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Natural Elements
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The Natural Elements Natural Pools
The connection that natural pool environments have with nature and enhancing existing views is a significant factor that creates a total experience. As stated by White et al. (2010), cited in Finlay et al. (2015) ‘both the sounds of water and immersing oneself into water are often considered calming and restorative’. The feeling of connecting with natural elements such as water, natural surroundings and materials stimulate the visual, smell and touch senses, allowing the body to seek tranquillity and healing, promoting health and wellbeing. This can be seen at the natural lava swimming pool experience in Tenerife. The experience enables the individual to swim in crystal clear waters with beautiful landscapes, ensuring that there is an unforgettable experience. It can be concluded that there is some small but growing evidence in literature on the experience of natural pool environments in relation to health and wellbeing. However, natural elements do enhance and stimulate the senses fully.
Fig 17 | Natural swimming experience, Lava swimming pool, Tenerife (Imagine Tenerife, 2019)
The Senses and Wellbeing
Wellbeing is an important issue which has increased with current world challenges. The purpose of this literature review was to review the key themes that create sensory experiences in pool environments. The three themes that have been addressed are:
Water and materials Temperature Natural light and natural connections.
The reviewed literature and practice reviews explore how the themes connect with the architectural design to create sensory connections which ultimately improve wellbeing. Current research supports the significance of the sensory experience within pool environments; however, further investigation of how to incorporate all the of the senses into pool environments will help justify how emotional wellbeing can be improved further and create a lasting memory.
