What is Wellness Design?

"The first wealth is health,” said the American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson in 1860. If recent years have reminded us of anything, it is of the poignancy of such words that, yes, good health is the key foundation stone on which we build happy lives, thriving communities, and a robust economy.

Off the heels of a global pandemic, the wellness industry is booming. As of 2022, it was worth nearly 1.2 trillion USD – and shows little sign of abating. As we go about our days, we brush up against this movement, with companies promoting the health of our bodies and minds like never before: think of that sleek gym in your neighborhood, or the infrared saunas, the farm-to-table push in supermarkets and restaurants, not to mention mindfulness, meditation and breathwork studios, which are increasingly seen as mainstream.

In this wellness revolution, though, it is not just activities and what we eat that are up for a re-do: it is also the built environments where we spend much of our time. Creating indoor environments designed to improve the health and well-being of occupants has its own term: Wellness Design.

It involves the collaborative efforts of architects, designers and makers, who come together to pay close attention to how indoor spaces make us feel and behave, and how they can ultimately make our lives better.

JUST HOW MUCH TIME ARE WE SPENDING INDOORS?

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans and Europeans, on average, spend 90 per cent of their time indoors. When you think about it, modern life does have a penchant for hemming us into the interior world, as we rush from homes to offices, gyms to schools, and other indoor facilities.

Rich Corsi, an indoor air quality expert from Portland State University, put it in more eye-popping terms: “We spend more time in our homes than whales spend submerged beneath the surface of the ocean," he has said. "The average American lives to 79 and spends 70 of those 79 years inside buildings." If you factor in sleep alone, then we spend about a third of our lives in our bedrooms.

When thought about in such terms, it should be obvious that the indoor environments where we spend most of our time would have a direct impact on our health. And, If anything, it makes looking carefully at our internal environments seem long overdue.

Wellness design has already had an impact on modern workplaces. As employers get savvy, recognising greater health equals more productivity, the modern worker is encountering new additions to the office: intelligent lighting, ergonomic furniture, vertical walls of plants known as green systems, together with outlays that encourage walking or taking the stairs. Unlimited M&Ms are being replaced by fresh fruit and healthy snack options. Sleep pods, gyms, break and meditation rooms are now increasingly commonplace, too. In such environments, employees are automatically ‘opted-in’ to an environment that supports their health. Slower to arrive, but arguably more important is the transformation of the domestic space: wellness design for the home.

WELLNESS DESIGN FOR OUR HOMES

In a post-Covid-19 world, our home is where we spend more time than before, especially with the rise of flexible, working-from-home arrangements. By the end of 2023, it is estimated that 39 per cent of the Global Knowledge workforce could be working in hybrid models. So, if urban planners are increasingly optimizing city landscapes for human health, commercial spaces and offices are being retrofitted with it in mind, and new-build residential developers are experiencing a billions-of-dollars worth ‘arms-race for who can embrace ‘wellness’ the most, then why are we not looking more closely at our own homes?

Our dwellings, no matter their size, or if they are nestled on garden blocks, packed tightly in rows in the inner city, or found in a skyscraper, can be optimized to help us function, feel and perform at our best.

For several years now, the largest green building certification programs such as LEED (via USGBC) and WELL (via the International WELL Building Institute) amongst others, have been evolving their ratings systems to embrace and encourage certification of homes in line with the huge growth seen in their accreditation of commercial spaces.

While LEED looks at the building’s environmental impact and sustainability, WELL specifically focuses on people's health and wellness, which is why we’re choosing to align our approach with their 10 core concepts.

By applying these concepts to residential spaces, a model emerges for the ideal ‘wellness’ oriented home – one where individuals and families can thrive.

THE PRINCIPALS OF WELLNESS DESIGN

AIR: In the modern home, it is surprising how many toxins can exist, swirling in the ether from numerous household factors and appliances, with nowhere to go but to pollute the air inside your house. As such, ensuring that a house is as toxin-free as possible and has healthy airflow is paramount. Elements such as clever ventilation systems, windows, and greenery can all aid in cleaning the internal atmosphere.

WATER: Vital to life, humans wouldn’t be here without it. When it comes to water in our homes, it is not only about having high-quality H2O to consume but also about being wise in how we treat the natural resource. This may look like installing faucets that filter water and lessen water usage and construction techniques that minimize our water footprint. It can also involve monitoring and mitigating excess moisture or water that enters the home, causing mold and dampness.

NOURISHMENT: These days it’s not just about what we put into our bodies but it's how we do it. Increasingly, the environment in which we prepare and eat our meals are being recognised as playing a part in not only our enjoyment of the food but also how our body absorbs and digests it. Mindfulness when eating not only means savoring and appreciating a meal but also taking time to enjoy it in a distraction-free environment. In the home, this could look like a designated meal preparation area and a quiet, well-designed room or area in which to dine.

LIGHT: Humans belong to the animal kingdom, and as mammals, we are in tune with natural light rhythms. It is little surprise that exposure to daylight is an essential ingredient for us to thrive. The sun has a substantial impact on our moods, productivity, stress levels, and our circadian (sleep) rhythms. In the home, this can be tended to by embracing windows for natural light, as well as using, wherever possible, intelligent light design for not only our own regulatory function but also mood and enjoyment.

MOVEMENT: The architecture and layout of our homes can make a big difference to the amount of accumulated movement an occupant gets each day. Designing spaces that encourage movement might look like an inviting gym space, embracing a garden/outdoors area, inviting distance between kitchen and dining areas, or embracing split levels and stairs.

THERMAL COMFORT: Temperature matters to our health and productivity, but achieving an environment in which all the occupants are pleasantly and thermally comforted can be tricky – what suits one person may not suit another. Nevertheless, basic steps can be taken to maximize comfort, from insulating walls and windows and keeping humidity low, to the use of cozy rugs or solid drapes to reduce thermal runaway.

SOUND: Sound impacts human health, productivity and satisfaction. Creating an inviting and peaceful auditory environment in the home could be segmenting particular rooms for particular acoustic needs (for instance, you might play the piano in the living room but keep the study more insulated for quiet writing and email time). In each of these rooms, there would be something to act as an acoustic barrier to ensure that noise overflow to the next room is kept minimal. In the world of wellness design, wood is an ever-favored material.

MATERIALS: It goes without saying, but minimizing the presence of harmful materials in your home creates a healthier environment. Many new homes, built for expediency and affordability, are failing their owners because they’ve been built from materials that harbor harmful chemicals that can be released into the home’s air. Research and build with quality materials that are environmentally friendly and non-toxic.

MIND: Homes, in their historical purpose, should be sanctuaries – dwellings that protect and nourish humans. As such, it is important that somewhere in yours, be it a room or a nook that somewhere is carved out a place where you feel a great sense of peace and can find some stillness of mind.

COMMUNITY: The pandemic kept many humans separated from one another, but as social creatures, we are hard-wired to want human connection. Homes can be designed to facilitate the sort of effortless social interaction we crave. Embrace a big dining room, informal seating areas, or a fire pit with some chairs, perhaps. Socialising, it’s good for us.

A NOTE ON FUTURE UPDATES (01 MAY 2023)

The WELL for Residential program via the IWBI is currently in pilot stage and includes more than 100 impactful strategies for new and existing residences. This article will be revised and updated as more information becomes available in the coming weeks and months.