The October issue of the Health Environments Research & Design Journal features a new study led by researchers from Texas Tech University's Dept. of Design and its Dept. of Human Development & Family Studies, in collaboration with Covenant Health, which examined the impact of Luminous SkyCeilings in a controlled clinical setting…		Orange is one of the largest operators of mobile and internet services in Europe and Africa with 248 million customers across 29 countries. The company's new headquarters in Paris features a custom 18-foot Luminous SkyCeiling that hovers over a dynamic LED lighting display embedded on the lobby floor that pulses with color…		In four decades worth of professional work, David has journeyed and canvassed most of our planet's deep blue seas. His photography has been featured in hundreds of magazine covers, including the only underwater photograph ever to appear on the cover of LIFE magazine…

A Sneak Peek at the October Issue of HERD Measuring the Impact of Luminous SkyCeilings

The October issue of the Health Environments Research & Design Journal features a new study led by researchers from Texas Tech University's Department of Design and its Department of Human Development and Family Studies, in collaboration with Covenant Health, which examined the impact of Luminous SkyCeilings in a controlled clinical setting.

The study, The Impact of Simulated Nature on Patient Outcomes: A Study of Photographic Sky Compositions, examined the behavioral and clinical impact of Sky Factory's biophilic illusions in a medical-surgical inpatient unit at Covenant Health Hospital in Lubbock, TX. The eight-month long study analyzed data from 181 subjects who were assigned to identical rooms where the only environmental variable separating the control and the experimental units was a 24-square-foot Luminous SkyCeiling directly above the bed.

"The Open Sky Compositions used in this study are the same photographic images used in the fMRI study that uncovered the neural correlates of nature stimuli," says Dr. Pati, lead researcher and one of the co-authors of the study.

"Whereas the first study found that the Open Sky Compositions, relative to other positive images, uniquely engaged areas of the brain involved in spatial cognition, in this study we sought to quantify the benefits in the patient environment," he adds.

The single-blind study found a difference in Acute Stress by more than half (53.40%) and a difference in Anxiety by more than a third (34.79%) in patients assigned to the experimental rooms where the virtual skylights were part of their immediate environment.

"It was quite an ambitious study," says Patricia Freier, Project Specialist QI at Covenant Health. "It involved the help of a lot of different nurses on that floor, getting all the consents, but the comments from patients I think were most significant."

For more information about this study, please see the press release (PDF).

Featured Installation: Orange Telecom

Orange is one of the largest operators of mobile and internet services in Europe and Africa, and a global leader in corporate telecommunication services with 248 million customers across 29 countries.

The company's new headquarters in Paris now features a custom Luminous SkyCeiling surrounded by a dynamic LED lighting display embedded in the floor that lights up, beaming the company's trademark orange color before phasing into others like blue, violet, and green.

The virtual skylight features the latest twist in modular innovation—triangular SkyTiles™—that allow for the ceiling grid to be placed at a 45 degree angle in relation to the skylight's perimeter, creating an attractive lattice-like pattern that adds a dramatic counterpoint to the illusory sky's four distinct quadrants.

Sky Factory's biophilic illusions of nature are the only virtual skylights that have earned international awards for both installation design (PDF) and peer-reviewed published research (PDF). Luminous SkyCeilings are designed to engage areas of the brain involved in spatial cognition, triggering a palpable "relaxation response" in the observer.

The illusion's ability to alter perceived experience of interiors infuses enclosed spaces with a genuine feeling of expansion that yield multiple restorative benefits, including reduced stress and anxiety, in addition to increased emotional balance, mental acuity, and cognitive function.

Orange Telecom is ranked in the Top 100 Global Brand Rankings with 15 billion devices connected in 2015. As a brand that thrives on technology and innovation, Orange's headquarters feature a custom biophilic illusion installation that frames the reception area with an 18-foot portal to open skies, bringing quantifiable wellness benefits, inside.

Signature Artist Series: David Fleetham

David Fleetham is one of the most renowned underwater photographers in the world.

In the four decades since he began diving and capturing indelible images of the oceans' most iconic, mesmerizing, and extraordinary species, David has journeyed and canvassed most of our planet's deep blue seas. Along the way, his photography has been featured in over 200 magazine covers around the world, including the only underwater photograph ever to appear on the cover of LIFE magazine.

He has explored the most diverse underwater environments for National Geographic and his beautiful portraiture of sea life ranges from the ocean's largest creatures—whales, sharks, and sea lions—to the most unusual, intricate, and recondite ecosystems at the bottom of the sea, those hidden in the world's most diverse coral reefs.

In this curated collection of David's best work, you will find colorful Raccoon Butterflyfish schooling in Hawaii, Bigeye Jacks and Lionfish from Indonesia, plus Pacific Spotted Dolphins, Great White Sharks, and beautiful Green Sea Turtles.

See a selection of David's world-class underwater photography