| Designers
are Motivators |
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In a world of 400 million obese and 1.6 billion overweight
adults, interior designers - perhaps as much as
nutritionists or doctors - can encourage physical activity
and, in turn, healthy lifestyles.
By Jan Stone
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Photography by Martin Rietze/Getty Images |
Could something as seemingly simple as a well-placed, alluring staircase
save a life? Many interior designers are finding that an invaluable
solution to one of the world's largest problems may be as straightforward
as convincing people to opt for a flight of stairs over an elevator.
Joan Blumenfeld, IIDA, FAIA, LEED AP, Principal at Perkins + Will in
New York, considers a well-situated stairwell perhaps the single most
obvious way in which a designer can help stem the obesity epidemic,
which causes diseases of the heart, lungs and circulatory systems, as
well as a host of other illnesses.
Of course, it's not just staircases that can help reverse the obesity trend.
From creating collaborative work environments that encourage constant
movement to allowing for plentiful daylight access, interior designers
can have a direct positive impact on public health and well-being.
According to the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Institute of
Medicine report, Does the Built Environment Influence Physical
Activity?, "the available empirical evidence shows an association
between the built environment and physical activity. . Those responsible
for the design and construction of residences, developments and
supporting transportation infrastructure should be encouraged to provide
more activity-friendly environments."
The need for interior designers to step up to the plate is great and
immediate. "Designers have a unique opportunity to address the obesity
problem through identifying and creating aspects of the workplace,
homes, schools, and urban and community plans that promote a
healthier lifestyle," says Michael I. Goran, Ph.D., Professor at the
University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine and
Director of USC's Childhood Obesity Research Center.
Costs of the epidemic vary. But an
October 2007 study from the Milken
Institute, led by former Surgeon
General Richard H. Carmona, estimates
the total U.S. economic
impact, calculated on the cost of preventable
chronic diseases, at $1.3
trillion annually; $1.1 trillion of that
represents lost productivity costs.
In Europe, the World Health
Organization reports, adult obesity
accounts for as much as 6 percent of
direct health costs.
So what's behind it all? "Over the
past half century or longer, major
technological innovations - automation
and the consequent decline of
physically active occupations, laborsaving
devices in the home and
dominance of the automobile for
personal travel - have substantially
reduced the physical requirements of
daily life," the TRB Institute of
Medicine report says.
But the report goes on to say that
efforts to reverse the epidemic require
interdisciplinary, international collaboration
to leverage the expertise of the
architecture and design, public health,
physical activity, urban planning and
transportation research communities,
among others.
Fortunately, a staggering number
of international groups are working
to stem the epidemic, including many professional design associations such
as IIDA, AIA, AAHID and ASID.
IIDA's Healthcare Forum, for
instance, is designed specifically to
address pressing health-related
issues such as obesity. It does so
through Webinars and collaboration
with other organizations. Linda
Gabel, IIDA, AAHID, IIDA Healthcare
Forum Advisor, has also hosted a
series of programs to address the
bariatric population and their specific
needs in this regard. AIA's New York
Chapter, of which Blumenfeld was
2007 president, conducts annual programs
such as 2007's Fit-City 2:
Promoting Physical Activity Through
Design, which brought together academia,
government, USGBC, IIDA and
others to discuss issues.
Many other groups have programs
in conjunction with researchers at
colleges and universities, where
grants are given by various private
and government entities. The first
global alliance united solely to
address obesity prevention is the International Association for the
Study of Obesity (IASO). It consists
of five principal medical nongovernmental
organizations formally
linked to the World Health Organization:
the World Heart Federation,
the International Diabetes Federation,
the International Pediatric Association,
the International Union of
Nutritional Sciences and IASO itself.
The interior design community
is poised to take on one of the
largest leadership roles in its history,
as it works to ensure all of these
research results are put into action
with solutions.
RESPONDING WITH SOLUTIONS
Blumenfeld insists strong advocacy
positions are critical. "As designers,
we have the ability to proselytize,
and we must make every effort to do
so. When you reach into the built
environment, you affect lots of people,"
she says. "It's a great way for
any business, school, municipality or
healthcare facility to communicate to
staff that the powers-that-be care
about their employees' health."
