Workplace Wellness Design is essential and paramount. Why does work seem stressful in an office space and less exhausting when you work from home? The answer to it is the comfort of your home and the space setting.

Numerous factors influence our minds, from the chairs we use at work to the colour of the walls. Workplace environment and human well-being go hand in hand. We spend most time of our lives at work, dealing with deadlines and stress. It is believed that a workspace determines our health status. How do we define and create a livable and nurturing office environment? Let us explore the entirety of office architecture and mental health and the role it plays in influencing the workplace milieu.

Impact of Architecture on Workplace Well-Being

Stressful or pleasant, a workplace milieu has a significant impact on our overall health. Therefore, a healthy and positive working environment should be encouraged to ensure a genial and stress-free workplace culture.

The efficacy of a healthy work environment design is unambiguous. If an office space is curated with tailored designs by incorporating elements that are necessary for our well-being, it can have tremendous benefits by improving productivity and nurturing well-being. Integration of natural elements plays a crucial role in shaping the quality of space. Let’s begin with the basic elements like natural light, ventilation, and temperature, and incorporating plants through architecture enhances the quality of space. 

In today?s digital era of modernism and innovation, spaces have become more inward in approach, with the integration of modern features like artificial light and ventilation devices, temperature control, and a lot more. Hence, Deliberation of employee well-being in office design is indispensable. Let’s take a glance at how to incorporate natural elements into modern spaces and transform them into more habitable spaces.

Integration of Natural Elements into Modern Office Spaces

All living beings have been created to live in the natural setting of the earth. Modernism seems to confine humans within the maze of technology and artificiality. For instance, ample natural light can be added to the room by adding adequate windows, or skylights to help in minimizing the use of artificial lighting. Similarly allowing natural ventilation through appropriate circulation of fresh air helps in reducing the use of artificial ventilation techniques. Moreover, a sustainable technique of adding a green touch to the spaces by the use of plants can not only purify the air within the space but also significantly boost a person’s mood and productivity.  

Use of Ergonomic Furniture in Workspace

Another challenge that affects the working of the employees is comfort. An employee must be physically comfortable in their workspace. Uncomfortable chairs and inappropriate desk heights can lead to back aches and other physical discomforts. Ergonomic furniture is designed according to posture and body proportions. Incorporating ergonomic furniture like standing desks, adjustable chairs, armrests, and footrests reduces fatigue. It has numerous benefits and allows for comfort for the employee while sitting for long hours. It is one of the unique and essential ways of creating a productive and happier office space for employee wellness.

Biophilic Design and Workplace Well-Being

Biophilic design is the contemporary concept of bridging the gap between humans and nature by adding natural elements like sunlight, water, and various plants to the built space. Creating office spaces with the concept of biophilic design creates a genial and nurturing environment with the workspaces. Being surrounded by nature has enumerable and evident benefits like improved brain functioning, and creativity, and most importantly, it helps with stress management. To elaborate more, biophilic design features like exposure to sunlight, and the use of various plant species significantly improve the air quality of the space by using air-purifying plants that release oxygen. Another benefit is that it also helps in temperature control ultimately reducing power consumption. Ergo, Biophilic Design is a revolutionary method that can not only promote sustainability but also transform an office into a healthy working atmosphere. 

WELL-Led Design, 301 Grand

An interesting example of a workplace design for well-being is the WELL-Led Design at 301 Grand, in Des Moines, in the city of Iowa, United States. The firm believes in understanding the sense of workspace and designing accordingly, wherein people would stay physically, mentally, and emotionally happy and content. This is a renovation project by the RDG Planning and Design Office.

The design is a blend of indoor and outdoor spaces with flexibility in usage that encourages a focused and collaborative environment. The outdoor spaces like The Courtyard provide ample light for informal working. A living wall connects the employees with nature. Whereas, the indoor space named The Parlour is a quiet space for ruminative assignments and tasks. Spaces at 301 Grand are designed in a little contrast with the modern office spaces. The office design sets a semi-industrial tone with its theme. The rawness of the exposed brick walls and wooden members with the greens of nature adds a character to it. Overall, workplace design truly promotes and fosters a healthy and happy sense of well-being.

Consciously designed built environments can attain an amiable and healthy atmosphere beneficial for our well-being. Architecture has the potential to govern the environment of any space, thereby modulating human behaviour and well-being. Workspace atmosphere plays a rudimentary part in our broader well-being. The architectural impact on workplace well-being is conspicuous. The amalgamation of modernism with nature is crucial for achieving a pleasant working environment, resulting in superior health and well-being. So, how do you evaluate your workplace, and what would you like your workspace to be like? Give a thought to it. 

Sources

• https://www.haiken.com/insights/organic-office-spaces-enhancing-wellbeing-with-natural-elements
• https://www.imageworksci.com/blog/benefits-ergonomic-office-furniture/
• https://greenkin.in/blogs/plant-talk/what-are-the-benefits-of-biophilic-design-in-workplace#:~:text=workplace%20such%20as%3A-,Plants%20%26%20other%20forms%20of%20greenery%20are%20examples%20of%20biophilic%20design,get%20involved%20with%20their%20work.
• https://www.daylightandarchitecture.com/architecture-for-well-being-and-health/
• https://rdgusa.com/news/well-design-series-a-case-study-in-well-workplace-design