess ‘healing’ power [15], and there has been considerable discussion about using natural landscapes to promote health and well-being in communities [16]. However, only limited research has examined the relationship between campus landscape design and health promotion. For example, Lau and Yang explored the application of healing gardens to campus design to create a health-supportive and sustainable campus environment in Hong Kong University [17]. Studies by Mt Akhir et al. mainly discussed the health effects of planting design on campus [18,19,20]. Holt et al. recognised the positive effects from social interactions during physical exercise sessions in green spaces, which they referred to as green exercises [21]. McDonald-Yale and Birchall explored winter design strategies that contribute to students’ well-being for northern campuses [22].

Furthermore, studies on the health-promoting aspects of campus landscapes often lack a clear guiding concept or framework. One key design concept emerging from the field of restorative environments is biophilic design, which emphasises the integration of natural elements into built environments. Ulrich expanded on this concept, demonstrating that humans respond positively to certain natural elements—such as vegetation, water, and sunlight—which can have stress-relieving effects [23,24].

Over the past few decades, biophilic design has evolved into a structured framework comprising a series of values, principles, and attributes. Kellert identified seven key elements of biophilic design: environmental features, natural shapes and forms, natural patterns and processes, light and space, place-based relationships, evolved human–nature relationships, and over 70 associated design attributes [25]. While biophilic design provides broad design principles, applying these elements effectively in specific contexts, such as campus landscapes, remains a challenge. To date, little has been done to systematically integrate biophilic design into university settings for health-promoting purposes.

Overall, there remains a noticeable gap in empirical research on the role of campus landscapes in promoting mental health, particularly in New Zealand. Therefore, this study aims to fill this gap by investigating how campus landscape design supports relaxation for both students and staff. By exploring the uses and preferences of campus landscapes for relaxation, we seek to inform future designs of health-promoting campus environments.

2. Materials and Methods

This study is based on a Ph.D. research project and was given ethics approval by the Human Ethics Committee of Lincoln University, New Zealand (no. 2018-21). In-depth individual interviews were conducted during semester time in September and October 2018, with a total of 65 participants. This included 45 students, 16 academic staff, 2 administrative staff, and 2 medical staff from the city campus of the University of Auckland in Auckland, Lincoln University in Christchurch, and University of Otago in Dunedin (see Figure 1).

Table 1. Key demographic characteristics of participants (own work, 2020).

	The University of Auckland (n)	University of Otago (n)	Lincoln University (n)	%
Occupation
- Student	20	16	11	72%
- Academic staff	6	6	2	22%
- Administrative staff	0	2	0	3%
- Health professionals	0	0	2	3%
Gender
- Male	12	11	8	48%
- Female	14	13	7	52%
- Other	0	0	0	0
Age
- Under 18	0	0	0	0
- 18–25	16	14	8	58%
- 25–50	6	6	6	28%
- Over 50	4	4	1	14%
Ethnicity
- European	13	18	11	65%
- Maori	0	1	2	5%
- Asian	8	4	2	21%
- Pacific	1	1	0	3%
- Other	4	0	0	6%

illustrates the key demographic characteristics of the participants.

This study drew on the methods used by previous studies; interviews and surveys are common methods used in restorative environment studies where they investigate participants’ responses to videotapes or photos of landscapes [26,27,28]. However, the experience of an environment is multi-sensory, e.g., the temperature varies outside but it is stable in a room. It could be argued that traditional interviews that take place in an office may not be sufficient to collect explicit responses about the studied environment. Therefore, this study adopted a walking interview technique as an addition to traditional interviews to collect explicit responses about the studied environment from interviewees. Walking in the studied environments can provoke a sense of connection to the environment, which grants the researcher access to respondents’ attitudes and knowledge about the environment and, thus, offers privileged insights [29]

Another interview technique adopted was the mental mapping exercise that asks respondents to draw and write about relaxation experience on campus. This technique is particularly helpful when respondents are not able to conduct a walking interview due to their availability. The action of drawing can encourage spatial thinking, which helps respondents to convey the everyday life image in their head.

