Rethinking the Design of Garden Museums and Libraries from a Naturalistic Perspective: A Review of the Research Literature

Abstract

The rapid growth of urbanization, the diminishing interaction between humans and natural environments, and the increasing demand for human-centered cultural spaces have highlighted the need to rethink architectural and environmental design approaches. In this context, garden museums and libraries, as cultural, educational, and social spaces, play a significant role in enhancing users' experiences and have considerable potential to incorporate the principles of naturalism to create dynamic, restorative, and sustainable environments. This study aims to rethink the design of these spaces from a naturalistic perspective by reviewing and analyzing the existing body of research. It examines the principal theoretical foundations, design approaches, and findings of previous studies. The research adopts a descriptive–analytical methodology based on a comprehensive review of library resources, scholarly publications, and related studies. The findings indicate that the integration of natural elements, including daylight, vegetation, water features, landscape, natural ventilation, and environmentally compatible materials, not only enhances spatial quality but also promotes psychological well-being, concentration, social interaction, and user satisfaction. Furthermore, the literature reveals that previous studies have largely examined garden museums and libraries independently, while relatively few have investigated these two cultural environments within an integrated theoretical framework grounded in naturalism. Therefore, this paper emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary research and the development of integrated, human-centered, sustainable, and restorative design models for the future of cultural spaces.