How to Design an Amenity Space for Serenity and Wellness to Thrive
More and more consumers are realizing that our homes and the surrounding environment has a big impact on our lifestyles, health, moods, and wellbeing. According to research by the World Health Organization, the built environment in which we live will determine up to 80–90 percent of our health outcomes.
Yet, as the Global Wellness Institute put it, “the way our homes have been built in the last century is reinforcing lifestyles that make us sick, stressed, alienated and unhappy.” Our modern living environment favors sedentary lifestyles, which has led to a lack of physical activity, poor diet, stress, and social isolation. Modernization has also increased environmental degradation, which has led to a global increase in respiratory and chronic diseases (traceable directly to pollution). Growing awareness of this came to a climax in 2020 and 2021, when people were forced to spend more time at home than ever, due to government-mandated lockdowns.
THE RISE OF THE WELLNESS REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY
All of these factors have given rise to the growing wellness movement in real estate. By 2022, the global wellness real estate industry is projected to reach a value of $197 billion USD, growing by 6.4% annually since 2015. This is led by the US market, which alone is worth $52 billion USD.
The wellness movement recognizes the important role our built environment plays in our physical and mental wellbeing. And it represents a shift “that explicitly puts people’s wellness at the center of the conception, design, creation and redevelopment of our homes and neighborhoods” (Global Wellness Institute).
As the world begins its recovery from the pandemic, developers and designers have begun taking cues from the wellness movement to rethink the built environment for multifamily developments, with amenities being refocused to prioritize wellness. Here are some key approaches to designing amenity spaces for wellness.
1. Giving people greater flexibility to make their spaces work for them
Even before the pandemic, the world was already facing a mental health crisis due to the stress of modern life. Around 1-in-7 people globally (11-18 percent) have one or more mental or substance use disorders. These issues escalated during the pandemic. The good news is that dialogue and awareness around mental health grew as well.
Major employers like LinkedIn and Mozilla began practicing company-wide paid time off weeks to combat burnout. Some companies also extended the practice of working from home indefinitely, such as Twitter, realizing the flexibility that WFH gave employees.
The premise is simple: By allowing people greater control over their workspaces and environments, they will be happier and more productive.
Developers are taking this into account by building features that facilitate a sense of personal space for residents. This includes building in nooks for a flexible workstation either in the bedroom or living room and providing views of nature and natural light. This allows individuals to feel more personally tied to the spaces they occupy.
Shared amenities are also being rethought to provide more flexibility. Terraces, plazas, and roof gardens allow people to step away from their routines and get some fresh air and a different view. This was evidenced by the responses shared by 342 multifamily developers, designers, and contractors in Build Design + Construction’s 2021 Multifamily Amenities report. One respondent’s strategy was to “disperse amenities throughout the project rather than in one mega-amenity.” Yet another cited “proximity to parks” as a factor in future project location decisions.
2. Taking care of safety first
Many respondents in the same BD+C report said that they were updating their building plans to include:
Antibacterial countertop surfaces
Ultraviolet lamps to destroy microbes
Touchless faucets in kitchens and bathrooms
Hand-sanitizing stations in common areas
Sliding doors at the entry to the leasing office
Easily cleanable furniture
Common laundry facilities may be on their way out, with more respondents opting to install washer/dryer combos in individual units.
Another big aspect which many building developers and designers are considering in the wake of Covid-19 is healthier indoor air quality. Many reported looking into “HVAC upgrades,” “improved HVAC systems/filtration,” and “larger air purification systems.” Even for existing projects, efforts are underway to install “air-purification systems at retrofit, in amenity spaces and elevators.”
3. Integrating mind, body, and spirit
There is growing demand for building features that not only enhance human comfort, but promote a “mind, body, spirit” approach.
This includes integrating materials that reference a building’s immediate surroundings and community, providing residents with deeper connections to the world around them. This sense of belonging is a vital facet of emotional wellness.
Sustainable features are also considered desirable - not only is reducing pollution physically beneficial - it also promotes mental and spiritual wellbeing by facilitating a sense of environmental stewardship. Amenities such as gyms, bike storage, interconnecting corridors and staircases that encourage movement, and in-house healthy dining and grocery options can all contribute to wellbeing and a more sustainable building.
And in high-end developments, a new amenity trend that is starting to catch on is that of a “spiritual concierge”. This takes wellness to a whole new level and helps residents get in touch with their inner selves and foster a mind-body-spirit connection. These spiritual concierges are intended to provide services and programming that caters to those who have embraced spirituality as part of their wellbeing.
Such programming ranges from intention setting and dancing or movement workshops, sound baths, and healing ceremonies - which may or may not involve crystals, visualization and sage burning. These events also serve to bring the community together, and enhance utilization of shared, open amenity spaces in a building, such as decks, atriums, pool sides, and patios.
Ultimately, the shift towards more wellness-focused amenities is a positive one. As residents demand healthier, more serene living spaces, and as developers and designers seek to cater to those needs, more harmony is being created between the buildings we live in, the environments surrounding them, and the residents who inhabit them.