Interviews that took place in the field offered the opportunity to conduct direct observation on site as well, which could help strengthen the data quality. Direct observation enabled evaluation of campus space use and justification of information provided by respondents from a landscape architecture professional perspective. Photographs of campus landscapes used for relaxation were taken; as Dabbs suggests, photographs of a site contain important characteristics of the studied site, which facilitates outside observers’ understanding [30].

Data collection was carried out in the order of the University of Otago, Lincoln University, and the University of Auckland to make sure data were collected before their semesters ended when spaces were being used by campus users.

Each mental mapping exercise took around 5 to 15 min, which was a reasonable amount of time that campus users were willing to spend during their working day. Conversations with participants were recorded. Two open-ended questions were also presented to participants after they finished their drawing to encourage reflection and gain more insights into their relaxation experience and their perceptions of relaxation spaces on campus. The questions were as follows:

• If you were going to use some keywords to describe the relaxation spaces you have drawn, what would they be?
• What do you think are the most important factors for an outdoor space to be inviting/attractive for a university user to come and relax?

Each participant was asked if s/he was interested and available to conduct a further walking interview after finishing the mental mapping exercise. For those who were willing to participate, we arranged a time before the researcher left to avoid the difficulty of reaching participants again by email.

A total of 11 participants conducted the walking interview, with 6 of them being university staff. Others were not able to participate due to their availability. The walking interviews allowed participants to lead the way to the relaxation spaces they had identified on their maps. Detached from their workplaces, they were more willing to discuss campus relaxation spaces and even shared personal opinions on health and well-being. Being in the environment helped them recall their experiences on campus, and they often told stories of friends’ or colleagues’ relaxation experiences. Additionally, while on campus, participants could identify spaces they had overlooked and not included in their mental maps. For example, during one interview, as we stepped out of the building, a participant stopped and mentioned he had somehow omitted the courtyard—the closest space to his workplace—from his map. The walking interviews also provided opportunities for the researcher to share their direct observations about the campus and ask for their opinions.

The recorded conversations were transcribed alongside the information captured on the mental maps. Thematic analysis was employed to interpret the transcriptions, as this study aimed to develop a systematic understanding of relaxation on campus and offer insights for the design of future campus spaces. Nvivo 12 software was utilised to segment the conversations, summarise the content, and identify key themes and sub-themes. In this study, special attention was given to topics including the relaxation activities, the design characters of the identified relaxation spaces, and other relevant comments or evaluations of campus spaces for relaxation. Themes were reviewed and refined till they were informative and precise. Coding and producing themes were conducted for each case. The final analysis stage was the cross-case synthesis that compared the themes produced for each case to find commonalities and differences and examine plausible rival explanations. The finalised relaxation themes were then transferred to the map of each campus to show the design elements and landscape types that are associated with relaxation on campus.

3. Results

Campus users provided rich insights into their daily use and interpretation of campus landscapes for relaxation. This section highlights the main findings of this study:

• Natural landscapes play a crucial role in campus relaxation, with ‘nature’ being the most mentioned keyword when describing relaxation spaces on campus.
• In campus settings, practicality takes precedence. Campus users often have limited resources for relaxation during the day, making accessibility a priority. As a result, proximity emerges as the most important factor in determining the use of a relaxation space.
• University staff are challenging to engage, with a total of 18 participants being recruited and 6 of them participating in a walking interview. Despite the limited number of university staff, they offered detailed and thoughtful feedback. Due to the small number of staff interviewed, Section 3.3 is included to provide a more comprehensive understanding of campus environments for relaxation. Future studies may focus exclusively on this group, with greater effort made during the recruitment phase.

