In an answer to the growing concern for human health and performance — generally, and in the workplace — International Conference Development (ICDevents), will host the Inaugural DesignWell Conference in San Diego, California Jan. 21-23.
The event theme is wellness architecture — how nature, materials, and design come together to benefit humans within the built environment.
ICDevents consultant Paulo Gomes-daCosta, who is managing the DesignWell Conference, says it's time for human consideration within the building process and the workplace.
“When sustainability came into play, building construction became better for the planet, but humans were largely forgotten in that process,” Gomes-daCosta said.
Maybe that wasn't intentional — the lack of attention to human health — but Gomes-daCosta feels very passionate about the issue and wants to see design practices now geared toward making human health a priority.
A personal experience also fueled Gomes-daCosta's interest in workplace health.
In 2016, while at a week-long work event, he had a grueling headache and felt slightly ill. He wasn't at his best and knew something was physically wrong but, he put his best foot forward, a smile on his face and stuck it out. As the days went by, he noticed blood in his urine and he was feeling extremely fatigued. By the end of the week, Gomes-daCosta was seeing floaters across his eyes. He still chose to stick it out because, “I didn't want to disappoint anyone on my team,” he said.
It turns out, he was indeed, very ill. He wound up in the hospital. His kidneys were failing. The good part of this story is that he eventually recovered. The bad part is that Gomes-daCosta's behavior — sticking it out, even if conditions at work are miserable — is standard for a lot of folks.
While Gomes-daCosta's misery was related to his illness, the way he handled the experience was eye opening for him. Typically, there's a lot of pressure on employees to do their job in spite of how they are feeling or that their work environment might not be suitable.
“That was kind of my inspiration for working on this event,” he said.
Workshops at DesignWell will cover concepts such as biophilia, toxic materials in building, why 95 percent of wellness programs don't and won't work, identifying WELL and Fitwel features that align with LEED standards, how the demand for health and wellness features vary across geography and business sectors, fundamental neuroscience-based design principles, identifying one's happy place at work, and many, many more.
An impressive lineup of nearly 30 speakers from every corner of the AEC industry is scheduled, including a keynote presentation from American Society of Interior Designers CEO Randy Fiser.
In an unusual scenario, all of the speakers are presenting at the conference without compensation. Even more ironic, many of them were among the people that originally ignored Gomes-daCosta's calls when he was putting the conference together.
“I think sharing my personal story with them helped,” he said. “But, more importantly, the conference theme really resonated with them. These are experts that are passionate about this. They share a common vision, a vested interest. Healthy design is very important for humanity.”
The conference's premier sponsor is ASID.
“The topic is what really got us involved,” said Joseph Cephas, ASID vice president of communications and brand experience. “We say that design impacts lives. That's been at the forefront of our mission for years, so, we felt we needed to get involved.”
The sponsorship had little to do with the monetary side and more about promoting it to ASID members, according to Cephas.
“This (the ideas which will be presented at the conference) are what we are already focusing on, things beyond the beauty of design,” he said. “There are so many ways to come at human health and wellness now. This conference is going to explore many of those and that's what we're hoping attendees will get out of it.”
On the heels of building construction rating systems like LEED, organizations like WELL are quantifying what interior designers have been working on all along, says Cephas. Functionality and flow of a space or circadian lighting, for example, focus on keeping workers healthy, and “There's a significant need for focus on human health in the workplace,” he said, noting an increase in productivity, presenteeism and employee happiness, as well as decrease in healthcare costs.
Regarding furniture specifically, “There's the ergonomic side, then the way the products are produced on the front end, which is really leading the way right now. Also, the colors and textures, everything is becoming part of the sustainability factor,” Cephas said. “When you get these many minds together, we're hoping the ideas and inspiration will flow. We hope to push the conversation not only at the conference, but after the conference too.”
Teknion Company also joins the conference as a sponsor. Tracy Backus, director of Sustainable Programs with the company, is scheduled to participate on the panel, “Prescribe a Better Environment” – how architects and designers can "prescribe" the built environment and have an impact on preventing chronic illnesses such as asthma and lung cancer.
“Wellness is not limited to practitioners,” Backus said. “Designers play a role in that too. We really want to help this conference be successful. Another reason we support DesignWell is because it's not so big people would get lost and overwhelmed; it's intimate and conducive to conversations and brainstorming.”
Even coming from a degreed background, Backus said for a long time, she, and all interior designers, weren't being recognized as having the same kind of impact as engineers, manufacturers, developers or architects. Now, she's seeing a pivotal shift in the importance of designers — emerging as key players in health and sustainability practices.
