Cultural ecosystem services contribution to campus courtyard for students’ learning environment
Universities today have been planned and developed with the presence of open spaces which help to attain the university goal of being a conducive learning environment. This study focuses on the physical development plan of campus courtyards as an effective outdoor feature in shaping student life...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IIUM Press
2017
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/61773/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/61773/1/61773_Cultural%20ecosystem%20services%20contribution.pdf |
| Summary: | Universities today have been planned and developed with the presence of
open spaces which help to attain the university goal of being a conducive
learning environment. This study focuses on the physical development plan
of campus courtyards as an effective outdoor feature in shaping student
life. It is seen as a step to promote a sustainable living and a better learning
environment. With the motto of ‘Garden of Knowledge and Virtue’, with
courtyards as one of the compulsory components of the campus design, this
research project selected International Islamic University in Malaysia (IIUM)
as a case study. Being one of the major open space components, the research
contends that courtyards on campuses also provide students with a healthy
ecosystem, cultural services and a variety of benefits from nature. Nonetheless,
there are weaknesses and limitations to the landscape design and planning
of courtyards. A preliminary survey shows that less attention was paid to
preparing courtyards as outdoor learning areas, resulting to less community
engagement whilst remain as an unused space on campus. Therefore, this
study aims to explore the contribution of cultural ecosystem services towards
the physical characteristics of a campus courtyard as a students learning
environment. Three objectives have been formulated in order to achieve
the aim; to study the contribution of cultural ecosystem services provided
by campus courtyards, to investigate the physical characteristics of the
campus courtyard as a student learning environment and to recommend
design guidelines for campus courtyards to support learning activities. The
study employed a mixed-method approach which consisted of a survey
questionnaire, a site inventory and observation. A survey questionnaire was
distributed to 400 students from the six faculties in IIUM. The site inventory
implies a checklist on three aspects which are design of courtyard, activities
and students behaviour and natural elements. |
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