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Ahomeorashelter?
Newsletterdated:
6thJune2015
Author: Position:
OlivierRibert ManagingDirector
Morethanashelter
Ahomeismorethanjustaroofoveryourhead;itisanenvironmentinwhichpeoplelive,sleep,eat,perhapsbringupafamily,andmaybeevenwork.Assuch,itshouldbeanenvironmentthatenablesoccupantstobehealthy,comfortable,andcontended;inshortaplacewherepeoplecanthrive.
Lookinmanyestateagents’windowhoweverandcurrentlyhomesaredescribedbyvalue,age,style,numberandsizeofroomsandtheirlocation.Butrarelyarehomesdescribedintermsofhowtheymighthelpoccupantsflourishbycontributingpositivelytotheirhealthandwellbeing.
Thatmightbeabouttochange.Theideathatbehaviourcanbeinfluencedbycontextisstartingtogathermomentumbackedupbyagrowingbodyofresearchthathasidentifiedanumberofparametersthat,whenaddressedeffectivelyinahome’sdesigncanhelpimproveoccupants’healthandwellbeing.Andthereisevensomeevidencethathomesthatcontributepositivelytowellbeingcancommanda
higherprice.
Inresponse,theUKgreenBuildingCouncil(UKGBC)haslaunchedataskgrouptoexaminehealthandwellbeinginUKhomes,ledbyJoanneWheeler.Shesaysthetaskgroupwillinvestigatethemetricsavailabletoinvestigatehealthandwellbeinginhomes,aswellaslookingatthebusinesscaseforthem.Athirdworkstreamwillprovidedesignguidancetosupporthealthandwellbeing.
OnereasonforthismovetowardsamoreholisticapproachtohousingdesignisinresponsetotheWorldHealthOrganisation’s(WHO)broaddefinitionofhealthas“astateofcompletephysical,mentalandsocialwellbeingandnotmerelytheabsenceofdiseaseorinfirmity.”Inotherwords,inadditiontophysiologicalandpsychologicalwellbeingitisabouthowpeoplefunctioninsociety,whichisrelatedtotheenvironmentinwhichtheylive.
Justlikeinazoo
EnvironmentalpsychologistJudithHeerwagenusestheanalogyofzooto
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explainthenotionofenvironmentpromotingpositivehumanexperience.
Inherpaper“InvestinginPeople:theSocialBenefitsofSustainableDesign,”shedescribesthefirstzoosasbeingfocusedonkeepingagedanimalsalive.Thistheydid,buttheanimalsoftenfailedtoreproduceandfrequentlyexhibitedsignsofboredom,stressandaggression.Later,enclosuresstartedtobedesignedtoincorporatefeaturessimilartothosetheanimalswouldhaveexperiencedinthewild,whichhelpsupportananimal’sphysical,psychologicalandsocialwellbeing.Thechangeworkedandtheanimalsstartedtoflourish,somuchsothatzoosnowplayamajorroleinconservation.
Heerwagenarguesthatasimilarapproachtothatusedbyzoosshouldbeadoptedinthedesignofbuildings.Ratherthanstartwithanexternalimage,shesuggestsasustainabledesignshouldstartfromanunderstandingof“fundamentalhumanneedsandgoals.”Sheliststheseneedsas:connectiontonature;opportunityforregularexercise;senseofcommunityandbelonging;behaviouralchoiceandcontrol;meaningfulchangeandsensoryvariability;andprivacywhendesired.
5keybehaviours
ManyofthethemesHeerwagencategorisesascontributingtosustainablehumanenvironmentalignwithkeybehaviours
identifiedinthereportontheUKgovernment’sForesightMentalCapitalandWellbeingProject.Thisdescribesthefivekeybehaviourswhichhavebeenshowntorelatetoimprovedmentalwellbeing:connect;keepactive;takenotice;keeplearning;give.
Thechallengenowfordesignersanddevelopersistoaddressmanyofthesesbehaviouralneedsandgoalsinhousing
schemes.
Oneoftheleastradicalideasistoincorporatenatural,greenlandscapedintoascheme.Manyhomesincorporateagarden,butthereisabodyofresearchthatshowsjusthowimportantthisisinprovidingaconnectiontonature,orbiophiliaasitismoreproperlyknown.“Thereisalotofevidenceoftheimportanceofbiophilic
design,”Batesonsays.
OneexampleBatesoncitesisresearchbyPatrickGrahnandUlrikaAStigsdotterattheSwedishUniversityofAgriculturalSciences.Theirpaper,LandscapePlanningandStress,suggeststhatthemoreoftenapersonvisitsurbanopengreenspaces,thelessoftentheywillreportstress-relatedillnesses.Theresearchersfoundthatdistancetothepublicgreenspaceseemstobesignificantbecause“peopledonotusuallycompensateforlack
ofgreenenvironmentintheirownresidential
areawithmorevisitstopublicparks.”Evidencefromthisstudysuggeststhatgreenspacesshouldbeclosetohomesiftheyaretohavesignificantpositiveeffectsonthehealthofurbanpopulations.
Theinclusionofgreenspacesinaschemewillalsoprovidenumerousotherwellbeingbenefitsincludingprovisionofspaceforplayandexercise,andtoencouragesocialising.Consideredplantingwillincreasethe
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diversityoffloraandfauna,whichshouldencouragepeopletoengagemorewiththespace,whiletheadditionofallotmentswillincreasetheopportunitiesforexercisewhileencouragingpeopletogrowfruitandvegetables.“Designinghomessothatpeople
feelpartofthecommunityandthe
importanceofpeoples’connectionwith
naturewillformpartoftheUKGBC’sreport.”
Contactwithnaturecouldbedirect,whereahomehasaccesstoagarden,orindirectlythroughawindowwhichwillstillenableoccupantsviewsoutoftheskyandweatherand,perhaps,naturalvegetationandeventheseaoarariver.
OlivierRibertManagingDirector
