Can design make you healthier? Inside the architecture of wellness

In Cologne, Ferdinand Stahl and his uncle – architect Thomas van den Valentyn, known for his work on the renovation of the Max Ernst Museum in Brühl – have unveiled a new workspace: Valentyns. This is no ordinary office: it features lighting that mimics natural daylight, acoustic wall and ceiling panels to minimise noise, and swoon-worthy Le Corbusier and USM Haller furniture. Members have access to breath-work and yoga sessions, cold plunges, Finnish and infrared saunas, HydraFacials and IV drips. In short, Valentyns is reimagining the office as somewhere – well – pleasant, reflected in the fact that, since moving in, members have reported a 30 per cent drop in sick days. ‘We create spaces that actively support regeneration,’ says Stahl. ‘It’s not enough to eliminate stressors – we need to create spaces where stress can be discharged.’

In London, a $2 billion mixed-use development, The Round, is currently under construction. It aims to become the UK’s first to achieve the WELL Community Gold Standard – a benchmark for healthy communities. As such, it will feature more than 30,000 sq ft of wellness-focused facilities, including gyms, pools, hot/cold therapy rooms, napping pods, digital detox spaces, art therapy, and classes for breath work, meditation and movement. Buildings will be equipped with water and air filtration systems and a terrace or garden every three floors. ‘Given how much time we spend in our homes – not just living, but increasingly working – we believe that every element of the design should enhance wellbeing,’ says Jasmine Dillon, managing director and head of marketing, community and experience at developer Hines.

These projects reflect a shift sweeping through architecture and design. Wellness is big business: the Global Wellness Institute reported the market at $5.6 trillion in 2023, with growth expected to reach $8.5 trillion by 2027. Young people are largely driving the surge. McKinsey reports that while Gen Z and Millennials make up 36 per cent of the US adult population, they account for over 41 per cent of spending in the wellness sector. As a result, our built environments are starting to reflect their preferences and priorities.

‘The spaces we inhabit shape our lives in various ways. This is the principle behind neurodesign and neuroarchitecture – emerging fields that explore how our surroundings impact us psychologically and physiologically,’ says Isabelle Sjövall, a researcher in these fields and the author of Neurodesign (2016) and Designfulness (2020). ‘By making conscious design choices, we can actively improve health, cognitive performance and emotional wellbeing.’

Below, we explore some of those choices – the factors that architects need to consider when designing spaces that heal rather than harm, as well as the innovative examples of wellness design – past and present – that they might look to.

Let there be light

‘Light regulates our body clock, hormone levels and sleep. It’s one of the strongest environmental cues for the brain,’ says Sjövall. Sunlight also stimulates the body’s production of vitamin D, which supports immune, muscle and bone health. The importance of daylight is such that it’s a standard component of building certifications like LEED and WELL.

Architects looking to maximise light may use passive design methods such as orienting buildings toward the sun, and using large windows, skylights, light wells and clerestory windows. Other strategies include open-plan layouts and transparent partitions, as well as central courtyards and atriums. The Ørestad Gymnasium in Copenhagen, designed by 3XN, for example, has a completely open plan and receives daylight through a central atrium. Louis Kahn’s Kimbell Art Museum in Texas uses skylights and curved ceilings to reflect light, and Tezuka Architects’ Fuji Kindergarten in Tokyo takes on a circular shape, whereby every part is connected to the outdoors.

‘At Valentyns, all rooms receive generous daylight, even interior zones, [thanks to the use of] glass partitions and careful layout planning,’ says Stahl. Similarly, at The Round, ‘natural light is a foundational element of the design’. ‘Dual-aspect residential units and articulated office floor plates with shallow depths and generous glazing ensure deep daylight reach,’ says Kate Fletcher, director of Arup, the engineering and sustainability consultant for the development.

