Design Principles

Every part of our built environment can be designed to maximise wellbeing and to nudge people to make healthier choices

When wellbeing design is prioritised there are many health benefits, including improved concentration, creativity and stress management.

I work with six core wellbeing design principles that encapsulate my ethos. Influenced by The WELL Building Standard™, these principles support and prioritise human wellbeing and link to the wider movement towards limiting our impact on our beautiful planet.

In partnership with my clients, I work to help integrate a wellbeing approach into their interiors, buildings or community projects.

Wellbeing Design Principles

  • To support our physical bodies we need the essentials; to breathe clean air, drink pure water; light that supports our natural rhythms and ergonomic spaces designed to optimise healthy eating and opportunities for movement.

  • As our disconnection increases so our mental and emotional health must be supported. Design strategies that can help create a clearer mind are explored, including access to nature, acoustics, stress and sleep support, and restorative time and spaces.

  • When mind and body are in balance, we find a place of harmony for the soul. An uplifting and harmonious connection with a space is supported through aesthetic elements such as proportion, natural materials, use of colour, textures and symbolism.

  • Our deep connection with nature must be respected and nurtured to assure the benefits it brings us. In design, this calls to the principles of biophilia to bring our biological need for natural spaces into our buildings. Limiting impacts on natural resources through sustainable and non-toxic materials and measures such as energy and water saving are also vital considerations.

  • Community is part of living with purpose. Wellbeing design allows us to provide opportunities to increase a sense of connection between people within homes, workspaces, co-working spaces and increasingly co-living spaces. The use of art and culture can help support this goal.

  • Radical change to our systems is needed to tackle the ecological issues faced by our planet. Making sustainable and ethical choices in design is a priority, along with the urgent need to improve the efficiency and health of our buildings. Collaborating with and supporting people, groups and businesses with these common aims is at the core of my ethos.