3.1. ‘Nature’—The Top Keyword to Describe Relaxation Spaces on Campus

The thematic analysis revealed that natural elements were the most frequently mentioned keywords when the participants described their preferred relaxation spaces on campus. A student from the University of Auckland explained that “… because university life is always bustling and vibrant, that is why you come to parks or nature to get away and have a little breath”. Over half of the participants included natural elements during their relaxation experience on campus through mental maps. According to the participants’ accounts, the ‘nature’ they enjoy can be designed natural features such as trees, lawns, flowers or flower beds, and water features, or natural elements such as birds and even fresh air. For example, the mental map of a student participant from Lincoln University shows trees (see Figure 2), the mental map from another student from the same university shows lawn areas (see Figure 3), and the mental map from a student at the University of Otago points out that the grassy area in front of the Clock Tower is the best spot for watching flowers (see Figure 4).

According to the participants, another benefit of nature is the sense of ‘change’ it provides, offering multi-sensory stimulation in contrast to the relatively static indoor environments where they spend much of their time. For example, they noted how the sun moves throughout the day, creating shifting shadows, whereas interior spaces are illuminated by fluorescent lighting, especially those with small windows. Many natural features also move with the wind and change with the seasons, such as leaves on deciduous trees, while interior spaces remain lifeless, filled with computers and work documents. A lecturer from Lincoln University explained that spaces with natural features make her feel like there are “lots of different things happening”. She further explained:

“I like looking at the change as well as what happens in the space. … I guess part of this relaxation for me is not necessarily always stopping. I feel like I can recharge my batteries by moving through [spaces]. Like walking through here, that variation. Rather than at your office where you always got one window with nothing changes much throughout the day. … Sometimes you also notice when the flowers and the weather or the apples are coming in, so you kind of have that relationship [with the land]”.

Participants from the University of Otago shared a variety of uses of the Leith River and the riverbanks for relaxation. Some participants simply enjoyed the environment brought by the fully landscaped riverbanks and flowering trees. According to the participants, they enjoy “getting some fresh air outside”, “hearing birdsong and water rippling”, and “seeing the changes of the season”. Participants shared their own experience and observations of many campus users during spring. Residents who live in Dunedin, and even tourists, visit the Leith riverbanks in the warmer weather when the cherry and magnolia trees are in blossom (see Figure 5).

In addition to appreciating nature on campus, a few campus users also, though less frequently, found ways to actively engage with and utilise natural spaces such as playing sports. Based on the participants’ accounts and our observations, many campus users enjoy using flat lawn areas as small-scale sports fields. For example, the researcher observed two people practising fencing during a weekend on the Leith riverbank at the University of Otago (see Figure 6), and some students set up a volleyball net and played at Lincoln University (see Figure 7).

An administrative staff from the University of Otago shared a story of the Leith River. “One time there was floodwater coming down at the Leith here, and people were kayaking in flood”, she said with amusement and excitement, “I mean, they are not supposed to be kayaking and it is probably dangerous, but they really liked the water rapids!”.

3.2. Proximity—The Most Important Factor for a Relaxation Space on Campus

While ‘enjoying nature’ is the most preferred relaxation activity on campus, both students and staff often find it challenging to do so due to the limited time for relaxation. A majority of participants agreed that proximity comes before the design quality of the space. For example, a student from the University of Auckland said: “I wouldn’t want to go to OGGB [Sir Owen G Glenn Building] or Albert Park. But then I would use that outdoor area [the courtyard of the School of Architecture and Planning] even though it’s not quite as nice just because I am here”. His mental map further revealed the preference for proximity through his way of identifying relaxation spaces according to the adjacent building (see Figure 8).

Proximity is closely related to time and distance. The participants characterised their relaxation into two categories:

• Short-term breaks (less than 10 min);
• Long-term breaks (longer than 10 min).

3.2.1. Short-Term Breaks on Campus

There are three main types of spaces suitable for short-term breaks on campus: (1) communal space, (2) isolated space, and (3) walk-scape.

• Communal Space

Outdoor spaces that are immediately accessible are utilised the most, even if they do not fully meet relaxation needs. Such proximity fosters and strengthens a sense of belonging, leading the participants to refer to these areas as ‘communal spaces’ since they are usually the downstairs spaces attached to buildings. These spaces are also sought after when campus users want to refresh their minds by simply peeking out of the window. For example, a student from the University of Auckland described the courtyard of the School of Architecture and Planning as follows:

“It is in the intermediate zone. The people I would encounter there are the people who would belong to this large community, the Architecture and Planning, including all their friends or acquaintances. Generally, the main public would not walk through it because it is protected by buildings and the way it is shaping. But it is quite busy and communal“.

