Upload
others
View
0
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
designers are motivators In a world of 400 million obese and 1.6 billion over-weight adults, interior designers — perhaps as much as
nutritionists or doctors — can encourage physical activityand, in turn, healthy lifestyles. By Jan Stone
POWER OF DESIGN
2008
C29summer 2008
OP
EN
ING
PH
OT
OG
RA
PH
Y B
Y M
AR
TIN
RIE
TZ
E/G
ET
TY
IM
AG
ES Costs of the epidemic vary. But an
October 2007 study from the Milken
Institute, led by former Surgeon
General Richard H. Carmona, esti-
mates the total U.S. economic
impact, calculated on the cost of pre-
ventable 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 — automa-
tion and the consequent decline of
physically active occupations, labor-
saving 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 collab-
oration 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 pro-
grams such as 2007’s Fit-City 2:
Promoting Physical Activity Through
Design, which brought together acade-
mia, 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 non-
governmental organizations formally
linked to the World Health Organi-
zation: the World Heart Federation,
the International Diabetes Federation,
the International Pediatric Asso-
ciation, 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 peo-
ple,” 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,
POWER OF DESIGN
2008MOTIVATORS
As designers, we have the ability to proselytize, and we must make every effort to do so. —Joan Blumenfeld, IIDA, FAIA, LEED AP, Principal, Perkins + Will
Could something as seemingly simple as a well-placed, alluring stair-case save a life? Many interior designers are finding that an invaluablesolution to one of the world’s largest problems may be as straight-forward as convincing people to opt for a flight of stairs over an elevator.
Joan Blumenfeld, IIDA, FAIA, LEED AP, Principal at Perkins + Will inNew York, considers a well-situated stairwell perhaps the single mostobvious way in which a designer can help stem the obesity epidemic,which causes diseases of the heart, lungs and circulatory systems, aswell 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 constantmovement to allowing for plentiful daylight access, interior design-ers can have a direct positive impact on public health and well-being.
According to the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Institute ofMedicine report, Does the Built Environment Influence PhysicalActivity?, “the available empirical evidence shows an associationbetween the built environment and physical activity. … Those respon-sible for the design and construction of residences, developments andsupporting transportation infrastructure should be encouraged to pro-vide more activity-friendly environments.”
The need for interior designers to step up to the plate is great andimmediate. “Designers have a unique opportunity to address the obesityproblem through identifying and creating aspects of the workplace,homes, schools, and urban and community plans that promote ahealthier lifestyle,” says Michael I. Goran, Ph.D., Professor at theUniversity of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine andDirector of USC’s Childhood Obesity Research Center.
Joan Blumenfeld, IIDA, FAIA, LEED AP
0091_NIKOLAI 5/5/08 10:31 PM Page 1
30 summer 2008 www.iida .org
to Mayor Michael Bloomberg sug-
gesting he integrate the healthful
interior designs of his corporate
offices into city buildings. “He and
his office embrace the notions,”
she says. “He advocates trans-
parency in government, and he lit-
erally 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 work-
stations 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 sympo-
sium 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 encour-
aged 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 differ-
ence 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 expe-
riential 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 begin-
ning, requiring users to walk past
interesting building features or art-
work, 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” initia-
tive, 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 depict-
ing people being active, carpeting,
strategically placed motivational sig-
nage and background music.
Of the building’s 554 permanent
employees, there was nearly a 9 per-
cent increase in stairwell usage.
“That may not seem like a lot of peo-
ple, 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 suc-
cessful enough that we’re going
nationwide with it.”
But Gabel suggests interior
designers think beyond increasing
walkability and mobility. “Nor-
malizing biorhythms can’t be
overlooked either; therefore,
access to natural daylight plays a
huge role,” she says. “It helps
We, as socially responsible interior designers, need to be thinkingof experiential ways to get the popu-
lation moving. —Linda Gabel, IIDA, AAHID, Senior Associate, NBBJ
Linda Gabel,IIDA, AAHID
A PERFORMING ART
TerrazzoA PERFORMING ART
Terrazzo
Terrazzo
Job Name: Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport Rental Car Facility
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida Designer/Artist: Clearscapes - Thomas Sayre • Raleigh, NC
Architect: Spillis Candella and Partners, Inc. • Coral Gables, FL Photographer: David Laudadio
Contact us at 1.800.323.9736
or visit us at: WWW.NTMA.COM
From nature scenes to abstracts to corporate logos -Terrazzo is unparalleled in design flexibility for flooring.Nonporous and mold-resistant, environmentally responsible,cost effective, beautiful, strong, and healthy (the finish doesnot support microbes and moisture won’t accumulate),Terrazzo is a floor that truly performs!
For Designs Limited Only by Imagination
M IIDA d 4/27/07 4 26 PM110152_NTMA.indd 1 4/27/07 5:02:05 PM
32 summer 2008 www.iida .org
> Interior designers alone can’t improvepublic health. Product designers, the medical community
and others also are working to find solutions to overweight and obe-
sity 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 worksta-
tion 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 key-
board 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 cre-
ated 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.
Levine’s philosophy and timing fit perfectly with research being con-
ducted by Steelcase’s Details President Edmund “Bud” Klipa regarding
standing vs. sitting, blood flow and lower back pain. Together, they created
the Walkstation, which only goes up to 2 miles per hour but can produce sig-
nificant results when used long-term. The Walkstation was formally intro-
duced late in 2007, with distribution beginning first-quarter 2008.
“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 peo-
ple 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.”
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.
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, espe-
cially 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?”
The Right Tools
34 summer 2008 www.iida .org
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 over-
weight/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 dis-
tance 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.
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.”
GiselleNewman
Young, IIDA,ASID,
Principal,Environments
in Life Inc.
Put Into Action
POWER OF DESIGN
2008MOTIVATORSS P O T L I G H T
36 summer 2008 www.iida .org
0091_IIDEX.indd 1 5/11/08 10:21:37 PM
exercise:1) Give three examples of how interior designers through space planning can encourage physical movement of those
that occupy the space.
2) What design solutions are suggested to encourage stairwell use in large buildings?
3) Aside from encouraging movement, what other factors can help curb the obesity problem in the United States?
After reading this article, you should be able to: = Understand the important role designers play in promoting public health = Identify techniques to encourage clients to promote healthy lifestyles at work = Implement specific design solutions to help curb the obesity epidemic.
contact information:
Name ______________________________________________________ Firm _____________________________________________
Mailing Address ________________________________________________________________________________________________
E-mail Address _______________________________________________ Phone ____________________________________________
instructions:Individuals who read this article and complete the series of questions above are eligible to receive continuing education
credit (CEU), as approved by IIDA. Completed exercises should be returned to IIDA via:
mail IIDA Education Department
c/o PERSPECTIVE CEUs
222 Merchandise Mart Plaza
Suite 567
Chicago, IL 60654-1103 USA
fax IIDA Education Department
C/O PERSPECTIVE CEUs
312.467.0779
e-mail [email protected]
There is a $12 NCIDQ registration fee to register and obtain CEU credit.
This course has been approved for 1 hour of continuing education credit (0.1 CEU). Upon returning a completed exer-
cise to IIDA, registration information will be forwarded to you. If you have any questions, contact the IIDA Education
Department at 312.467.1950 or toll-free at 888.799.IIDA.
Adapted as an exercise by Suzanne Heath, Senior Director, Education and Professional Development
ceu designers are motivators