Abstract
This paper explores the limited evidence on the way students perceive, rate, use and value restorative spaces on campus. In the UK alone 2.5 million students study each year in UK Higher Education Institutions. Yet surprisingly little research has been undertaken on the perceptions, preferences and needs of students for restorative space on campus. This paper reviews the evidence with a particular focus on audio and visual stimuli. We then report empirical investigations of the noise climate and quality of restorative space at the University of Bradford and Loughborough University. The vast majority of respondents agreed that they need such space on campus and that it can affect academic performance. Noise levels can be very high in internal spaces that are heavily used but may be susceptible to interventions. Students can identify locations that they feel are restorative and have some interesting perspectives on what such space should sound like. Their main priorities for such space tend to be the basics with seating scoring highest in both samples. There is a preference for internal spaces with greenery and water features over those without. The CVM experiment suggests that there is willingness to pay for quieter and greener environments amongst some students. Clearly such space is seen as important and has a value to students.