She also showed the spatial character of the courtyard on the mental map (see Figure 9).

2.

Isolated Space

While communal spaces are often busy and noisy due to heavy use, people sometimes need a moment of quiet to recover and unwind. At such times, they might choose a more isolated space that is close to them and enjoy a semi-enclosed environment, such as the ‘little forest’ at Lincoln University. This ‘little forest’ is a small, lush, vegetated area located right beside the School of Landscape Architecture building (see Figure 10). Because of its proximity to the building, this isolated space can afford a quick refresh of the mind (see Figure 11).

3.

Walk-scape

The last type of short-term relaxation space is not exactly a ‘space’ but rather the short journeys within campus, such as walking from one lecture theatre to another. The relaxation experience depends on the overall planning and design of campus streetscapes. A student from Lincoln University explained that he enjoys walking along campus streets several times a week to catch the bus, appreciating the blossoms that turn the avenue white and pink. A few participants from the University of Otago also expressed their appreciation of the innovative landscape work completed recently, noting that it promotes the consistency and aesthetics of pedestrian paths, creating a more walker-friendly environment (see Figure 12).

3.2.2. Long-Term Breaks

The participants’ accounts revealed that, on campus, the lunch break is almost synonymous with long-term breaks, and every campus in this study has multiple spaces specifically designed for lunchtime relaxation. Such spaces in all three campuses are open green spaces so that they can not only accommodate food service but also serve as centres for activities and student services (see Figure 13). Therefore, the participants characterised them as ‘activity centres’ and, because they are versatile and full of energy, they become ‘go-to’ spots where people not only satisfy their physical needs but also fulfil their social needs by meeting friends or occasionally joining fun activities. The participants suggested that during lunchtime, these spaces are likely the most bustling areas on the entire campus.

Aside from lunch breaks, campus users sometimes have time to relax between classes or after finishing their work for the day. A few participants prefer to use this time to go somewhere detached from the main campus atmosphere, which they called “get-away spaces”. Participants explained that campus users need to temporarily escape from their work, social roles, and stress to simply be themselves and reconnect with nature and the larger world. For example, a health professional from Lincoln University referred to the magnolia garden as her “secret place” because “it is often just you there, and it is very peaceful”. She further explained, “Even if other people are there, they are there for the same reason as you, so they are just looking for some quietness and some nature”.

Some get-away spaces are located on campus and not far from activity centres. However, these spaces usually have stronger buffers than isolated spaces, creating a more enclosed environment. Get-away spaces on campus also offer no particular resources such as food or water, so campus users do not come to those spaces out of necessity. For example, the secret garden at Lincoln University is physically close to the major and secondary activity centres. However, with a long two-storey building blocking the view of the space from the main campus street, not many people gather there (see Figure 14).

Some get-away spaces identified by the participants are located outside the main campus. By getting away from the main campus, the participants stated that they can forget about work, change mood instantly, and also feel more relaxed without social pressure. All get-away spaces identified by the participants that are outside the main campus are dominated by natural elements. For example, almost all participants from the University of Auckland enjoy having a large public park, Albert Park, located on the other side of the street from the main activity centre (see Figure 15), and a participant, a student from the University of Auckland, recommended Albert Park as “an escape from the campus”.

3.3. University Staff and Relaxation

The initial intention of this study was to investigate how both students and staff use campus landscapes for relaxation. Although the number of staff participants was limited, their perspectives were included to provide a more comprehensive understanding. As a preliminary study, this research serves as a foundation for future investigations, making it valuable to consider the insights and experiences of staff, even if the sample size was small.

Overall, university staff are more aware of the importance of relaxation during working hours. However, they appear to be at two extremes: they either have their own daily relaxation routines, or they are too busy to leave their desks.

