Healing spaces have played an important role in human history as arenas for healing and restoration of physical health. Current research from across disciplines identifies that engagement with space for people with mental illness can reduce emotional stress and thus improve health. This research leads to the central question of this paper: How do people with mood disorders achieve emotional regulation through healing spaces? In response to this question, this paper investigates the effects of sensory experience and architectural space on emotion regulation, with a particular focus on healing spaces. It proposes a model to analyze and explain how the design and use of healing spaces can create emotional experiences that stimulate patients’ senses and facilitate emotional regulation in individuals with mood disorders. The study emphasizes the importance of understanding how elements of healing spaces affect patients’ senses and contribute to the quality of emotion regulation. The paper argues that healing structures can effectively enhance the emotional experience of a space by creating a positive spatial atmosphere, thereby aiding in the healing process for patients with mood disorders. This paper’s analysis of the existing literature identifies key mechanisms by which healing spaces promote emotion regulation-healing structures-and breaks them down into three main structures: (a) Safety Guarantees Physical and Mental Development; (b) Functionality Supports the Treatment Process; (c) Ambiance Promotes Emotional Comfort, this study examines existing evidence to determine how healing structures promote emotionally regulated treatment. The study also explores representative examples of healing spaces and how they utilize spatial elements to stimulate the patient’s senses. This research results show that healing structures directly influence or facilitate eight primary spatial elements (color and form, light, sound, air and temperature, nature, materials, play and games, and activity and communication) which incorporate one or more dimensions of healing. Therefore, this paper aims to enhance our understanding and awareness of the correlation between interior space, human senses, and healing structures.

Informal learning spaces (ILS) offer unique opportunities for students to interact and develop skills in a more social, resilient, and sustainable environment. However, there is a lack of a definitive typology for ILS and related design factors and outcomes. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the typology of ILS in academic education, including relevant design factors and positive outcomes from architectural and urban planning perspectives. A systematic literature review was conducted on articles published between 2004 and 2024 from four databases: Scopus, ScienceDirect, Emerald Insights, and IEEE Xplore. The included articles are in English and based on empirical data published in peer-reviewed journals, focusing on informal learning and its settings. A total of 37 full-text articles were included in the descriptive review, from which two categories and six types were identified: private indoor quiet space, semi-private/semi-public indoor space, public indoor space, public sustainable space, public outdoor space, and comprehensive space. The results also revealed seven categories of factors affecting these types of ILS: personal aspects, spatial design, physical settings, resources, social aspects, natural environment, and perceived environment. Furthermore, these ILS significantly contributed to five categories of positive outcomes: learning efficacy, socialisation, refreshment and relaxation, health outcomes, and sustainable development. Therefore, this SLR significantly contributed to the definition and typology of ILS in sustainable higher education.

Purpose: This study explores the role of digital visualization technology, specifically virtual reality (VR), in assessing daylight visual comfort, a critical aspect of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in built environment.Design/methodology/approach: A systematic literature review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines on articles published between 2019 and 2023, sourced from Scopus, ScienceDirect, Emerald Insight and Sage. A total of 17 articles were selected for final analysis. The study classifies factors affecting users’ emotions and behavioral responses in immersive virtual environments using the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) framework from environmental psychology.Findings: The review reveals that most VR studies on visual comfort and lighting focus predominantly on office environments, highlighting a significant research gap in residential contexts where daylighting strategies differ considerably. The analysis identifies four major clusters of factors—window properties, light properties, natural properties and spatial properties—that influence emotional, physiological, cognitive and perceptual responses, leading to behavioral outcomes such as energy consumption, productivity and lighting preferences.Practical implications: The experimental designs, protocols and measurement tools from the selected studies are analyzed to recommend best practices for future research. This research offers strategic insights for conducting empirical studies using VR to assess daylight visual comfort in buildings.Originality/value: This study extends the S-O-R framework by proposing a conceptual model linking key elements of visual comfort in residential settings to users’ emotions and behavioral responses. This model serves as a foundation for future VR-based experiments on indoor daylight visual comfort evaluation.

