Watch: Architecture and design have the power to create wellness for all

Krisda Rochanakorn, Mphethi Morojele, and Erin Hoover share with Kohler how spaces can be designed to have a profound positive impact on wellness  

Kohler invites three contributors to share their perspectives and insights on how architecture has changed and the integration of wellness into the design to help with personal, family, and community wellbeing.  

Krisda Rochanakorn, principal of Habita Architects, believes that as time goes by, the topic of wellness will be of more importance to people and industries. Developers are often fortunate to be able to build projects in beautiful environments, so it is also their duty to conserve the environment as much as possible.  

Rochanakorn says that wellness can be integrated into architecture through nature, the use of natural materials, and sustainability. The Six Senses resort in Ninh Van Bay, Vietnam is a great example of how Habita Architects utilised the environment to integrate into the villa designs. The villas are constructed of natural materials, namely coconut leaves, and bamboo, and each villa is distinct as they’re arranged according to the rock formation of the grounds they’re built upon.  

Mphethi Morojele, founder and managing director of MMA Design Studio, mentions an important point in which the contemporary world of architecture often forgets the psychosomatic nature of wellness. Morojele tries to embrace this by understanding that “we are part of the world, not just passible observers acting on the world.”   

He references the conference centre in “The Cradle of HumanKind” – the most important fossil sights in Johannesburg, South Africa – as a space that was built in a way to encourage the idea of “going back to origins”. As he believes caves are the birthplace of human consciousness, the design is a sanctuary that creates a sense of being part of a bigger world.  

The projects mentioned also reflect the insights shared by Erin Hoover, director of design, luxury space, at Kohler Co., the official platinum sponsor of PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards for numerous years, noting that humans receive positive impacts on physical and mental health when we connect with nature, which could include natural light, natural ventilation, and connections to green spaces and landscape.  

Hoover brings up The Park Royal Hotel in Singapore, designed to be a hotel in a garden with greeneries, water features, and 50,000 square metres of a self-sustaining sky garden. 

More: Watch: Wellness at the heart of designing Soori Bali

The spaces we inhabit have a profound effect on our wellbeing, which is seen more intensely during the pandemic. By designing spaces that meet hygiene and beauty expectations, architects and designers have the power to make major changes and contribute to wellbeing on a personal, social, and environmental scale.  

The world’s past pandemics and epidemics have had a big influence on modern bathrooms and other home spaces; hence the future of architecture involves how companies will evolve while still providing joy.  

“2020 was a year of disruption and uncertainty, but at Kohler, we’re optimistic about the opportunity to shape our future and pursuit of wellbeing for ourselves, our families, community, and the environment. It’s a challenging time, but also it’s an exciting time to be engaged in a dialogue with the design community and our other partners,” concludes Hoover.