Urban design can have a huge impact on mental and physical health, with increased urbanisation being linked to high rates of depression, anxiety, and mental ill health, and more people experiencing loneliness.
However, this provides architects with opportunities to rethink how they design urban spaces to improve mental health. By introducing nature into urban areas, designing spaces that encourage community building, and considering the sensory experience of inhabitants, architects can design for wellbeing.
In this article, we will explore the key features of well-being architecture to consider in your next design project.
1. Biophilic Design for Wellness
One of the biggest impacts on mental health is access to green space. This can often be a challenge for architects designing city centers, with limited space available to incorporate public parks or a lack of infrastructure to support sustainable living.
Incorporating nature into urban environments, also known as biophilic design, can help balance the built and natural environment and provide pivotal connections with nature that humans need.
Biophilic design is a concept that was introduced by Edward Wilson in 1984, which suggests that humans have a biological need to connect with nature. Limiting or restructuring people’s access to nature can have a detrimental impact on their mental health and overall happiness.
Biophilic design has been incorporated into healing facilities and hospitals for decades, with proven improvements to patient healing. Therefore, to address declining mental health in urban environments, it’s important to consider incorporating biophilic design into your plans.
There are several clever ways that architects can add biophilic design principles to urban areas.
Adding green spaces in innovative places
Prioritising green spaces and adding greenery within an urban cityscape is the best way to directly incorporate nature in built-up environments.
Adding trees to line walkways, raised planters or beds, or including water features are all ways to enhance the relationship with nature in everyday life. However, looking for more innovative ways to incorporate nature into urban environments is an exciting challenge for architects and city designers. Consider vertical space, like walls or flat roofs that may otherwise be unused.
Increasing green spaces can improve biodiversity in cities and provide residents with the opportunity to connect with nature in their daily lives.
Utilising natural materials
Another way to indirectly incorporate nature into architecture is in the use of natural materials. By choosing wood and naturally occurring stone over concrete or cladding, and mimicking shapes that evoke the natural environment, you can design to introduce much-needed nature into built environments.
Maximising natural light
Strategic placement of windows can provide many benefits to architectural and interior design for wellness.
Placing windows to maximize natural light inside buildings not only helps to reduce reliance on artificial light and enhance interior design and layout options, but it can also provide those living in these buildings with the opportunity to regulate their circadian rhythm.
The circadian rhythm is the human body’s natural, internal clock that runs on a 24-hour cycle. While many things can impact the circadian rhythm, managing the sleep-wake cycle is a big way to regulate it.
Syncing your sleep-wake cycle with the natural daylight and nighttime hours is the best way to do this. So maximising natural light can help inhabitants to adjust their schedule to naturally wake and rest with the sun, and better connect their bodies and cycle with nature.
Window placement can also provide views of nearby nature, further strengthening inhabitants’ relationship with nature.
2. Sensory satisfaction increases the sense of emotional and physical security
Integrating a variety of sensory experiences within architectural design can help individuals manage stress and anxiety by offering relief from overwhelming stimuli.
This means ensuring to incorporate elements that stimulate as many of the senses as possible:
- Sight
- Sound
- Touch
- Smell
Visual Stimulus
Ensure there is visual stimulation without being overwhelming. Think about levels of color contrast in the surroundings and structures with a variety of heights.
Natural light can contribute to this, too. Where natural light may be low, consider alternative light sources, like street lights – even better if they are solar powered!
Audio Elements
What can you hear when you stand in different areas? Try to minimise noise pollution, for example, from nearby roads or railways. Including water features can help to provide audio stimulation and relaxation in urban spaces
Tactile experience
Consider the textures that inhabitants might experience. From flooring to railings, providing diverse textures can increase interest. Prioritise smooth edges and finishes, especially if they are at touching level, and leave rougher textures to higher parts of buildings.
Aroma
Increased green spaces can help to decrease pollution, which can, in turn, improve the overall aroma of an area. Ventilation in buildings will also work to improve air quality and help manage unwanted smells. Further enhance this by adding plants like lavender or Jasmine to create subtle, surprising pockets of smell.
Creating spaces with sensory design in mind can help residents feel emotionally safe, leading to increased feelings of physical security, too.
3. Designing for community engagement
Despite being densely populated, urban environments often don’t provide adequate spaces for community building and opportunities to socialise with their neighbours and the local community.
From fitness classes to support groups, community interest meetings, or co-working spaces, multipurpose public spaces provide flexibility for a range of community-focused projects and events. It’s important to prioritise accessibility and inclusion so that everyone in the community can enjoy and utilise the spaces.
Communal green spaces, like parks, can also play a pivotal role in improving mental health, as they provide opportunities to connect in nature, without needing a private garden. Including a community allotment could enhance this further, providing educational and socialising opportunities, too.
Not only can centralising the community improve residents’ mental health, but community and social factors can also contribute to property value appreciation, making it a brilliant investment for the future.
4. Sustainable design for people and planet
Increasing the eco-credentials of urban spaces can benefit the planet, and the people who reside in the city, both physically and mentally.
Installing solar panels to provide renewable energy sources can help to keep overall running costs down in civil areas, which may be seen by reduced taxes for residents, or additional funds added to other community interest areas. Opting for eco-friendly materials and construction methods will minimize environmental impact and promote a healthy outdoor and indoor environment.
Living in an environment that has selected sustainable building practices can give residents a sense of pride, but also responsibility to maintain their homes and make further sustainable choices in keeping with those already in place. This can contribute to increased satisfaction in their living space and a desire to continually improve it for themselves and their peers.
Making sustainability central to city design could have long-term benefits for the mental health of its residents, and provide a blueprint for wellness design of the future.
Final Thoughts
When it comes to designing for wellness, it’s important to consider both the form and the function of spaces, as well as how residents will interact and respond to design choices.
With mental health in mind, architects can endeavour to design cities with access to nature, sustainable solutions, and community-building spaces to help residents satisfy their mental, physical, and emotional well-being needs.
