WELL + Mindfulness

by Ariana Martinez, WELL AP

The Charlie Greene Studio team has been spending time pouring over the resources that have recently become available to us. We have been working hard to navigate the barrage of all the newest post-pandemic technologies. Information evolves by the hour, and nothing is certain. We are staying well-informed and looking with cautious optimism into the times to come.

But, I’ve got to be honest, it’s overwhelming. I leave webinars and Zoom panel discussions feeling isolated beyond shelter-in-place orders. Does the necessity of clean-ability negate inspired design? Topics like risk assessment of interior spaces, antimicrobial surfaces, taller furniture panels, re-training facilities teams. As we use this time to prepare and educate ourselves about protecting against the virus I continue to ask myself, how will the “new normal” makes us feel?

Mindfulness. Our society is currently hyper-focused on this concept as we all learn how to maneuver through our new lives. But I believe there should be a larger conversation around mindfulness as it relates to designing interior spaces post-COVID. After participating in numerous webinars, I came across one that left me feeling hopeful and inspired for the future. The webcast is called Places Matter for Mental Resilience; it’s part of series called Places Matter hosted by IWBI. Dr. Dan Siegal described the importance of being in a state of mindful awareness to effectively process the various emotions we are experiencing. He summarized mental presence by sharing the acronym COAL: curiosity, openness, acceptance and love. By being curious about a situation (or space), it removes distraction and allows us to focus our attention on what’s happening in front of us therefore creating a sense of openness and acceptance. Only then can we react with love and compassion.

I find comfort thinking about what we can learn from the last few weeks and the changes we can make to improve the future of design. Our team has been referencing guidelines from WELL’s ‘Mind Concept’ so that we can begin to use these tools as best practice. The ‘Mind Concept’ addresses mental health by offering access to restorative spaces, providing quarterly programs for mental health education, training courses for mindfulness practices and policies to help occupants reduce stress while improving sleep quality and productivity. These tools should begin to shape the “new normal” but we should continue to challenge ourselves to deliver thoughtfully designed spaces that go beyond the current WELL requirements. We should be considering how people feel while they’re in spaces we design: joyous, connected, honored, empowered… and safe. How do we make people feel protected from a virus, even while designing space to physically protect them?

As our team prepares for the future by studying quantitative protective measures, we aren’t forgetting who we are at our core. We are storytellers who create spaces for the human experience. There is no doubt that COVID will have a lasting effect on humans and their emotions. With so many us working in a built environment, designers can’t forget the importance of interior spaces that are empathetic to users, that support mental health, and that nurture the people who inhabit them. Design in a post-COVID world should be more human than ever.