The semantic value of plants in the perception of space

People are satisfied with their environment as long as they understand the physical character of it. Because of this, in order to design understandable, clear and acceptable environments, designers have to increase the meaning of spaces. When open and semi-open spaces are mentioned, plants become an important space component. In accordance with this point of view, the aim of this study is to define the role of plants in constructing prefered environments and to find out which plants have suitable semantic value for planting designs that express the identity of buildings and spaces with different functions. The study consists of two parts: (1) The theoretical part deals with how plants became a symbol and the signification they take. In this part, samples of symbolic plants are given together with the definition of signification by using “Sign Theory”. (2) The application part examines whether the idea that spaces and buildings having different functions can be associated with plants. In this part 10 spaces and 24 plants are used to form an inquiry and cross-tabulation of plants with spaces and the reasons (the concept defining the feelings associated by a plant) are investigated.