THE ROLE OF ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE IN ENHANCING HUMAN HEALTH AND WELL: BEING IN A HOSPITALITY ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

While a growing body of empirical evidence indicates that the separation of human habitation from nature carries measurable costs for physical health, psychological well-being and cognitive function, organic architecture offers a coherent design paradigm that reverses this disconnection. Hotels are an especially consequential setting, since restoration is their declared purpose, occupancy is short, and guests navigate them as strangers. The aim of this study is to enhance human health and well-being in a hospitality environment through the application of organic architectural principles to a 4-star hotel design in Awka, Nigeria. Two objectives guided the work: to identify the core principles of organic architecture that most directly influence health and well-being in hospitality environments; and to develop a health-centred organic design framework for a 4-star hotel in Awka South LGA. The study adopts a qualitative case-study design in two strands: a structured literature review executed across Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar, and comparative evaluation of four benchmark 4-star hotels against Terrapin Bright Green's 14 Patterns of Biophilic Design. Findings identify five core organic principles with direct health consequences and four mutually reinforcing pathways through which they act: physical health, by way of indoor air quality, thermal comfort, daylight and incidental movement; psychological restoration, evidenced by increased serenity and reduced physiological stress markers; neuroaesthetic engagement, in which curvilinear form is processed more fluently than rigid geometry; and social and behavioural well-being arising from permeable, landscaped public space. The study concludes that these pathways are interdependent, so integrated rather than piecemeal application is required, and synthesises them into the Awka Earth Lodge framework. It recommends that health be adopted as a primary performance criterion in design briefs, that post-occupancy evaluation be instituted, and that Nigerian curricula incorporate biophilic design and neuroaesthetics.