Comparative User Appraisals of Campus Architecture, Ambience and Perceived Environmental Support for Wellbeing in Two Nigerian Universities
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.38027/jsalutogenic_vol5no1_4Keywords:
campus architecture; ambience; environmental support; wellbeing; user appraisal; attributed meaning; NigeriaAbstract
Campus environments can shape how users appraise places in which they study and work, yet comparative evidence from Nigerian universities remains limited and may conflate perceived environmental qualities with attributed meaning. This study compares user appraisals of campus architecture, ambience, and perceived environmental support for wellbeing at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) and the University of Ibadan (UI). The analysis uses a cross-sectional survey of 765 staff and students (OAU = 384; UI = 381). Twenty 0–7 rating items were theoretically grouped into architecture appraisal (eight items), ambience appraisal (seven items), and perceived environmental support for wellbeing (five items). Analyses included internal consistency, exploratory factor analysis, Mann–Whitney U tests with rank-biserial effect sizes and bootstrap confidence intervals, Holm-adjusted item comparisons, within-campus Kruskal–Wallis tests with Dunn post-hoc comparisons, and covariate-adjusted robust regression sensitivity analyses. OAU respondents reported higher architecture appraisal than UI respondents (means 5.45 vs. 4.86; r = 0.34, 95% CI [0.27, 0.42], p < .001). No significant campus differences emerged for ambience (p = .342) or perceived environmental support for wellbeing (p = .226). After Holm adjustment, architecture descriptors and perceived uniqueness were higher at OAU, while quietness was higher at UI. The findings support participatory post-occupancy evaluation but do not establish causal effects of campus design.
Downloads
References
Ding, Y., Lee, C., Chen, X., Song, Y., Newman, G., Lee, R., Lee, S., Li, D., & Sohn, W. (2024).
Exploring the association between campus environment of higher education and student health: A systematic review of findings and measures. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 91, 128-168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2023.128168
Hershberger, R. G. (1970). Architecture and meaning. Journal of Aesthetic Education, 4(4), 37–55.https://doi.org/10.2307/3331285
Hipp, J. A., Gulwadi, G. B., Alves, S., & Sequeira, S. (2016). The relationship between
perceived greenness and perceived restorativeness of university campuses and student-reported quality of life. Environment and Behavior, 48(10), 1292–1308. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916515598200
Horn, J. L. (1965). A rationale and test for the number of factors in factor analysis.
Psychometrika, 30, 179–185.https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02289447
Lau, S. S. Y., Gou, Z., & Liu, Y. (2014). Healthy campus by open space design: Approaches and
guidelines. Frontiers of Architectural Research, 3(4), 452–467. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2014.06.003
McDonald-Yale, E., & Birchall, S. J. (2021). The built environment in a winter climate:
Improving university campus design for student wellbeing. Landscape Research, 46(5), 638–652.
Obafemi Awolowo University. (n.d.). About OAU. https://oauife.edu.ng/about-oauife/ (accessed 2 July 2026).
Rafiei, S., & Gifford, R. (2023). The meaning of the built environment: A comprehensive
model based on users traversing their university campus. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 87, 101975. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2023.101975
Rapoport, A. (1982). The meaning of the built environment: A nonverbal communication
approach. Sage.
Samura, M. (2018). Understanding campus spaces to improve student belonging. About
Campus, 23(2), 19–23. https://doi.org/10.1177/1086482218785887
Temple, P. (2009). From space to place: University performance and its built environment.
Higher Education Policy, 22(2), 209–223. https://doi.org/10.1057/hep.2009.11
University of Ibadan. (2026). History. https://ui.edu.ng/content/history (accessed 2 July 2026).
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Akinsola Lawal, Emmanuel Babatunde Jaiyeoba, Samuel Adebayo Amole (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
