Architectural Survey of University Leisure Spaces

Academic pressure and stress in students are observed due to failures in examinations, excessive assignments, competition with other students, etc. Research shows that leisure participation provides students both mental and physical health benefits, self-respect, contentment and facilitates their motivation and competency. According to a 2006 WHO report, negative leisure demotivates the students from pursuing their studies. To prevent such negative impacts, students should be given ample leisure spaces inside their respective campuses. This paper looks into the preferences of leisure activities of university students while living on a university campus. Leisure spaces (both indoor and outdoor) within the university campus as well as in the proximity of the campus in town are categorized based on surveying the students about their leisure activities. Leisure spaces within the region of the university are selected according to the duration spent by the surveyed students in their preferred locations. Finally, these spaces have been associated with architectural details, accessibility/proximity, affordability, comfort/facilities, privacy, security, landscape, etc. These aspects are based on a case study in South India.