Little

Nov 26, 2018

min

by Carol Rickard-Brideau

The Connection Between Space and Wellness

As living beings, we are impacted by our environment. Design plays a significant role in human health, and the way that we configure and manipulate elements in a space can mean more to its inhabitants than whether they like the color of the walls or the texture of the carpet. On the broadest level certain environmental factors have universal effects on all of us, i.e. daylight & circadian rhythm. In other cases, these environmental factors are very personal and specific, based on our genetic wiring. Genetics set the stage and the environment activates those genes in different ways.

Our bodies respond to cues in our environment, and much of what is designed today is giving our systems the wrong message. The most unfortunate thing is that very few organizations and even design professionals recognize the benefits of salutogenic design (designing for wellness). Salutogenic design isn’t something that’s “cool” or “good for PR.” It’s a measurable aspect of design that can help a building’s inhabitants operate at their peak of effectiveness, maintaining physical and mental well-being, actually helping them to lead healthier, and therefore longer lives. It is the ultimate investment in people, in an architectural sense.

The way that we design space has a direct impact on physical and mental fatigue, awareness, memory cognition, depression, cardiovascular & musculoskeletal health. Not enough emphasis is put on designing wellness into a space, generally speaking. We are just on the cusp of entering a phase when awareness is about to explode onto the scene through vehicles like Delos’ Well Building Certification. Organizations competing for the brightest hires need to see wellness as a significant benefit to the people they are seeking to recruit and retain.

Stress or challenge – which can be either physical or psychological – in and of themselves, are not bad things. In fact, a friend of mine, Dr. Bob Rosen, wrote a book called Just Enough Anxiety: The Hidden Driver of Business Success, with the founding thesis being that humans can benefit from forces causing them to act – any student can tell you that many times pen doesn’t hit paper until a deadline is established (btw do we still use pens?). When an individual feels as if they can have an effect on a force causing them stress or anxiety we see it as a challenge. When that same individual cannot effect change, that force becomes a stress.

DOWNWARD SPIRAL

This stress in the built environment has important repercussions, many of which seem to be completely overlooked or accepted as something to live with. Northwestern National Life did a survey in which 40% of workers report that their job is very or extremely stressful. In another study conducted by Princeton Research Associates, 75% of respondents said they think that the worker has more on the job stress than a generation ago. Environmental stress isn’t confined only to the workplace, however. Just about any place where people spend significant periods of time can initiate stress in the User.

Stresses have many different categorizations: organizational (ineffective processes), environmental (noise, temperature), social, physical, biological and chemical (outgassing, VOC’s).  These stresses also have varying intensities, from Ambient which is perceptible but limited, to Acute which is sudden and intense but short-lived, to Chronic which is ongoing and pervasive.  Although each of them presents challenges, chronic stress shows a direct correlation to higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol, heart, stomach and blood pressure issues, impaired cognitive function, lowered immunity, musculoskeletal and bone density issues, depression and certain cancers.

The Journal of Occupational Medicine states that healthcare expenditures for workers who report high levels of stress are 50% higher than for those who don’t experience such high levels of stress. In fact, organizations where people report these environmental stressors see increased absenteeism, chronic lateness and higher incidences of workers quitting. When you consider the cost of backfilling an open position, the cost exceeds just the salary of the new person. It also includes the loss of productivity while the space is empty (not to mention the time the person isn’t productive as they make their decision to leave), the cost of recruiting, training and the loss of intellectual capital – all of which add up to 1-5 times the annual salary of the position.

Healthy Spaces = Healthy Organizations

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On the flip side, organizations with healthy spaces show lower rates of illness and disability. They are competitive in the marketplace because of the value they put on the individual and on an organizational understanding of their gaps.

These organizations look to tailor space to the processes being performed in the space so that it acts as an extension of those processes, not as a roadblock to accomplishing the tasks at hand. People frequently make do in spite of their space, rather than having their space as an active part of a successful process. Thinking not only about the spatial experience, but also about lighting and the auditory needs of the people using the space, maximizes the effectiveness of any space for the User.

green office

They incorporate sustainable measures that present benefits for the immediate Users as well as the Community at large. Issues like indoor air quality and daylighting have an immediate positive impact on inhabitants, even if attention is not called to them directly. Direct access to daylight and views reduces blood pressure, lowers the incidence of headaches, and in healthcare setting results in the need for less pain medication and shorter stays in the hospital. Exposure to daylight has also been shown to deliver higher accuracy in work product and test scores.

stair maze

They seek to create environments which are physically legible. Stress is minimized when a building User understands how to use a space intuitively based on how spaces are sequenced, and how materials, way finding, lighting and other design elements are incorporated to help people make sense of a space. Stress is increased when a person is confused and doesn’t understand how to navigate a space to effectively to get what they need.

They build in social interaction, allowing people to participate in or just be exposed to the activity others. Disengagement and lack of connection are one of the four biggest issues in the Workplace today (the other three being Recruiting, Retention and Succession). Creating spaces that allow opportunities for interaction deepen the relationship between a person, their space and the other occupants.

biophilic

They incorporate natural and biophilic elements like courtyards, plants and natural materials, which still have a place in our evolutionary memory. Using natural materials can present a sense of scale, texture, color and materiality that have a naturally calming effect on people on both biological and neurological levels, reducing stress hormones and physical fatigue. Even large-scale images—where connection to the outdoors isn’t possible—make a difference on human stress levels.

Every person involved in design needs to recognize and embrace the call to incorporate elements of wellness into the spaces they create wherever possible. The concepts and responses are frequently simple, yet the simplest of ideas can yield meaningful results for the human organism. As long as we remain aware of the impact that our designs have on people – at a biological and neurological level – we can make a significant difference for people coming in contact with our spaces and buildings.

About

Carol Rickard-Brideau

Carol is a self-proclaimed foodie, is endlessly curious about how design affects humans, both psychologically and physically, and has a thing for gardens. She is also an architect and Chief Executive Officer at Little. Follow her on Twitter @WineDarkC.

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