This Mental Health Awareness Week it seems pertinent to reflect on the impact of our built environment on mental health. As discussions around mental health become more prevalent and nuanced, so too must the consideration we give to the impact of our surroundings on wellness.
With recent research revealing that the majority of people living in developed countries spend 90% of their time indoors, the planning and design of our built environment has never been more important. Spending so much time inside can fundamentally alter many factors which directly contribute to maintaining good mental health and our increasingly cloistered lifestyles are contributing to worrying trends in mental ill health. It is now estimated that mental health disorders are responsible for approximately 14% of the entire world’s disease burden – and 23% of the UK’s.
According to the World Health Organization’s definition, mental health is:
“a state of well-being in which an individual realises his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community”
It is no coincidence that this is also what it takes for communities and economies to thrive.
What’s the connection?
As someone who has lived and worked in a range of environments – including an unheated house and a very dank cellar office – I can testify to the huge impact our surroundings have on wellbeing.
Health, both mental and physical, is directly impacted by environmental factors, such as:
· clean, fresh air
· exposure to natural light
· contact with green space
· thermal comfort
Health has a direct impact on productivity and economic success. In turn, productive and economically successful people, companies and societies are better placed to invest in their own and the wider environment. There is a clear cycle of wellbeing which underpins the ability to thrive at a personal, societal and global level.
This presents a huge opportunity for those in the building and construction industry to make positive, lasting contributions to public, economic and environmental health by allowing these connections to inform their planning, design and construction.
Build it and they shall thrive
From Public Health England’s evidence review on spatial planning for health, to the Royal Institute of British Architects’ (RIBA) publication Happy By Design, written by ‘The Mindful Architect’ Ben Channon and the continually developing WELL Building Standard™, there is a wealth of resources emerging to support those in the industry to seize these opportunities. Some of the design principles highlighted in these resources, such as the good provision of natural light, are already set out in planning and building regulations. Others, however, rely on the initiative of designers and developers if they are to be integrated into our built environment.
Consider, for example, the importance of providing visually pleasing or interesting building exteriors. This is not just about aesthetics: long, unchanging stretches of grey materials that extend across city blocks can cause people’s minds to dwell on negative thoughts and have a detrimental impact on mental health. Introducing an unusual, eye-catching colour, texture or design then, can help to encourage engagement with the surroundings, bringing people out of their own minds.
Similarly, the internal configuration of a building should be designed to provide flexible spaces which will enable the future users to enjoy natural interactions and seek new environments within their work or living space. Planning and design that offers access to green spaces is also vital, whether through the provision of safe, well-managed gardens or through careful orientation of buildings to facilitate visual access to greenery through office windows. In these ways, a building does more than house its occupants: it fosters a sense of community, belonging and wellbeing.
It’s also important to employ sustainable building practices in order to establish a built environment that truly contributes to wellbeing. We have already established that our own health is inextricably linked to connection and interaction with nature and so it must be recognised that caring for the natural world is self-care at its most fundamental level. How can we hope to be healthy if we don’t invest in the health of the planet that we call home?
Forethought not afterthought
Small, impactful changes in the way we think about and execute building development, from individual homes to office blocks and urban regeneration, may be vital in safeguarding the future health of the world and its people. It starts with being proactive not reactive. From designers to policymakers, planners to clients, there is a collective responsibility to recognise and utilise the benefits of building for wellbeing. Through a holistic understanding of the connections between people and places, and a commitment to improving and safeguarding the health of our planet and the people on it, we can begin to build a happier, healthier, and truly sustainable future.
