What is Salutogenic Design?

Salutogenic (pronounced "sah-loo-toe-JEN-ick") design is an evidence-based design strategy focused on enhancing human health and wellness. Simply put, the way sustainable design looks at how a building impacts the outside environment, salutogenic design looks at how a building impacts its inhabitants: one looks outside, the other looks inside, but both strive to create healthy environments.

DEFINING SALUTOGENIC DESIGN: ORIGINS & PRINCIPLES

Salutogenic Design Framework, which begins with "SENSE OF COHERENCE IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT" then branches into COMPREHENSIBILITY (sub-branches: employee involvement, and legibility of environment), MANAGEABILITY (sub-branches into social cohesion, biophilic design, and physical activity), and MEANINGFULNESS (sub-branches into personalization and organizational branding)

Biophilic design is the most popular feature of the salutogenic design framework for lowering stress in the built environment. This tactical solution is derived from the term "biophilia," the theory -- supported by over 24,000 peer-reviewed studies -- that humans have an innate connection to nature. In turn, "biophilic design" is design that relates, in specific and well-defined ways, to nature. This is most commonly applied to architecture and interior design, but can also extend to landscape architecture with related fields (such as biomimicry) that extend far beyond.

Decades of scientific and medical research demonstrate the profound effects nature and the built environment have on human psychology and physiology. Leveraging this research, salutogenic strategies and biophilic design solutions have been proven to:

EVIDENCE-BASED DESIGN & THE ROLE OF BIOPHILIC DESIGN

"Salutogenesis," the science of health and the etymological root of salutogenic design, was a new theory turned paradigm-shifting approach to medicine introduced by Aaron Antonovsky in the late 1970s and widely respected today: salutogenesis focuses on adding factors that support human health, as opposed to simply subtracting factors that cause disease. Applied to architecture and the built environment, salutogenic design is the strategy that adds factors demonstrated to improve inhabitant well-being into the design of places.

Similar to sustainable design, salutogenic design is a strategy widely applicable across different occupied building types in essentially every sector: workplaces, residences, institutions, retail, community centers, etc. Implementing salutogenic design is demonstrated to increase employee productivity and creativity by 15%, increase sales by 40%, and deliver a 16000% return on investment (ROI). Additionally:

In the HEALTHCARE sector, salutogenic design strategies are demonstrated to reduce surgery patients' recovery time, reduce patient requests for pain medication, and substantially lower hospital costs
In the EDUCATION sector, incorporating salutogenic design consistently improves students' learning rates and test scores. This strategy is applicable across all sectors, business types, and person-occupied environments
In the GOVERNMENT sector, salutogenic design strategies have been shown to dramatically increase morale, reduce stress, and make employees feel more valued. Read more about this sector here.
In the ASTRONAUTICS sector, salutogenic design and neuroarchitecture are critical to support longterm human settlements off-Earth (including lunar, Martian, and orbital habitats) and human deep-space exploration. Read more about this sector here.

While there are numerous ways to successfully integrate salutogenic and/or biophilic design into a space, effective solutions will be determined by numerous context variables, from overall architecture, spatial programming/usage, and restrictions to desired well-being or performance impacts on occupants. Context always plays a vital role: this is a basic tenant of architecture. When successfully considered, we may feel this (more than consciously observe it) as we experience a space; by contrast, it's much more obvious when there is no regard for context on a project (e.g., apartment windows installed three feet away from an opposing brick wall, or a dropped-in break room that's out of the way and inconvenient to get to).

With this in mind, the tactical solutions to implement salutogenic and biophilic design are not universal. The solution set for one building --- or even one room within a building --- cannot be blindly duplicated to achieve the same well-being results elsewhere: every salutogenic and biophilic design integration requires deliberate design decisions based on variable contextual factors.

For more information on salutogenic design, the following resources are recommended:

◆ Improving Health in the Military and Beyond Using Salutogenic Design by Stephanie Brick

The groundbreaking, peer-reviewed treatise presenting salutogenic design as Mission-critical architecture to improve the health and well-being of military service members (available open access). Also reviews:

⬦ Relationship between sustainable design and salutogenic design

⬦ Detailed ROI, including financial deficiencies of poor well-being

⬦ Supporting global building standards and crosswalks

⬦ Cross-sector parallels and applicability

◆ The Washington Post: Salutogenic Design by Stephanie Brick

A homeowner's guide to how the design of your home can improve your health and well-being

◆ The Handbook of Salutogenesis by M.B. Mittelmark, S. Sagy, M. Eriksson, et al.

A deep-dive survey of the salutogenic model, from its development to central concepts to real-world application

◆ The Economics of Biophilia and The 14 Patterns of Biophilic Design by Terrapin Bright Green

Excellent resources detailing the financial benefits of biophilic design to businesses, hospitals, schools, and more, as well as an easy-to-read review of the 14 patterns that define biophilic design

◆ WELL Building Standard by the IWBI Institute

The landmark, evidence-based standard that codifies designing for people's health and well-being within the built environment. Recommended reading: the "Overview" of each section (via iconography on the left).

◆ The International Academy of Design for Health (IADH) founded by Dr. Alan Dilani

A leading, global, interdisciplinary open-knowledge community dedicated to the stimulation and application of research concerning the interaction between design, health, science, and culture

◆ The Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture (ANFA)

Non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the use of neuro- and cognitive science to better design the built environment

◆ Improve stress recovery rates

◆ Lower blood pressure

◆ Lower cortisol (stress) levels

◆ Improve cognitive functions and mental clarity

◆ Increase learning rates

◆ Induce calm

◆ Decrease violence and criminal activity

◆ Elevate moods

◆ Increase productivity

◆ Decrease anxiety

◆ Enhance mental stamina and focus

◆ Speed up illness recovery time

NOT ALL PROJECTS ARE ALIKE: WHERE TO APPLY SALUTOGENIC DESIGN & ROI

A STRATEGY OF NEUROARCHITECTURE: HOW TO DESIGN HEALTHY BUILDINGS & ARCHITECTURE FOR WELL-BEING

Salutogenic design is an evidence-based design strategy. "Evidence-based" is not just a buzzword, though: neuroarchitecture --- the study of how the brain reacts to the built environment --- is the scientific engine driving the salutogenic design strategy.

The fundamental premise of salutogenic design is to create healthy environments that support a sense of coherence (SOC). As seen in the framework below (developed, as an example, for office environments), this is achieved by taking a three-pronged approach:

Designing for comprehensibility - the purpose of an environment should be recognizable and easy to understand
Designing for meaningfulness - you feel a connection to and purpose in the environment
Designing for manageability - your ability to manage stress in the environment

ADDITIONAL RESEARCH & RESOURCES

To learn about applying these principles through five critical lenses, read about Salutogenic Design & Consulting Group's PRISM framework.

GLOBAL SPEAKING EVENTS & EXPERT CONSULTING

Principles and concepts alone rarely drive change. Changing paradigms in the built environment requires design expertise, effective communication strategies with stakeholders, documented project success, and providing effective tools and resources to train technical staff.

As a leading authority on building resiliency through the design of interior spaces, especially in extreme built environments, expert Stephanie Brick is a licensed architect and industry veteran of designing high-stress spaces to improve well-being. Further, Ms. Brick has led teams and trainings, run workshops, written building standards, successfully piloted ground-breaking solutions, and lectured on salutogenic design to thousands of people across dozens of venues, from exclusive stakeholder seminars to internationally broadcast forums. For more information, including a list of recent talks, please visit the Consulting page.