Lisa Sternfeld is the founder of WLLW, which collaborates with architects and developers to create health-first interiors. ‘I believe that good design can restore us every day,’ she says. ‘WLLW helps translate science into design strategies that improve how people feel in their homes.’ One of the key elements that she emphasises to her clients is natural light: ‘We guide [them] through thoughtful spatial planning, sun path awareness and material choices that help carry light through the home.’

Where natural daylight isn’t sufficient, designers can turn to tuneable LED systems or daylight simulation software. The Edge in Amsterdam, designed by PLP Architecture, has automated lighting systems that adjust based on available daylight. At The Round, ‘circadian lighting systems including UV and SAD lamps are integrated to mimic natural daylight patterns’, says Dillon.

Seeing green

Integrating natural elements into built environments is known as biophilic design, and has well-documented benefits to health. ‘Our brains are biologically attuned to nature. Exposure to greenery can lower stress hormones, improve focus and support recovery,’ says Sjövall. In 1984, healthcare design expert Roger Ulrich demonstrated that hospital patients with views of trees recovered faster than those without – data put into practice by Singapore’s Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, designed by RMJM, which employs vertical gardens and water features throughout.

Attention Restoration Theory, developed by psychologists Rachel and Stephen Kaplan, posits that modern life overburdens our directed attention. Natural environments, by contrast, engage our involuntary attention, giving the brain a break. This is the idea that informs the Amazon Spheres in Seattle – glass domes housing over 40,000 plants, designed as work and rest spaces for Amazon staff.

‘At The Round, biophilic design principles are embedded,’ says Emily Rix, a partner at Foster + Partners, the project’s architect. ‘Residential balconies, rooftop gardens, office terraces and planted atria as well as green walls and indoor planting create continuous connections to nature.’

Biophilic design can also work indirectly via the use of things like natural materials, fractal textures and nature-inspired colours, patterns and shapes. ‘Curved, organic forms are associated with safety and comfort, while sharp angles may evoke alertness or caution,’ explains Sjövall. As such, Sternfeld advises her clients to use raw wood, natural fibres and textured surfaces, adding that ‘even views of nature, such as trees, sky or water, can help’.

Life in colour

‘Colour is not just a visual preference, it’s psychological input that may influence how we feel, behave and interact,’ says Sjövall. ‘While cool, muted tones such as blue or green support relaxation and concentration, warmer colours can foster energy and social engagement.’

Google offices often employ colour psychology, with vibrant palettes in social zones and earthier tones in focus areas. Other examples of the strategic use of colour in buildings include the Vittra schools in Stockholm, designed by Rosan Bosch Studio, which follows a similar model, and BuroKade’s Dementia Village in Hogeweyk, the Netherlands, where colour schemes help reduce confusion for residents.

‘Through our customer engagement we identified a desire to move away from the glass-and-steel grey buildings that many find a little cold and unwelcoming,’ says Dillon of The Round, which opted instead for a warmer terracotta façade. Inside, ‘energising tones are introduced in social and collaborative spaces’, while ‘quieter areas such as private apartments or focused work zones feature calming palettes’.

Valentyns has also opted to foster a calming environment: ‘We use soft greens in blinds and textiles that offer subtle biophilic references, without overwhelming the mind,’ says Stahl. Similarly, Sternfeld favours ‘palettes inspired by nature’; she also considers the finish of a surface, ‘knowing that a matte finish can calm where a high-gloss surface may activate’.

Tidy space, tidy mind

Have you ever sat down to work only to be distracted by a cluttered room, unable to focus until the mess is cleared? Our brains crave order and predictability; when these are absent, we feel unsettled. Research has shown that busy spaces over-activate the prefrontal cortex, and a 2010 study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology linked clutter to higher cortisol levels.

Wellness-focused design starts with zoning – designating areas for work, rest or socialising. The Rietveld Schröder House in the Netherlands, designed by Gerrit Rietveld, demonstrates this with sliding panels that create flexible, purpose-specific spaces.

