Wellness With Timber in Technical University of Denmark | Gustafs

The biosphere at the Technical University of Denmark is a new building that unites three different faculties, creating a common building for administration, meetings, and events. A commanding feature of this building is the 50,000 meters of oak timber panels from Gustafs.

Beyond the beautiful look and feel of this timber interior cladding, studies have shown that using natural materials in classrooms, particularly wood, can reduce stress and heart rates in students. Wood’s calming effect helps students focus and relax, encouraging participation in classroom activities. By bringing the outside indoors, wooden spaces provide a biophilic experience for students – tapping into humankind’s innate biological connection with nature.

The positive effects of timber on feelings of wellbeing are important for all of the users of the Technical University of Denmark building. As well as providing student spaces, this building is the primary workplace for administrative and management staff, and for these people, the human perception and the psychological aspects of interior wood use have a real-world every-day impact. Studies have found that wood’s air purifying, moisture balance, and hygrothermal capacity, along with its acoustic properties, are strongly linked to users’ wellbeing. Interestingly, the perception of wood as an ecological material, compared to plastics and metals, also contributed to the sense of wellbeing wood interiors provide.

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