She put these principles to
practice in a number of ways as
President of AIA's New York
Chapter, literally changing New
York City's City Hall. Blumenfeld
wrote a letter, co-signed by IIDA, to Mayor Michael Bloomberg suggesting
he integrate the healthful
interior designs of his corporate
offices into city buildings. "He and
his office embrace the notions,"
she says. "He advocates transparency
in government, and he literally
created that transparency
[through design]."
At City Hall, walls came down
and, where necessary, were
replaced with glass, providing light
access and transparency for
employees. The mayor sits in a
workstation surrounded by more
than 50 employees, also in workstations
instead of behind closed
doors, making it difficult to be
sedentary. "Workstations make it
easier to communicate,"
Blumenfeld says.
Blumenfeld also worked with
New York's Department of
Construction and Administrative
Services (DCAS) to arrange a symposium
to highlight the importance of
high-performance, sustainable and
healthful Interior Design. Besides
final decision-makers, many DCAS
staffers responsible for procuring
product and services are also encouraged
to attend. "Though we know
municipal processes are slow to
change, giving information to DCAS
staffers about some things they can
easily affect - knowing about the chemicals in paints, materials used
in furnishings - can make a difference
toward providing a healthier
environment," Blumenfeld says.
GET MOVING
Simply getting people up and walking
is a great start, says Gabel, Senior
Associate at NBBJ in Columbus, Ohio.
"We, as socially responsible interior
designers, need to be thinking of experiential
ways to get the population
moving," she says. "Providing pleasant
stairwells and walking routes so the
journey is part of the experience is
one way. Big landings can become
places where people connect."
USC's Goran says designers
should "plan spaces and buildings
that integrate physical activity into
their utility, thus enabling users to
be more physically active in an
enjoyable way." Interior designers
can provide incentives for end-users
to get up and move. "Examples could
be placing elevators at the end of
the hallway instead of the beginning,
requiring users to walk past interesting building features or artwork,
or designing parking lots further
from the entrance but incorporating
some attractive landscaping," he says.
The Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC), through its
"StairWELL to Better Health" initiative,
found solid numbers linking
design and physical activity. A team
transformed grungy stairwells located
near elevators in the Rhodes Building
in Atlanta. They incorporated brightly
colored paint, framed artwork depicting
people being active, carpeting,
strategically placed motivational signage
and background music.
Of the building's 554 permanent
employees, there was nearly a 9 percent
increase in stairwell usage.
"That may not seem like a lot of people,
but when you consider such an
increase nationwide, that's a lot more
active people," says Tim Hensley,
Media Relations for the CDC's
Division of Nutrition, Physical
Activity and Obesity. "It's been successful
enough that we're going
nationwide with it."
But Gabel suggests interior
designers think beyond increasing
walkability and mobility. "Normalizing
biorhythms can't be
overlooked either; therefore,
access to natural daylight plays a
huge role," she says. "It helps decrease depression, known to
cause overeating, and maintains
healthy circadian cycles. Providing
a long view of the exterior world, not
just three feet in front of someone,
helps body rhythms stay healthier and
enables better sleep. Individuals more
rested are less likely to eat poorly."
Change brought on by interior
designers can't happen fast enough,
especially considering the CDC obesity
map, says Craig Zimring, Ph.D.,
Environmental Psychologist and
Professor of Architecture at Georgia
Institute of Technology, who has spent
his career studying the integration of
physical activity into daily routines.
Change brought on by interior
designers can't happen fast enough,
especially considering the CDC obesity map, says Craig Zimring, Ph.D.,
Environmental Psychologist and
Professor of Architecture at Georgia
Institute of Technology, who has spent
his career studying the integration of
physical activity into daily routines.
According to the CDC, no U.S. state
reported an adult obesity rate of 20
percent or more in 1996. Compare
that to 2006, when just four states —
Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii and
Massachusetts — reported less than a
20-percent obesity rate. That year, the
latest with available data, two states,
Mississippi and West Virginia, had
obesity rates of more than 30 percent.
"But there is hope. "When designers
are conscious of their decisions, especially
the evidence linking design to
health and behavior outcomes, the
results are significant, be it on an
urban scale or at home or in the
office," Zimring says. Adds James A.
