Why do so many of us travel to beach destinations for our holidays?

And why are we willing to pay a premium for that ocean view hotel room, or for any property by the water?

There is something about water that draws us in. We hardly need research to tell us that. But to look for clues as to why, we do have to dip our toes into some interesting studies.

Water has, of course, been the driving force behind civilisations throughout history: many great cities grew up along rivers and coasts. And we’ve been including water into our gardens for almost as long. Some of the earliest surviving depictions of designed water appear in Egyptian tomb paintings from around 1350 BC—pleasure gardens laid out around rectangular pools.[1]

Most of my water feature design work begins with technical questions regarding flow rates, water levels, pumps, filtration and plant rooms. But these are rarely the reasons someone wants a water feature in their garden. The starting point should not be technical. It should be the experience the water is intended to create.

And for that, we need to understand what draws us towards water—and which qualities of water we want it to reveal. And what kind of experience they should create.

Water Has Always Meant Life

Some research suggests that we are drawn to water due to an ancient built-in instinct to survive. Water creates and enables life. So, the survival instinct makes sense.[3]

But most of us don’t have to go out looking for water to survive. And a modern water feature is very different from a natural drinking place. Nevertheless, our attraction does not appear to be limited entirely to natural water.

In a 2010 study led by environmental psychologist Mathew White, people rated photographs of natural and built environments. Scenes containing water received higher ratings for preference, positive emotion and perceived restorativeness than those without it. Images of built environments containing water—including fountains and canals—were generally rated as positively as images of natural green space.[5]

The study measured responses to photographs, so it doesn’t prove that every water feature produces the same effect. But it suggests that designed water can materially influence how a built landscape is perceived.

So for designers, the question is therefore not simply whether to include water. It is how that water should be encountered: on arrival, along a path, through planting or from somewhere where we can sit and relax. What should it sound like? How should the surface capture the surrounding environment? How should it make you feel?

Change Without Chaos

Rachel and Stephen Kaplan use the term soft fascination to describe natural patterns that hold our attention without demanding all of it. Their examples include clouds, sunsets and leaves moving in a breeze. These experiences leave room for thought and reflection.[2]

Moving water has many of the same qualities.

“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man”

A quotation often attributed to the Greek philosopher Heraclitus, who more than two thousand years ago, used the river to explore the relationship between continuity and change. By the time we step into the same river again, the waters have already flowed onwards. Therefore it is not the same river. And as life throws its twists and turns at us, we too, change as time goes by. Water gives us change without chaos.

A moving water feature contains something of the same paradox.

Its geometry and hydraulic behaviour give it a recognisable form, yet the patterns of ripples, droplets, reflected light and sound continually shift. The feature is familiar without ever appearing completely fixed—and our experience of it changes with the light, weather, season and our own state of mind.

Perhaps this balance between continuity and change is part of what makes moving water so absorbing, and part reason why we are attracted to water. A type of soft fascination that holds our attention without us ever really noticing it.

An interesting meeting point between psychology and design.

Water, Memory and Place

Our attraction to water is also personal.

Most of us have some sort of strong emotional connection with a particular place, or multiple places. Childhood memories, or a particularly enjoyable holiday destination. And it’s likely that quite a few of those places include water. A favourite seaside town perhaps, an island resort, or a lake house.

Personally, I have always felt a deep connection to the calm Nordic lakes of Finland. Growing up there meant spending so much time either in, or on the water, that it changed the way I experience it. Especially being on a still, reflective and silent lake, watching the gentle mist blur the lines of the horizon, until you can’t tell where the water ends and the sky begins. The sense of calm and connection to nature in those moments is difficult to put into words.

And in today’s world of hypervigilant overstimulation, these types of moments are increasingly important for the soul. But of course, water does not create one universal emotional response. Nor is it automatically calming.

Different Water, Different Feelings

We are not always drawn to the same kind of water.

In a study of 135 people, Daniel Patón and colleagues found that reactions varied across 16 different water sounds: large waterfalls and jets were generally rated less pleasantly, while channels with smaller drops produced greater acoustic comfort. A separate experiment found quieter waterfall sounds more calming, while louder water sounds were more emotionally arousing.[4]

These studies do not prove that we instinctively choose water to match our mood, but they do show that the movement and sound of water shape the kind of experience it creates.

In built landscapes and gardens, the way water is designed determines its emotional character.

What This Means for Design

Which water-related memory has stayed with you?

This is another useful question to include in a client brief for a water feature.

What they remember may be the sound, the scale, the surrounding planting, the reflected sky or the way the water was discovered. The aim is not necessarily to reproduce that place, but to understand the quality of the experience that mattered.

The presence of water alone, however, is not enough. The Kaplans note that our response depends on the relationship between the water and its surroundings. Their research even includes an example of a water scene that received a low preference rating.[2]

A successful water feature must therefore belong to the wider composition. Its position should relate to paths, seating and views from the house, and to the changing seasons and weather. The scale should suit the space. Movement, or stillness, and sound should support the intended atmosphere.

This is where the technical and experiential sides of water-feature design meet. Engineering determines whether the water behaves as intended. Design determines what that behaviour contributes to the garden.

So why are we attracted to water?

Because it has always represented life. It can give us change without becoming chaotic. Different forms of water can speak to different moods. And because particular waters become part of our memories. And sometimes, the attraction simply cannot be put into words.

A water feature can work with all these qualities—but first, we have to decide which of them we want it to express.

That leads naturally to the next question in this series:

What feeling should a water feature create?

Originally posted on LinkedIn

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References & Further Reading

1. Campbell, Gordon. A Short History of Gardens. Oxford University Press, 2016.
2. Kaplan, Rachel and Stephen Kaplan. The Experience of Nature: A Psychological Perspective. Cambridge University Press, 1989, pp. 9, 89 and 192–193.
3. Nichols, Wallace J. Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, On, or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do. Little, Brown and Company, 2014.
4. Patón, Daniel et al. “Using Acoustic Perception to Water Sounds in the Planning of Urban Gardens.” Building and Environment, vol. 168, 2020, article 106510.
5. White, Mathew P. et al. “Blue Space: The Importance of Water for Preference, Affect and Restorativeness Ratings of Natural and Built Scenes.” Journal of Environmental Psychology, vol. 30, no. 4, 2010.