Humans are innately programmed to be sensitive to their environments. It’s core to our survival and how we determine whether a place is one we want to seek out or flee.
And as any interior designer knows, an environment’s visual and felt cues can also trigger specific responses in our sympathetic nervous system. We can almost instantly sense whether a place is stress-inducing or calming, welcoming or uninviting, a threat or healing, nourishing and joyful. And this has tremendous implications on human health.
In fact, much research has shown that the physical environment can have a greater impact on health and well-being than lifestyle and genetics. But this extends well beyond the visual aesthetics of a space. Healthy material selection, sound, thermal comfort, culture, and air quality, to name a few, have become integral components of spaces designed for human health and well-being.
Considering indoor pollutant levels can be two to five times higher than outdoor levels and that we spend 90% of our time indoors, prioritizing human health in interior design has become imperative––and it’s something many designers have started to incorporate into their programming.
We’ve long perceived the impact the built environment has on humans and our well-being––evidenced by the notable movements throughout the history of architecture and design that spurred us to reevaluate the way in which environments are created. From the Arts and Crafts movement to the introduction of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), and more recently, the development of health-centered certification programs such as WELL, Fitwel, and Living Building Challenge, there’s no doubt human health and the buildings we occupy are inextricably linked.
“We’re crafting mini worlds for people to live and work in and I think that has a certain responsibility to it and we need to rise to that,” said Gala Magriñá, WELL AP, designer and principal of Gala Magriñá Design. “Our spaces are another pillar of wellness that hasn’t been recognized in the same way that exercise and food have. Once we start creating intentional spaces for people to live and work in, I think it will have a very profound impact on the world.”
Indeed, interior design goes far beyond simply creating beautiful spaces. It shapes the way humans engage with and respond to the world around them.
“There’s an opportunity for us to go deeper,” Magriñá said. “To create more than these beautiful spaces for people and really tap into the energy, and the nurturing and well-being this space can provide.”
Angie Scott, Ph.D., a director and Community Concept Lead for the WELL Building Standard at the International WELL Building Institute, agreed that it’s important for designers to understand the full breadth of well-being and how they can positively imprint spaces to contribute to overall wellness.
“Understanding how we are impacted physiologically, psychologically, spiritually, and socially in our spaces is something that is very important for us to then be able to design spaces around that for people,” she said.
While many designers intuitively pick up on the needs of their clients and the space, certification programs like LEED, WELL, Fitwell, and Living Building Challenge aim to provide frameworks to go deeper and achieve environments that are healthy, safe, sustainable, and equitable.
The WELL Building Standard (WELL) was introduced in 2014 and has become a global benchmark for promoting health and well-being in buildings. It is administered by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) and is the first standard focused exclusively on the impact buildings––and nearly everything in them––have on human comfort, health, and well-being. Think of it as a roadmap for creating and certifying that spaces enhance, rather than detract from, human health and well-being.
In 2020, after years of collecting data, the IWBI launched WELL v2 which expanded from seven to 10 major impact areas called WELL Concepts and room for innovations as well as new beta features:
Most recently, WELL also introduced an equity rating to advance inclusion in the built environment and ensure all individuals not only feel safer, but welcome, seen, and heard.
The Living Building Challenge (LBC), which was introduced in 2006 by the International Living Future Institute (ILFI), is a green building certification program and sustainable design framework. The program addresses buildings, landscapes, and infrastructure projects of all scales, and it is structured around seven petals:
Fitwel, originally created by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the General Services Administration (GSA), is a commercial building rating system that provides guidelines on designing and operating healthier buildings. It includes 55+ evidence-based policy and design strategies that address various health behaviors and risks. These strategies aim to impact Fitwel’s “Health Impact Categories” which include:
Each of these frameworks and systems includes strategies for achieving the various standards. While many will require collaboration with architects, contractors, facilities managers, and even human resources (for commercial spaces), interior designers have an integral role in incorporating many of the strategies. Broadly, some of these include:
It’s no coincidence that there is overlap between each of these systems and standards. Access to clean air and water, nourishment, nature, physical activity, and beautiful surroundings are all core to human health. But this is nothing new to interior designers. Many have been incorporating biophilic design, ergonomics and optimal lighting into their programming for decades.
But how closely are we examining the materials going into these environments? And not just from a sustainability standpoint, but from a human health standpoint. What toxins could we unknowingly be introducing into our spaces?
There are more than 85,000 chemicals registered on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) inventory of substances that fall under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), and more are introduced every year. While some chemicals and materials have contributed positive and necessary qualities to the built environment, life expectancy, health and living conditions, many come with tradeoffs.
These chemicals are making their way into common materials like adhesives, caulking, fabrics, furnishings, floor and wall coverings, and the list goes on. And over the course of a material’s lifecycle, chemicals can leach and off-gas, ending up in indoor air, dust and the human body. In fact, the CDC conducted two studies, one in 2009 in which they discovered 219 chemicals in the human body, and a follow-up in 2015 that found an additional 46 chemicals in the samples collected.
These are entering the system through three avenues: ingestion, inhalation and skin absorption. Some of these toxicants are known carcinogens, mutagens (instigating changes in the DNA of cells), and endocrine disruptors. While some have been banned, others are still in use in everyday materials. Some chemicals to be on the lookout for include:
Unearthing the chemical or ingredient makeup of certain products and materials can be a challenge, but many vendors and manufacturers have shifted toward transparency. Charlie Cichetti, LEED Fellow + WELL AP, and CEO and co-founder of Sustainable Investment Group (SIG) in Atlanta, suggests having a conversation with vendors to suss out their commitment to health and sustainability.
“If you’re talking to a vendor, provider, or business, you might get the pandemic question out of the way first,” he said. Ask, ‘How did the pandemic affect your product or your supply chain or how you produce what you produce?’. Be curious if any healthy attributes came out as a result of the pandemic. From there, ask if their facilities are LEED certified or if they’re familiar with programs like LEED, WELL, and Fitwel. It’s ok to ask if they can point out where they feel they support a healthy building or a green building project.”
As you’re specifying materials, you can check to see if the product has a Declare label or Healthy Product Declaration (HPD). Both disclose the ingredient composition of a product or building material and more brands are starting to provide them.
Of course, major movements are rarely without challenges. Beyond sourcing healthy materials, the other most common challenge––and opportunity––is educating clients and getting them on board.
“There is a lack of understanding especially when we get into the residential sector around what well-being really is for the most part,” said Dr. Scott. “But when you can bring it to their level of understanding, meaning how it can directly impact their health, that switches a light on for people. The programming phase is a perfect time to educate the clients. It’s the perfect time to understand what health issues they may have or what they’re concerned with and what goals they have for the project.”
“Steve Jobs once said, ‘People don’t know what they want until you show it to them.’ I think we have a little bit of that going on here,” said Cichetti. “It’s going to require implementing some of these healthy features, telling the story around it, letting someone experience it. Don’t just tell them the benefits. Let them experience the benefits of a healthier space.”
Interior designers play a powerful role in shaping human health, but making sure we’re creating spaces that positively impact all aspects of well-being––physical, mental, emotional, and social––is going to require peeling back the layers on the way things have always been done. It’s going to require accountability, getting curious, challenging assumptions, learning new tools, and asking questions––and who better to take on this role than interior designers?
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