Clear sightlines and intuitive movement routes help people navigate spaces without decision fatigue, while negative, unfilled space provides mental rest. ‘Smart storage solutions and open-plan layouts reduce visual clutter and support intuitive wayfinding,’ says Rix of The Round.

This notion – that, as Stahl argues, 'when the space is clear, the mind can be clear' – is core to the architectural principle of minimalism, as exemplified in spaces such as Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House in Illinois and Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye in Connecticut.

Something in the air

Poor ventilation allows pollutants to accumulate, and can even lead to a phenomenon known as Sick Building Syndrome, where people experience health issues linked to a particular space. Natural ventilation, as well as plants and purification technologies, help flush out pollutants.

Sternfeld created WLLW after her son developed respiratory issues, which were found to be linked to her home; she ‘[begins] every project by prioritising air’, specifying ‘low-emission materials and ventilation strategies that support a steady exchange of fresh air’. The Tower at PNC Plaza in Pittsburgh, designed by Gensler, uses a solar chimney and double-skin façade to circulate air, while, in Winnipeg, Manitoba Hydro Place by KPMB Architects employs operable panels, geothermal systems and solar chimneys to provide fresh air year-round.

The ideal indoor temperature range is deemed to be 20-22°C – the maintenance of this is crucial when designing health-conscious buildings. At The Round, a ‘whole-building approach’ has been taken to thermal comfort and air quality, says Fletcher: ‘We have developed an advanced all-air underfloor displacement ventilation system that introduces clean, low-velocity air at floor level and extracts stale, warmer air at ceiling level.’

Ventilation and temperature control form the basis of tropical modernism, a climate-responsive architecture that developed in hot and humid regions. These buildings often use passive methods of cooling such as high ceilings, shaded verandas, roof overhangs and porous materials. Some of the most compelling examples include Renzo Piano’s Tjibaou Cultural Center in New Caledonia, which uses layered façades and chimney effects to draw and circulate air, and Zimbabwe’s Eastgate Centre, designed by Mick Pearce, which draws inspiration from termite mounds to regulate temperature and airflow, completely eliminating the need for conventional air conditioning.

Healthy cities

Wellbeing extends beyond individual buildings; wellness-oriented design, when applied at scale, has the power to transform communities. People thrive in environments where they can move freely and safely, where daily needs are within reach, and where spaces encourage physical activity and social interaction. These are the principles behind the ‘15-minute city’ concept, popularised by urbanist Professor Carlos Moreno (and which won him an Obel Award in 2021), which imagines cities where everything – housing, work, healthcare, education and leisure – is reachable within a 15-minute walk or bike ride.

We can see the positive impacts of such planning around the world: Copenhagen is a benchmark for pedestrian- and cyclist-first infrastructure, with 390km of bike lanes. Melbourne’s ‘Postcode 3000’ initiative transformed its Central Business District into a walkable, mixed-use environment. Utrecht, meanwhile, has successfully integrated the 15-minute model: 100 per cent of residents can reach essential services within this time.

The concept of The Round, says Rix, ‘begins with the public realm’: ‘a pedestrian-friendly setting where healthy lifestyles are encouraged’. The layout then creates ‘neighbourhoods’ of smaller clusters, which are designed to feel personal and safe. ‘Communal amenity spaces, from children’s play areas to fitness rooms, encourage connection, relaxation and healthy routines,’ she adds.

Urban wellness isn’t just about infrastructure – it’s about how spaces feel. British architect Thomas Heatherwick has spoken out against the ‘inhumanity’ of brutalist and modernist structures (notably in his 2023 book, Humanise), instead advocating for buildings that engage the senses. His own projects surprise and delight with forms that invite contemplation and interaction. Research in environmental psychology supports his ethos, says Sjövall: ‘Engaging with art and creativity is positive for mental wellbeing. Environments that support engagement or playfulness can boost resilience and mood.’

As Gen Z’s influence grows, so does the demand for humane, healthy and emotionally intelligent design. From private homes to public institutions, the architecture of the future won’t just be about function – it will be about flourishing.