Identifying greenery preferences in office buildings’ indoor environments from the perspective of employees (case study: Tabriz city)

Today, indoor plants are increasingly used in office environments due to their psychological and physical benefits and aesthetic values. However, there is no information on the greenery preferences of employees in office interiors environments. Hence, current study aims to identify employees’ preferences of indoor greenery and the effect of office complex’s green space on these preferences. It is believed that these preferences are different in various spaces of the workplace, so the plants were examined separately in the spaces of “management room”, “staff section”, “meeting room”, “waiting room”, “kitchen”, “restroom”. Therefore, the present study used a simulated photo questionnaire of office’s various interior spaces to assess the preferences of 362 employees by examining “greenery density”, “plants’ physical characteristics (plant’s type, stalk height, leaf size, color)” and “plant distance from employee’s desk” and distributed in two different office complexes, (one with green space and the other without green space), in Tabriz, Iran. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and U-Mann Whitney test. The findings of the present study show that employees generally prefer high plant density, short stem height, small leaves, flowers, and light green color in a long distance from their desk, but these preferences are different in various parts of the office environment. It was also found that there is a significant difference between the preferences of the employees of the two office complexes (with green space and without green space), regarding plant color, leaf size and plant type, which emphasizes the importance of green space in the premises of the office complexes. By introducing some plant species, the current study’s results can be used by designers to increase the use of green space and optimize the quality of the indoor environment in office spaces.