Understanding the significance of nature as an integral part of interior design vis-a-vis kindergarten architecture

ABSTRACT: Realization over the importance of nature opened the way to question different aspects of human life and it was found that people start to spend more and more time indoors due to several reasons like safety, job-related factors or personal factors. This increase in spending time indoor is equal to spending less time in contact with nature. Thus, people started to look for ways to integrate nature in all aspects of their lives as much as they can. The significance of this research lies in the benefits of interaction with nature mainly for children who live in the apartments, without any contact or with too little contact with nature. Connection with nature will contribute for children's development physically, spiritually, socially. Therefore, more attempts should be create in order to bring nature into the indoor spaces. The study aims to explore the significance of nature as a significant tool in interior spaces design, specifically in kindergartens. It first looks at the relationship of nature and interior architecture/ design. Then it evaluates many kindergarten cases from different countries. Finally from the same perspective a local case "Levent kindergarten" is examples and the case study analysis was conducted according to the criteria derived from the books, an interview conducted with the architect, and questionnaire with teachers might support to understand the integration of nature in kindergarten from their views and opinion. Keywords: Interaction with nature, Interior design, Kindergarten Architecture, Levent Kindergarten. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………