الفهرس 
INTRODUCTIONOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Humankind has historically expressed an interdependent connection with nature, with much
of human consciousness emanating from thoughtful study of the natural world around. The
last decades have witnessed an incessant growth in working to determine aspects of nature
that most influence people satisfaction with the built environment. As new proofs appear, the
rapports between nature, science and the built environment are becoming easier to understand
old wisdom and novel potentials. Thus, characteristic interdisciplinary approaches have been
systematically integrated, formulating the scientific basis for new areas of research into the
field of design as well as psychology and anthropology. However, these approaches are not
ordinarily applied to comprehend historic buildings from a wider architectural insight. Hence,
this thesis seeks to deepen the analysis of the Alhambra architecture in Granada, Spain (a
World Heritage site) using a novel concept which kept pace with contemporary
methodologies. This stems from the researcher’s observation that several analyses have
focused much attention on the Alhambra’s historical, stylistic or constructional aspects
without adequate studying of its relationship with present global needs in architecture.
Accordingly, the aim of the thesis is to demonstrate that the Alhambra architecture
manifests a successful biophilic design, which may allow for a positive impact on human
health and well-being. Therefore, this thesis attempts to correlate the architectural heritage
with the health sciences in context of biophilic design by exploring the biophilia hypothesis
and biophilic design; interpreting the dialogue between nature and the Alhambra’s cultural
and structural features; realizing the likely effects of the “14 Patterns of Biophilic Design”,
proposed by Terrapin Bright Green consulting firm, on human health and well-being; and
investigating the presence of these patterns in the Alhambra architecture in addition to five
examples of its analogues around the world.
The results of the thesis reveal that the Alhambra is an outstanding model for meeting the
14 patterns of biophilic design. This would explain how biophilic design can be applied
through an actual example that has impressive cultural and historical characteristics, as well
as highlight the probable effect of the Alhambra architecture on the health and well-being of
its visitors.