Getting Personal - Why I Practice Wellness-Centered Design
Wellness-Centered Design, a Personal Odyssey
Despite all the technical skill, and rigorous analysis required to design a building, at the end of the day the work of an architect is always deeply personal. That’s particularly true for me, as a practitioner of wellness-centered design.
This article will be perhaps a bit more personal than most, but I want to respond to an often asked question; “Why do I choose to practice wellness-centered design?”
Architectural Beginnings
My journey toward becoming an architect began quite early; as a matter of fact, for as long as I can remember I have always been fascinated with construction and design. Like many other architects I liked to play with legos as a child, and my parents tell me that even as a toddler I was fascinated by construction equipment and construction sites.
I also vividly remember visiting downtown Chicago as a child and being fascinated by all the incredible skyscrapers and other buildings that I would see as my parents ran errands. Even today, I still marvel at their scale and presence and remember my childhood fascination and curiosity.
It’s not surprising then that this curiosity blossomed into a profession when I decided to become an architect and completed my undergraduate studies in architecture at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and my later my Master’s at Princeton University.
Emerging Convictions in Wellness
After graduation I had the opportunity to begin my career at a pair of exceptional architectural practices in Northwest Arkansas, a growing region with a passion for design, and the home of such architectural luminaries as Fay Jones and Marlon Blackwell.
Those years were formative for me as over the years I gained experience, confidence, and started to develop my own ideas about architecture and its impact on how we live, feel, and experience the world around us. I began to reflect, in particular, on how choices we made in the architecture studio impacted the health and wellbeing of our clients.
This reflection didn’t come out of nowhere, in fact, I was already primed to think this way as a result of my family upbringing. As it happens, almost all of my family members, including both my parents, worked in healthcare. Dinner-time conversations often revolved around health and wellness topics, including the importance of prevention and good health habits and lifestyle. In many ways, I feel that in practicing wellness-centered architecture, I am contributing to this family legacy, albeit through architecture instead of medicine.
A Personal Challenge
My understanding of wellness deepened when a family member was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease, which put all these thoughts in stark relief.
I began to think even more critically about diet and exercise, but also about our homes. I started to see how every aspect of our environment can either support or undermine our health. I began to think differently about what “good design” really means. Beauty and craft are of course essential, but so is wellness. A beautiful home that compromises its occupants’ health isn’t good design; rather it’s a missed opportunity.
Practicing Wellness
At KLPOA, I’ve built my practice around this mission. Wellness-Centered Design is about crafting spaces that support the whole person and their health; physical, emotional, and mental. Every project starts with the question; “how can this design be not only beautiful, but also contribute to our client’s total flourishing and wellbeing?”
Sometimes that means simple strategies like fresh-air systems that actually deliver outdoor air, high-efficiency filters that capture pollutants, or layouts that allow for natural cross-ventilation. Other times, it’s about light that works with our body’s natural rhythms instead of disrupting them, or designing around acoustics and providing peace and quiet for our clients needing to unwind at the end of a long day.
Over time, I’ve come to see wellness-centered architecture as both my professional niche and personal mission. It’s a way of extending the healthcare mindset I grew up around into the built environment and my chosen profession.
Continuing the Conviction
For me, this isn’t just a theory or trend. It comes from family, experience and conviction. It’s a belief that architecture, when done thoughtfully, can be one of the most powerful tools for living well.
If you share and resonate with these convictions, I hope you’ll allow me to join you on the journey of designing or renovating your home. It would be an honor to walk with you and help you create a place that empowers you to live your best possible life.