natural materials show the strongest link to focus and creativity
Exact: r = 0.261
Use of natural materials has the strongest positive association with focus and creativity among Egyptian working women
Pearson correlation analysis across 12 biophilic design elements found that natural materials and adequate natural lighting produced the strongest positive associations with focus and creativity (r ranging from 0.203 to 0.261). These were statistically significant, indicating that workplaces with more of these elements were perceived by women as supporting better cognitive performance and creative output.
There were moderate positive correlations between several elements and focus and creativity, ranked in descending order: use of natural materials, reliance on adequate natural lighting, enhancement of overall job experience, and support for comfort and calm. The correlation coefficients for these elements ranged from r = 0.261 to r = 0.203, indicating that a higher presence of these elements was associated with better focus and creativity.
Related findings
82.0%
high perceived impact of environmental design on children's behavioral and academic outcomes
Inclusive architectural design is perceived to strongly support behavioral and academic outcomes for children with neurodevelopmental disorders
Heba M. Abdou et al., 2026, Architecture
1.7%
U.S. GDP share represented by the productivity gains from optimized office daylighting
The productivity gains from optimized office daylighting and views equal 1.7% of U.S. GDP
Piers MacNaughton et al., 2021, Journal of Applied Social Psychology
$352B
estimated annual productivity gain from optimizing daylight and views across U.S. offices
Optimizing daylight and views across U.S. offices could generate $352 billion in additional annual productivity
Piers MacNaughton et al., 2021, Journal of Applied Social Psychology
Read more in
Workplace What your office costs
Four design variables that move cognitive performance and who pays for them
Education What school spaces do to children
Where the evidence on classroom air, acoustics, light and green is robust, where it is thin, and what to measure before the build.
Workplace Pricing biophilia: what the evidence is worth
Read at the primary sources, the business case for nature in buildings is narrower than advertised and strong enough to act on.
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