Levine, M.D., Ph.D., of the Mayo Clinic
in Rochester, Minn., "We've got to stop
discouraging people from working on
being healthy wherever they can. So
many work two jobs, have a family to
support and no time or money to go to
a gym. Why shouldn't we make the
workplace healthier?"
When Giselle Newman Young, IIDA, ASID, first
conceived in the '90s the idea for interior design and
architecture firm Environments in Life, her goal
was to create a vehicle to put research into action -
designing healthful environments, primarily in the healthcare, corporate and hospitality
industries. "As designers, we know obesity is an epidemic," says the Nashville, Tenn.-
based designer. "And we can't just satisfy the problem, we must help solve it."
 Newman Young is passionate about incorporating design measures to curb the overweight/
obesity problem. "It's too easy for some designers to give into the 'big boys,' the
ones who want the fast-food restaurant in their lobby because it'll pay big dollars per
square foot," she says. "If our role is to educate, we have to be willing to stand up to
decision-makers to make choices for healthier lifestyles and buy into wellness first."
She believes in creating environments where it is more pleasant to walk a short distance
and use stairs instead of an elevator. Interior Design, she says, involves these
issues as much as sustainability or any other hot-button issue. The key is to participate
in the construction process early on.
"We've got to get involved during the master-plan process, along with the developer.
Or we've got to present enough compelling information when we get involved to get
clients to change plans if they aren't supporting a healthy lifestyle," Newman Young says.
One project her firm is working on is a mixed-use medical complex in Somerset, Ky.
One project her firm is working on is a mixed-use medical complex in Somerset, Ky.
The client wants the campus to represent healthful surroundings. The paths to different
buildings encourage getting a breath of fresh air instead of trying to find the closest
parking space. Newman Young's team incorporated quaint brick streets and designed
facilities a good walking distance from one to another.
The interiors interact with the outdoors as much as possible. "We're using windows
to bring the outside in, so people have a nice, long view. We try to design our corridors
with windows," Newman Young says. She also strategically places non-egress stairwells.
"The stairwells are more visible than the elevator where we can do so to encourage
their use," she says. "We've also designed areas a level up so people will take the stairs.
There's a respite area on the second floor of one building for the workers. There's a
library, but it's not on the first floor either."
With this particular client, Newman Young took her own advice. "I knew this doctor
was eventually going to need bigger facilities. I'd send information about different
healthy options as it became available. When he was ready to move, he called me in
along with the developer," she says. "That's how I get my work. I keep talking about the
importance of this issue."
Spreading the word about the problem and what interior designers can do to solve it,
she says, is crucial. "It's all about education. We have to keep talking, giving information
to the public and our clients and prospects," she adds. "We have a huge responsibility."
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Interior designers alone can't improve
public health. Product designers, the medical community
and others also are working to find solutions to overweight and obesity
problems.
One such example is the Walkstation, the brainchild of Grand Rapids,
Mich.-based office furniture company Steelcase's Details division and the
Mayo Clinic's James A. Levine, M.D., Ph.D. This height-adjustable workstation
with an integrated treadmill was created to improve the daily habits of
sedentary workers. It allows users to walk on the treadmill, type on a keyboard
and view a monitor simultaneously.
Levine, Endocrinologist and Obesity Researcher, along with his research
staff, was studying how spontaneous activity affects weight and ultimately
pioneered NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis), which explains the
influence of metabolism on obesity. It was through this research that he created
the "Office of the Future" and devised the treadmill-desktop prototype,
which evolved into the Walkstation.
"People want to lose weight for different reasons. It's not solely so they
can eliminate diabetes. It's so they can go to the park, play with their kids. No
one wants to be [unhealthy], but how many have the time or money to go to
a gym after work?" Levine says. Thus, he searches for solutions where the
population spends most of its time - at work or school.
"It's very practical," says Klipa. He expects units will be shared - one for
every four to five employees. "I've been connected to Steelcase for 23 years
and never seen any one product strike such a nerve. Our goal is to help people
feel healthier when they're leaving the office than when they came in,
and I think we've found one of the solutions."
With help from global product and industrial design group IDEO,
Steelcase's Details division is now working on an extended FitWork line,
inspired by the recent introduction of the Walkstation.
"Corporate wellness programs aren't novel," Klipa says. "This is simply
the logical next step: wellness provided at work."
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