One of the medical professionals from Lincoln University falls into the former category, and she likes

“… doing qigong somewhere out of the way and a bit sheltered from the wind. This is not a place where you see many other people, but it is kind of a contemplative space where you can make strange movements like this because you do not have people walking by”.

Another medical professional from Lincoln University likes the walking journey from the Recreation Centre on campus to the magnolia garden, which takes about 20 min one way.

In contrast, a staff member from the University of Auckland shared a markedly different experience, stating, “Lunch break is that little piece of desk between the laptop and the edge of the desk”. While university staff may not always have the time to leave their office and relax, they can still benefit from brief moments spent looking outside the window—what they referred to as ‘micro-breaks’. As a medical professional from Lincoln University pointed out:

” … just look at the greenery around here, the flowers, and the change of the seasons. … Sometimes we see people out there wine tasting or just having a discussion group. It’s really nice. … Sometimes I see people sitting on the bench, doing nothing, just relaxing, which I think is great. There’s a really beautiful blossom tree and I just look up onto and see what the birds and the flowers and the leaves are doing, which is a relief for me”. On the other hand, over half of university staff participants pointed out that university staff are often absent from some of the popular relaxation spaces identified by students, such as the activity centres, and there is no activity centres specifically designed for staff to relax. While campus spaces may appear to welcome all campus users, many participants—including both students and staff—pointed out that activity centres are more like “students’ spaces”.

Both groups explained that students experience a sense of belonging in places like activity centres, but there are no spaces specifically designed for university staff to foster the same feeling. Some academic staff expressed a desire to enjoy their lunch breaks somewhere away from students. As a lecturer from the University of Auckland explained:

“Sometimes, if you want to go outside the office, you want to be detached from the emails and students. Sometimes I go to the Old Government Hall and have a glass of beer. When I’m so tired, such as on a Friday afternoon, I am looking for a place to escape”.

4. Discussion

This study investigated how campus landscape design supports relaxation during working hours for both students and staff at New Zealand universities. Through mental mapping exercises and walking interviews with 66 participants across three universities, several key themes emerged: the significant role of natural landscapes in providing relaxation; the prioritisation of proximity over design quality due to time constraints; and the underrepresentation of university staff in the use of campus relaxation spaces.

4.1. Advocate for a Biophilic Campus

The study findings conclude that biophilic experiences dominate campus users’ relaxation activities, with enjoying nature identified as their most preferred way to relax. This suggests that biophilic design can enhance the health and well-being potential of built environments, promoting people’s health in everyday settings. Baur [31] and Liu et al. [32] further suggest that campus natural spaces can contribute to student success.

The enjoyment of nature on campus is primarily associated with the “direct experience of nature”, one of the biophilic experience categories defined by Kellert and Calabrese [33]. According to the participants’ accounts, this direct experience of nature is multi-sensory which attracts their attention away from work.

Participants often described the sight of nature as “beautiful”, enhancing the aesthetics of outdoor landscapes and providing engaging window views. This finding aligns with numerous examples of research on the pleasure and stress reduction value of a window to natural landscapes (e.g., [34,35,36,37]). Although this study focused on landscape design strategies for outdoor spaces, the participants also expressed interest in the design of interior spaces for relaxation, which is pertinent given the significant amount of time they spend indoors. Although the micro-breaks mentioned in Section 3.3 fall outside the main scope of this study, it would be interesting for future research to explore the effects of interactions between interior and exterior spaces on relaxation.

Participants reported loving natural sounds such as birds chirping, wind rustling through leaves, and running water. Their preference for natural soundscapes over urban noises supports the idea that natural sounds can enhance people’s experience of urban environments [38]. They also expressed enjoyment in engaging with nature when flowers are in bloom, relishing the pleasant fragrances.

The sight and smell of nature not only provide pleasure but also encourage tactile and even gustatory engagement, like picking fruit from a tree, fostering a sense of connection with nature and place [39]. Participants indicated that the multi-sensory experiences of nature are for more interesting than the static character of interior spaces. Kaplan and Kaplan termed this “soft fascination” which captures attention away from daily concerns in an “undramatic fashion” that “permits a more reflective mode” [40].

