Architecture and health: how does space impact emotional well-being?
Today, August 5, is National Health Day. Our readers have already said that we need psychology to build healthy and pleasant spaces to live, that is why we investigate how the spatial experience really influences the well-being of each person, contributing to the quality of life and the reduction of mental fatigue . In other words, the spaces, in addition to working ergonomically, contribute to the physical health of the body and emotional comfort.
+ 5
Tips for designing healthier environments, such as prioritizing natural ventilation and lighting, good acoustic performance, specification of materials and furniture, is not great news for professionals in the field, but the way the psychology of space It can affect human behavior and mental health are studies that not all have explored.
In workspaces, for example, we can see that some strategies are essential for the well-being of the team. The versatility of the space and the furniture that different designs can bring give rise to creativity and can make everyday life less repetitive, improving the spatial experience of each person. Thinking that a space can provide greater isolation or interaction with others is essential for people to find the ideal place for each task they need to perform in their daily lives. In addition, aspects such as biophilia – especially how the color green, in addition to aesthetics, directly affects our spatial sensation and calms us down – or the possibility of creating outdoor areas are essential to improve the quality of space, providing more resources and efficiency to each person, as well as can directly affect their mood and health.
In addition to closed spaces, we can still focus on cities. Starting from the question of how public space is connected with mental health, we can delve into the psychology of scale to understand how the relationship between people and buildings affects society as a whole since, according to Jan Gehl, “the sensation of comfort and well-being when being in a city depends deeply on the relationships that can be created between the structure of the space and the presence of the human body ”. We also emphasize that the achievement of a healthy city goes through the relationship between urban planning and public health, without forgetting the need to think of trees as infrastructure, since studies show several benefits that vegetation offers, among which we can mention lower rates of depression, asthma, and heart disease.