Purpose: With rapid urbanization, cities are facing various ecological and environmental problems. Living in harmony with nature is more important than ever. This paper aims to evaluate the ecosystem and ecological features of Azheke village, a key component of the Hani Rice Terraces World Cultural Heritage in China. The focus is on exploring effective ways to improve the relationship between humans and the natural environment through urban design in order to create a livable and sustainable city that can promote the development of sustainable smart urban ecology design.Design/methodology/approach: This study conducted a systematic literature review to answer the following research questions: (1) How does Azheke design achieve harmony between humans and nature? (2) What are the effective approaches to improve the relationship between humans and nature within urban ecosystems? (3) How can urban design learn and integrate from Azheke’s ecological features to improve the relationship between humans and nature?Findings: Azheke sustains long-term human-nature harmony through traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and efficient natural resource use. By incorporating biophilic design and nature-based solutions from Azheke, along with biodiversity-friendly urban planning, we can boost urban ecosystem health and create unique Azheke-inspired urban designs.Research limitations/implications: This research primarily focuses on the human-nature relationship, exploring design strategies based on biodiversity without delving into the interactions between other components of urban ecosystems, such as social-cultural and economic components.Originality/value: This paper provides a new perspective and strategies for developing sustainable and smart urban ecology design. These findings can provide theoretical references for urban planners, designers and decision-makers.

Nearby natural environments on campus grounds have become imperative in enhancing sustainable academic experiences by facilitating sustainable social learning. However, tropical region campuses prioritise traditional education while neglecting sustainable social learning. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to facilitate the use of nearby sustainable pocket settings on campus grounds to enhance social learning experiences. The present study aimed to identify factors affecting social learning experiences in nearby (sustainable) pocket spaces on tropical campuses. It utilised a verbal questionnaire survey conducted in three research universities in Malaysia to investigate the factors affecting 408 respondents in nearby (sustainable) pockets. The respondents were selected using stratified judgemental sampling. This study’s findings revealed that many influencing factors predicted the social learning experience in tropical universities’ nearby pockets, which were arranged into four domain factors: elements and activities, natural environment factors, perceived environment factors, and social factors. This provided a proven correlation between the lack of social learning in nearby pockets and the factors of these sustainable settings. The findings also showed that students’ demographic factors, including education status and university affiliation, influenced their social learning experience. The present study significantly linked education to sustainability by integrating social learning into nearby sustainable pocket settings.

With the intensification of global population aging, attention to the emotional health of the elderly continues to grow. Traditional interior architectural design primarily focuses on optimizing physical functionality; however, this approach is no longer sufficient to meet the increasingly complex emotional needs of the elderly. Integrating the Three-Level Theory of Emotional Design (TTED) into interior design provides a significant opportunity to systematically address the multidimensional needs of the elderly. However, existing research is often fragmented and lacks thematic literature reviews to summarize the key factors, characteristics, and design strategy frameworks of interior design. This study aims to evaluate the impact of interior design on the emotional experiences of the elderly and to construct a conceptual framework to address current research gaps. By establishing rigorous selection criteria, 39 high-quality studies were identified from the Scopus, Web of Science, and Mendeley databases. Using ATLAS.ti 9 for thematic analysis, five core themes were distilled: aesthetics, use and function, emotional reflection, design strategies, and emotional experience. The findings revealed that architectural interior design practices often paid limited attention to the emotional needs of older adults. Through a comprehensive literature review, 10 key design features were identified, including multi-sensory attributes, morphological characteristics, cultural elements, and natural components, alongside 17 related research directions. The study introduces a dynamic feedback mechanism within the framework of the proposed architectural interior design strategy, highlighting the importance of employing multiple strategies that balance and complement each other in practical applications. Additionally, the study clarifies future research directions, offering theoretical support and practical guidance for designers to address the complex needs of the elderly. This achievement provides a systematic reference for the future development of interior architectural design and has significant implications for improving the emotional experience of the elderly.