Architectural features in historical buildings that improve wellbeing

Current research papers as showcased in this research, show a connection between historic buildings and wellbeing. This connection always seemed to be a positive one. Research papers never mentioned the reason behind this increase in wellbeing. UNESCO world heritage defines a historic site or building to be an irreplaceable place important to human kind, by further more defining the term wellbeing, a deeper connection can be established. This research aims to find out which features in a historic building create this positive effect. Ten of the top historical buildings in Istanbul, in the Historic Peninsula were chosen to be analyzed. The buildings are; Hagia Sophia Mosque, Basilica Cistern, Topkapı Palace Museum, The Blue Mosque, The Chora Church, Beylerbeyi Palace, Süleymaniye Mosque, Theodosius Cistern, Dolmabahce Palace, and Fatih Mosque Complex. One hundred online user reviews of each of the buildings were scanned to create two data outcomes using text analysis. The two outcomes are; Positive feedbacks and architectural features. Results were categorized by joining similar terms and eliminating unnecessary ones. The most mentioned positive terms were linked to the most mentioned architectural features. The link indicated a complex relationship between a historic site and human welfare that cannot be reduced to one or two architectural elements. The uniqueness of historic sites or buildings lies in the combination of the many factors contributing to an improved wellbeing, a combination not found anywhere else.