Wellness in Design

In today’s reality, your home and office has become a fluid concept that has a tremendous amount of overlap in today’s reality. For a very long time, working from home had been a novel concept, but has become a way of life. And now that many of us have been working from home for months on end, we are seeing the flaws in our routines, homes, and set ups that are undermining not only our productivity and relaxation but our wellness too. And, just like many of you, we are very conscious about how to get the best out of our spaces by maximizing the wellness benefits available to us. 

In the ideal scenario, you will be able to build and design a space tailored to your needs, but for many of us we already have existing spaces or setups. So, whether you are building out an office, renovating a home, or setting up a home office, here are a number of aspects to address that can improve you physical and mental wellness. 

There are many different areas to explore, so each person will have to decide and weigh which of these are most important if not all of them. The foundational elements to designing a wellness focused space are Lighting, Biophilia, Air Quality, Acoustics, Comfort, Fitness, and Mental Health. In the future we will explore many of these ideas in depth using some of own works as case studies, be sure to keep an eye out as we share more projects and articles. 

When considering how a space will be used, whether for working, cooking, or relaxing, lighting can play a drastic role in how productive your activity will be. A well-lit workspace will reduce eye strain after long hours, a bright kitchen can prevent potential cooking mishaps, and a warmly lit living room can really help unwind after a full day. There are also larger conversations on how natural light and artificial light can be taken advantage of that we will explore later on. 

Biophilia has quickly become a mainstay in modern design with roots that go back decades in architectural design. Humans have an intrinsic need to seek out nature, and the benefits of brining natural elements into the design of spaces has tremendous benefits to our wellness. From easing stress to providing fresh air, there are many undeniable factors that Biophilic design can provide to a space. You will see numerous ways to introduce greenery and nature into design in our work, some of which was the foundation of the design. 

There are few of us that found ourselves outside more than inside, especially in the last year. As the average America can spend about 90% of their time indoors and the fact indoor air can be 2x – 5x more polluted that outdoors means improving you air quality inside should be a priority. Along with greenery providing oxygen and eliminating carbon dioxide, air purifiers and replacing air filters are an easy investment to improve your respiratory health. 

We have all been in this situation, it is just too noisy around us, and it has become impossible to focus on anything without becoming frustrated. And whether it is pets, family, or colleagues we need ways to separate ourselves from them acoustically. High NRC glass, Acoustical partitions, and Soft Barriers are just a few ways to create a quieter space and following many of our projects you will find other ways we have created acoustically secure spaces. 

Comfort has its own meaning to every individual person, so designing with comfort in mind should be a personal exploration and never a one-size-fits-all approach. Comfort in the office can be rooted in ergonomics or workflow whereas comfort at home can mean creating private places to relax. So much of our work involves being in a constant dialogue with clients in order discern and develop a sense of comfort unique to them. 

Staying in front of a computer screen for hours on end has become the holding pattern for numerous people’s work life, but our increasingly sedentary habits can have enormous impacts on our wellness and can lead to many chronic health issues. Finding ways to be active and keeping our body engaged needs to become a habit to interrupt the minutia of our static day. Some easy tips are to take period breaks to stretch and walk around but developing an exercise routine and finding active hobbies will also reverse the impact to our wellness. 

Lastly, one of the most elusive aspects to address is mental health. Every event through our day either takes a toll or boosts our mental health, so creating a space that cultivates positive thoughts and minimizes the intrusive ones will improve not only your mood and perspective but can also manifest as a healthier body. When you put your wellness as the foremost factor in how you use and create space, you will find yourself with a more positive perspective and somaticizing worries less leading to a more regulated body, mind, and spirit. 

All of these aspects of wellness are taken into consideration when space is being created or use whether intentionally or accidentally. Our goal in sharing our projects framed through the lens of wellness is to give you the tools to recognize and develop space to cultivate your own wellness.