This multi-sensory relaxation experience aligns with Thompson’s findings, where woodlands were places for children and parents to experience extraordinary, sensory, and emotional encounters [41].

Moreover, biophilic design acknowledges the intrinsic relationship between humans and nature. It not only proposes integrating natural elements into built environments but also aims to identify design features and spatial configurations that align with our innate biophilic preferences, including those we try to avoid [15]. To date, little has been done to incorporate biophilic design into university settings for health-promoting purposes. Peters and D’Penna discussed trends and gaps in understanding the influence of biophilic design in university settings, highlighting the complexity of these environments and urging that biophilic elements be tailored to meet users’ needs [42]. For instance, while the participants in our study identified the ‘little forest’ as a relaxation space, considerations of safety should be addressed in future development.

4.2. Advocate for Relaxation-Oriented Campus Planning

The participants’ accounts revealed that proximity is the priority when selecting a space for relaxation, even if the design features do not fully meet their needs. This indicates there is a fundamental difference between relaxation during working hours and relaxation after working hours. Kaplan and Kaplan also recognised proximity as essential for nearby nature, providing convenient relaxation at people’s doorsteps and facilitating a quick switch between work and rest; people tend to use what is readily available [40].

Campus users demonstrated an even stricter perception of proximity compared to users of community open spaces. They favoured communal spaces attached to buildings—like the front or back gardens of private properties—and spaces connected to facilities. In contrast, Sugiyama et al.’s study showed adult participants’ walking activities are within a 1.6 km radius [43], which is significantly different from campus users’ preferences.

This preference for immediately available relaxation spaces highlights the importance of incorporating relaxation into campus planning, enabling users to take short breaks and prevent burnout. Moreover, many studies of public open spaces focus on the walking experience, suggesting that if people intend to walk, distance is less of a barrier. Therefore, it would be interesting to explore whether distance becomes more critical for landscape users engaging in other types of relaxation activities in community spaces during non-working hours.

4.3. Advocate for Healthy Workplaces

Universities, as large employers, have the capacity to provide a caring and supportive working environment for staff [44]. However, the participants’ accounts from this study revealed that campus planning and landscape design often lack the attention given to university staff. With academic work becoming increasingly demanding, campus landscapes should include spaces specifically designed for staff to relax during working hours and prevent burnout.

Geurts and Sonnentag defined recovery during working hours as internal recovery, and recovery after hours as external recovery—including after work, during weekends, or on holidays [45]. They argued that the need for external recovery increases when internal recovery is insufficient, suggesting that internal recovery can buffer accumulated fatigue and stress. Therefore, it is essential to explore how workspaces can be designed to promote internal recovery and help maintain the ‘healthy’ mental status of workers.

Some studies have shown that internal recovery associated with landscapes close to workplaces can deliver mental health benefits. For example, the landscape architect Stigsdotter explored employees’ experiences of stress and their use of green outdoor spaces at their workplaces in nine Swedish cities. She found that accessible green spaces adjacent to workplaces can positively influence employees, even if they only look at the green view [46].

5. Conclusions

Through investigating the uses of campus landscapes for relaxation and the preferred relaxation spaces at the University of Auckland, Lincoln University, and the University of Otago, relaxation associated with natural landscapes turned out to be the most preferred form of relaxation on campus. Natural landscapes on campus are not untouched ‘wild’ nature but manmade natural features. They provide spaces for ‘enjoying nature’ during short-term and long-term breaks. The enjoyment of nature on campus for relaxation recognises the health and well-being potential of biophilic design and suggests that integrating natural features in the built environments can enhance people’s health and well-being in everyday settings. In addition, the time available for relaxation is the major difference between internal and external recovery. Therefore, proximity comes before the design quality of space when choosing spaces for internal relaxation. These findings not only contribute to designing healthy campus environments for living, learning, and working, but also to workspace design in cities.