Towards an architecture for wellbeing

Rice, Louis; Sara, Rachel

Abstract

Architectural design can have profound implications on human health and planetary wellbeing. The built environment is currently one of the most important determinants of health and wellbeing. As human health comprises of physical, mental and social aspects, it is vital that the design of buildings addresses each of these aspects holistically with a framework for planetary health. The research explores how values and principles for architectural design are coproduced in order to facilitate wellbeing for all users. Many countries worldwide are already pursuing ‘Healthy City’ policies to align public health aspirations with built environment strategies and this research pursues this specifically for the architecture profession. The research uses an interdisciplinary design-research methodology to examine the fields of health and architecture in order to develop a framework for designing, making and shaping architectural environments in order to improve and promote human and planetary wellbeing. This emerging framework sets out the theoretical principles of healthier architectural design strategies through analysis of empirical and evidence-based research. The research then uses this framework to elaborate a roadmap towards an architecture of wellbeing.

Citation

Rice, L., & Sara, R. (2020). Towards an architecture for wellbeing. In 7th International Conference on Sustainable Architecture and Built Environment Proceedings. , (75-85)

• Conference Name: 7th International Conference on Sustainable Architecture and Built Environment
• Conference Location: Tokyo, Japan
• Start Date: Apr 7, 2020
• End Date: Apr 9, 2020
• Acceptance Date: Apr 30, 2020
• Publication Date: May 31, 2020
• Deposit Date: Jun 11, 2020
• Pages: 75-85
• Book Title: 7th International Conference on Sustainable Architecture and Built Environment Proceedings
• ISBN: 978-3-9820-758-5-3
• Keywords: Wellbeing; architecture; sustainability; ecology; health
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/6017264