Wellness: The Latest Architecture and News

Incorporating technology into architecture has transformed the way we design and experience environments across various scales, spanning from urban development to interior settings. Today, the concept of "smart spaces" embodies the fusion of innovation and design to enhance well-being and quality of life in our daily activities. This is achieved through seamless technological integration, encompassing a range of functions and systems via software, digital tools, and everyday devices like smartphones. As a result, activities like showering are experiencing significant advancements, evolving into a digital multi-sensory experience that offer personalized control over environmental factors, enhancing relaxation and well-being. These innovations enhance the interaction between technology, design, and users, fostering new ways to engage with spaces and subtly enriching our routine activities.

Showering is one of the most physically sensational rituals we commit to on a daily basis—often, when time allows, even multiple times between morning and night. It represents the transformative power of water on the body, offering a cascade of bliss and well-being. It is elemental as much as it is routine and purification. The new Serenity Sky designs from Dornbracht have been developed with a focus on elevating the rainshower experience, maximizing every aspect of it, while also incorporating nuance and options for each user. The new product takes one of the simplest concepts integral to our lives and enhances it with a personalized touch.

The year 2022 saw a rise in conversation around health and well-being. Two years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the architecture industry is more informed about healthy building practices and equipped to drive forward impactful solutions. World Architecture Day 2022 was themed around “Architecture for well-being”, paralleling the designation of 2022 as the UIA Year of Design for Health in buildings and cities. As we wind up the year, ArchDaily explores “healthy spaces” as a trend along with insights that will last well into the future.

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These days, wellness is a commonly-used word in design and other areas, but what does it truly mean? According to the National Wellness Institute, the concept is defined as "an active process through which people become aware of, and make choices toward, a more successful existence." It can be viewed from different perspectives, such as environmental, intellectual, spiritual and physical factors. Although these elements can be integrated separately into one’s life, they can also complement each other and work together. For example, exercise does not only provide physical benefits; it contributes to emotional wellness as well.

According to the World Happiness Report, Denmark has continually topped the survey of happiest countries for years. Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, is known for its brightly colored waterfront buildings and radical contemporary architecture, both reflecting the joyful ethos of the city. The maritime metropolis is an urban designer’s favorite case study with its carbon-neutral infrastructure, pedestrian and bike-friendliness, and thriving public realm. Danish designers have cracked the code to build happier cities, leaving plenty of models to learn from.

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The past couple of decades introduced the world to new ways of living as a result of different social, economic, and ecological changes. Naturally, these changes found their way into the architecture and urban practice, provoking new concepts within traditional typologies. Designing a space, regardless of its function, has always prioritized users' needs and ensured practicality and functionality, but recently, keywords like flexibility, privacy, inclusivity, and eco-consciousness have become driving forces behind design processes. In this interior focus, we will look at how current cities and living trends across the world have reshaped interior design and introduced modifications to typical typologies. 

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Originating in ancient India and verbally transmitted through the ages, Yoga has become a widespread and popular practice that engages the body and the spirit into reaching a stillness of the mind and a clear self-consciousness. There are varied schools of Yoga that reflect different origins and types of practices, however, they all require a combination the physical movement with mental, and spiritual awareness. The physical and mental health benefits that a regular practice can generate, despite turbulent or hard times, were recognized by the United Nations on the 21st of June 2022 Yoga day with the theme of Yoga for Humanity.

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Shigeru Ban Architects designed a wellness retreat on Japan’s Awaji Island. The project features a bridge-like wooden structure suspended above the lush landscape, providing visitors with a zen experience. The Vierendeel timber girder allows for a 21-metre span and a significant cantilever on one end of the 90-metre long structure. The Zenbo Seinei retreat, which will focus on meditation and healthy food, is currently under construction and is set to open this spring.

Construction has begun on “Welcome, feeling at work”, a biophilic office of the future in Milan, Italy. Designed by Kengo Kuma & Associates and commissioned by Europa Risorse, this venture seeks to create a workspace centered on employee health and wellbeing, integrated within its local environment. Imagined to be one of the most sustainable office development to date, the project is scheduled for 2024.

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FuturArc Prize 2020 asks how an Asian city might restore a human-nature balance.

How does our built environment affect us? This major exhibition spanning two galleries examines the positive and negative influence buildings have on our health and wellbeing. From Dickensian London to the bold experiments of postwar urban planners, and from healing spaces for cancer patients to the role architecture can play in global healthcare provision, we look anew at the buildings that surround and shape us.

The gas station does not usually catch one’s fancy. It is a ubiquitous building, one built primarily for function instead of for pleasure or community. We see them all the time but barely give them a second glance unless the need arises – and then, we get our fuel, and we are out of the station in minutes.  

With the smell of gasoline and the usual convenience store spread, these service stations do not exude any particular sense of wellness. Neither have their flat, perennial structures captured the imagination of architects – until now. 

Reebok and Gensler are the first to catch on to the enormous potential of the common gas station. These buildings sit on prime real-estate all over the country, from highways to local streets. In their new collaborative project, “Get Pumped,” the global architecture firm and the fitness brand are coming up with a plan to re-do the gas station as we know it.

Today we live in a rapidly aging society. The shift in the population pyramid means that traditional healthcare systems need to be reimagined in order to efficiently support an increasing senior population. This added pressure on healthcare is significant--the number of older adults in the US alone requiring long-term healthcare support is set to increase from 15 million to 27 million by 2050. By partnering with designers, healthcare providers can create valuable responses to address these growing needs.

One building typology that expresses this designer-provider partnership are centers for healthy living (CHL). CHLs help to bridge the gap between the senior living and healthcare sectors, and go beyond simple clinic or exercise spaces. Taking a more holistic approach, they seek to become accessible destinations for programs that nurture wellness while providing a sense of place and community.

In a new downloadable report, Perkins Eastman have explored this typology in great depth by investigating existing CHLs. Through spatial and market research, case studies and user surveys, their findings identify strategies for improving upon the CHL model in the future. Read on for our summary of their discoveries.

Organized by Magic Always Happens, PASSIONS benefits autism research and action, and is a juried award and exhibit to be shown at Unarthodox in New York City later this year. Drawing from the wildly different interests that captivate us, our passions provide a view into not only how differently each of us can experience the world, but how uniquely we can all craft or change it for the better.

Until recently, student health and counseling services have predominantly been offered independently of athletics and recreation. But as institutions contemplate a more unified approach to health and wellness, the boundaries of these traditionally separated campus services are becoming blurred. Many believe that unifying these various programs and services under one roof is in the best interest of their students’ long-term health, as well as a potential budgetary and operational boon. 

This recent shift in mindset has supported the emergence of a new breed of recreation centers that is only anticipated to multiply. “We’re seeing more and more universities come to us with a new set of challenges and program needs, as opposed to simply saying ‘we need this type of building,” says Brad Lukanic, Cannon Design’s executive director of education.

More on this new breed of Wellness Center, after the break...