“It's about realizing not everyone works the same and we all need different things to do our work,” she said. “Sit to stand desks are not a substitute for real exercise, but they do bring attention to stagnation in office all day. Ergonomics are so much more involved. There's thermal comfort as well as ergonomic comfort, better lighting for eye health. Teknion is working on creating the right tools workers need to get their work done and have that satisfaction."
As for Paulo Gomes-daCosta, the transformation — from an idea inspired by a personal experience to creating a first-of-its-kind conference with support from the some of the biggest names in the industry — has awakened him.
“This shift to human health in design is very important. For me it's become an awareness thing,” he said. “It's very simple. It's not difficult. It's time for it to be a priority.”
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Business of Furniture readers can receive a $100 discount off of the price of registration by entering the promo code: BOF when registering. The link to registration url is: https://www.eiseverywhere.com/ereg/index.php?eventid=348532&/?utm_source=BOF
Workshops at DesignWell will cover concepts such as biophilia, toxic materials in building, why 95 percent of wellness programs don't and won't work, identifying WELL and Fitwel features that align with LEED standards, how the demand for health and wellness features vary across geography and business sectors, fundamental neuroscience-based design principles, identifying one's happy place at work, and many, many more.
An impressive lineup of nearly 30 speakers from every corner of the AEC industry is scheduled, including a keynote presentation from American Society of Interior Designers CEO Randy Fiser.
In an unusual scenario, all of the speakers are presenting at the conference without compensation. Even more ironic, many of them were among the people that originally ignored Gomes-daCosta's calls when he was putting the conference together.
“I think sharing my personal story with them helped,” he said. “But, more importantly, the conference theme really resonated with them. These are experts that are passionate about this. They share a common vision, a vested interest. Healthy design is very important for humanity.”
The conference's premier sponsor is ASID.
“The topic is what really got us involved,” said Joseph Cephas, ASID vice president of communications and brand experience. “We say that design impacts lives. That's been at the forefront of our mission for years, so, we felt we needed to get involved.”
The sponsorship had little to do with the monetary side and more about promoting it to ASID members, according to Cephas.
“This (the ideas which will be presented at the confer
ence) are what we are already focusing on, things beyond the beauty of design,” he said. “There are so many ways to come at human health and wellness now. This conference is going to explore many of those and that's what we're hoping attendees will get out of it.”
On the heels of building construction rating systems like LEED, organizations like WELL are quantifying what interior designers have been working on all along, says Cephas. Functionality and flow of a space or circadian lighting, for example, focus on keeping workers healthy, and “There's a significant need for focus on human health in the workplace,” he said, noting an increase in productivity, presenteeism and employee happiness, as well as decrease in healthcare costs.
Regarding furniture specifically, “There's the ergonomic side, then the way the products are produced on the front end, which is really leading the way right now. Also, the colors and textures, everything is becoming part of the sustainability factor,” Cephas said. “When you get these many minds together, we're hoping the ideas and inspiration will flow. We hope to push the conversation not only at the conference, but after the conference too.”
Teknion Company also joins the conference as a sponsor. Tracy Backus, director of Sustainable Programs with the company, is scheduled to participate on the panel, “Prescribe a Better Environment” – how architects and designers can "prescribe" the built environment and have an impact on preventing chronic illnesses such as asthma and lung cancer.
“Wellness is not limited to practitioners,” Backus said. “Designers play a role in that too. We really want to help this conference be successful. Another reason we support DesignWell is because it's not so big people would get lost and overwhelmed; it's intimate and conducive to conversations and brainstorming.”
Even coming from a degreed background, Backus said for a long time, she, and all interior designers, weren't being recognized as having the same kind of impact as engineers, manufacturers, developers or architects. Now, she's seeing a pivotal shift in the importance of designers—emerging as key players in health and sustainability practices.
“It's about realizing not everyone works the same and we all need different things to do our work,” she said. “Sit to stand desks are not a substitute for real exercise, but they do bring attention to stagnation in office all day. Ergonomics are so much more involved. There's thermal comfort as well as ergonomic comfort, better lighting for eye health. Teknion is working on creating the right tools workers need to get their work done and have that satisfaction."
As for Paulo Gomes-daCosta, the transformation—from an idea inspired by a personal experience to creating a first-of-its-kind conference with support from the some of the biggest names in the industry—has awakened him.
“This shift to human health in design is very important. For me it's become an awareness thing,” he said. “It's very simple. It's not difficult. It's time for it to be a priority.”
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