Why Wellness Architecture Is on the Rise

Most buildings weren’t designed with your wellbeing in mind—that’s changing.

Architecture has long shaped how we live and connect—but its link to wellness only came into focus in recent years, pushed by the pandemic. By 2022, World Architecture Day‘s theme was ‘Architecture for well-being,’ giving rise to a new idea: ‘wellness architecture.’

ArchDaily (2022) describes wellness architecture as consisting of:

• Building design which supports the health of the environment and the inhabitants of the building
• Optimized lighting and accessibility
• Sustainable and non-toxic building materials
• Stimulation of outdoor environments
• Alleviation of stress through design
• Meaningfulness of spaces

Rediscovering the balcony

One space which was practically rediscovered during the pandemic was the balcony. The reduced pollution and noise from the lockdowns enabled residents to gather together on balconies safely, making the most of the outdoors available to them. As life resumed to its normal pace, however, residents retreated back to the inside of their homes, where the sensory load was deemed to be more bearable.

This brought to light an important question: How can balconies be redeveloped to support architectural wellness, even outside the pandemic? The balcony holds great untapped potential, and retractable balcony glazing has stepped up to provide a solution. If only balconies were more usable and limited in exposure to pollution and noise, it is clear that inhabitants would be making better use of them.

Its comfort, its enjoyment, its security, its safety… it’s a really great environment. The retractability of the glazing also enables the full embracing of nature when the weather is favorable. Residents can easily adjust the balcony environment to be in alignment with the sensory load coming in from the outside.

Ted Kesik, Professor of Building Science at the University of Toronto

Architectural Wellness and Glazed Balconies

When revisiting the constituents of architectural wellness, the connection to glazed balconies is clear.

• Balconies support the health of the environment by acting as a buffer zone, and thus providing energy savings to the building—at the same time, the inhabitants enjoy additional usable space
• Lighting is optimized through seamless design, protecting from the whims of the weather while allowing for the maximization of natural light
• Glazed balcony spaces support accessibility by giving those with limited mobility easy access to the outdoors, whilst also creating a safe space for pets and children
• Aluminium and glass are recyclable materials with a long lifetime
• Nature is literally brought “into the home” with the transparency of the glass design, the retractability of the glazing providing opportunity to access surrounding nature fully. The glazing also significantly extends the growing season of plants, providing plenty of opportunity for the creation of “green spaces”, often recognized to aid in the reduction of stress levels
• Lumon’s glazed spaces provide opportunity to spend more time on balconies, and to create more meaningful moments by expanding the usability of the home

Incorporate Wellness Architecture Into Your Work

We know how much wellness brings any project to life, and that it comes from all sorts of corners of inspiration.

Lumon’s retractable balcony glazing is a practical, proven way to bring architectural wellness into your next project, creating spaces that genuinely support how people live. Whether you’re designing from the ground up or reimagining an existing building, we’d love to hear about your project and explore how glazed balcony spaces can bring it to life.

See our portfolio of work, or get in touch here; we’d love to learn more about your project and how we can best support.