Wellbeing and buildings

The World Health Organisation (WHO) "Health Promotion Glossary of Terms 2021" defines the term thus:

"Well-being is a positive state experienced by individuals and societies. Similar to health, it is a resource for daily life and is determined by social, economic and environmental conditions. Well-being encompasses quality of life, as well as the ability of people and societies to contribute to the world in accordance with a sense of meaning and purpose. Focusing on wellbeing supports the tracking of the equitable distribution of resources, overall thriving, and sustainability. A society’s well-being can be observed by the extent to which they are resilient, build capacity for action, and are prepared to transcend challenges."

In a similar sense well-being might be also referred to as happiness or welfare which the philosopher Aristotle referred to in his more, all encompassing concept of eudaimonia "The good composed of all goods; an ability which suffices for living well; perfection in respect of virtue; resources sufficient for a living creature." Aristotle.

In the topic guide Wellbeing in Buildings (TG 10/2025 by Scorcha Redmund and first published as TG 10/2016 now free to access) BSRIA gives a detail description of how the understanding of wellbeing has evolved. From the traditional pathogenetic model, focused on diagnosing and treating disease, to a salutogenetic approach that emphasises factors promoting health, resilience, and coping. Introduced by Aaron Antonovsky in the 1970s, salutogenesis highlights a sense of coherence—seeing life as comprehensible, manageable, and meaningful—as key to maintaining wellbeing. Modern perspectives further integrate physical, psychological, social, and environmental factors, emphasising preventive health, mental wellbeing, and the impact of socio-economic and cultural determinants. Today, wellbeing is seen not merely as the absence of illness but as a state of optimal functioning, life satisfaction, and holistic health.

Other relevant definition that might be considered in 2012, Dodge et al proposed that wellbeing could be defined as ‘…when individuals have the psychological, social and physical resources they need to meet a particular psychological, social and/or physical challenge’. The 2013 Measuring National Well-being programme suggested that the factors most strongly associated with personal well-being as including Health, Employment status, Relationship status and of these three factors, health had the strongest relationship with wellbeing.

The Measuring National Well-being national debate identified a range of other less significant factors associated with personal well-being, including:

• Economic security.
• Job satisfaction.
• Work-life balance.
• Education and training.
• Local and natural environment.

Articles about wellbeing on Designing Buildings Wiki include:

• Daylight benefits in healthcare buildings.
• Integrated modelling, simulation and visualisation (MSV) for sustainable built healing environments (BHEs).
• A measure of net well-being that incorporates the effect of housing environmental impacts.
• Well-being and regeneration: Reflections from Carpenters Estate.
• Anatomy of low carbon retrofits: evidence from owner-occupied superhomes.
• The impact of the design of the Psychiatric inpatient facility on perceptions of Carer wellbeing.
• Creating strong communities – measuring social sustainability in new housing development.
• The design of extra care housing for older people and its impact on wellbeing: The East Sussex perspective.
• The daylight factor.
• Ubiquitous sensors to assess people’s energy consumption and wellbeing in domestic environments.
• Airtightness of energy efficient buildings.
• Adapting 1965-1980 semi-detached dwellings in the UK to reduce summer overheating and the effect of the 2010 Building Regulations.
• Transitioning to eco-cities: Reducing carbon emissions while improving urban welfare.
• A case study of adopting BIT-Kit: A method uncovering the impact buildings have on people.
• The real cost of poor housing.
• Health and wellbeing impacts of natural and artificial lighting.
• Health and wellbeing at Kings Cross.
• Wellbeing and creativity in workplace design - case studies.

Most western developed countries now measure wellbeing as part of their national statistics. The UK reported in the 2013-2015 report "Those who identify as gay or lesbian, or bisexual report lower well-being than the UK average for all personal well-being measures. This difference is largest for feelings of anxiety."

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings

• All about wellness.
• Are we doing the right thing? Shaping well-being into the future of our urban communities.
• Assessing health and wellbeing in buildings.
• Biophilic design.
• BRE wellbeing research paper competition.
• BS ISO 45003 Psychological health and safety at work - managing psychosocial risks.
• Buildingomics.
• Building related illness.
• Building services and health risk resilient buildings.
• Building use studies (BUS).
• Changing attitudes towards the mental wellbeing of early career Architectural Technology professionals.
• Construction leadership for mental health.
• COVID-19 and mental health within construction firms.
• Environment.
• Human centric.
• Human comfort in buildings.
• Indoor air quality.
• Indoor environmental quality.
• Maggie's Cancer Centre, Manchester.
• Measuring the wellbeing benefits of interior materials.
• Mental health and wellbeing.
• Mental health in the construction industry.
• Seasonal affective disorder SAD.
• Senior living facilities.
• Sick building syndrome.
• Stop Make a Change SMAC-20.
• TG10 2016 At a glance, wellbeing.
• The Flourish Model to enhance wellbeing.
• The full cost of poor housing.
• The real impact of late payment.
• Thermal comfort and wellbeing.
• Understanding mental health in the built environment.
• Wellbeing and creativity in workplace design - case studies.
• Wellbeing considerations for property managers.
• WELL and BREEAM align.
• WELL Building Standard.
• What we know about wellbeing.
• 2019 Wellness and biophilia symposium.

[edit] External references

• Measuring National Well-being programme.
• Dodge, R., Daly, A., Huyton, J., & Sanders, L. (2012). The challenge of defining wellbeing. International Journal of Wellbeing, 2(3), 222-235.