Modular light and restorative spaces
The meeting point, situated between the U-residence and the Basic Fit, was designed by Iris Pissens from the research group MERLIN (MOBI), supervised by Prof. Dr. Valéry Ann Jacobs, together with the private partner Schréder and with the support of the Infrastructure Department. The place serves as a restorative space: a meeting point or place that promotes restoration and relief from mental fatigue or stress and enables you to disconnect from daily worries. Thanks to its location at the gateway to public transport and close to the sports infrastructure, both VUB students and staff, as well as outside visitors, can enjoy a quiet break here.
After dark, visitors can adjust the color and intensity of the lighting to their liking. They do this using an application you can download from the App or Play Store. The settings are retained for 10 minutes, then change back to standby mode.
Living Lab research
The Living Lab research questions the interest of the users in modulating the lighting to suit them, at a given time. It also questions the impact of light on the outdoor perception of the city, and the improvement it inspires on our cognitive functions.
This will be done through a survey that will run in the last months of 2023 at the meeting point. VUB students and staff, but also other visitors of the meeting point, will be asked to choose between different lighting scenarios and answer a survey on restorative semi-public spaces.
Benefits of semi-public space design
Forecourts, hospital entrances and small green spaces can meet citizens' needs to meet friends and family outside or to sit down for a while, thus reducing stress and fatigue. Small spaces against facades, frontages, underused spaces can be revitalized by the installation of benches, lighting, shrubs and aromatic plants or natural canopy.
