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009 Wellness Architecture, The Good Thing
97 Plays5 years ago
GUEST / PATI SANTOS OF THE GOOD THING
https://www.thegoodthing.co.uk/
https://www.thegoodthing.co.uk/library
https://www.wellcertified.com/
https://www.lilyjencksstudio.com/
HOST / MATT MORLEY
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction: Sustainability & Wellness
00:00:14
Speaker
Welcome to episode 9 of the Green and Healthy Places podcast, in which we discuss the themes of sustainability, wellness, and community in real estate and hospitality today. I'm your host, Matt Morley, founder of BioBlue EcoYachts, Biofilico Interiors, and BioFit Nature Gyms.
Meet Patti Santos: The Good Thing
00:00:36
Speaker
In this episode, we talk to Patti Santos, founder of The Good Thing.
00:00:40
Speaker
a newly created architecture practice focused specifically on health and wellness in London, UK. Patti worked with world-renowned landscape architects Lily and Charles Jenks for many years, where she developed an interest in environmental psychology and biophilic design, eventually going on to certify in the world building standard and setting up her own practice.
00:01:05
Speaker
Patty and Lily were fundamental in creating the very first biofit organic gym for me in London back in 2017. I know them both and respect them greatly.
Themes: Design, Materials, & Wellness
00:01:17
Speaker
So in this conversation, it was an opportunity to discuss a number of themes, for example, the distinction between design and operational policies within the well-building system, the role of natural and toxin-free materials in creating a green and healthy building.
00:01:35
Speaker
the connection between sustainability on one side and wellness on the other within an original client brief, the benefits of circadian lighting systems, the new well health and safety seal as a response from commercial real estate to the COVID crisis, and finally the shift towards healthier greener homes equipped for both work and exercise.
00:02:01
Speaker
I hope you enjoyed this conversation with Pati Santos of The Good Thing.
Patti's Journey: Spain to London
00:02:09
Speaker
Pati, great to have you here. Thanks for joining us. Perhaps you could start with just a quick intro into your professional background and your training, so your career path basically towards setting up your own practice, The Good Thing.
00:02:22
Speaker
Hi, Matt. Thank you so much for having me here. It's a pleasure. So I studied architecture in Valencia, in Spain. And when I was still a student, I started my own architecture practice there in Valencia called ekipopropio, along with two other architects. We did so many competitions. We got shortlisted in a few of them, and we want to build an international housing building consisting of 15 dwellings and a day center in Palma, Mallorca.
00:02:50
Speaker
It was going to be the first international building in Spain, but once it was finished, the council decided to give these homes to abused women because sadly the number of them was increasing and their situation was very worried. So we designed the building in a way that we brought the sense of community in.
00:03:09
Speaker
creating the feeling of the Mediterranean streets in the communal corridor. And now we are very happy to know that that concept of living works for people who need to feel safe and loved. After that, I finished my degree with the highest marks in my final thesis project.
Influences: Lilly & Charles Jenks
00:03:31
Speaker
And I could have continued my career there in Spain. That could have been probably
00:03:39
Speaker
However, my dream was to live here in London, and I decided to pursue my dream, and it was the best thing I've done in my life. I started to work at Lilly Yanks' studio in 2012, and then I registered at the RIABA and the Architect Registration Board.
00:04:03
Speaker
And then, yeah, I started, well, I was working with Lily for six, seven years. Yeah. And that was where we first connected then on one of the early, well, the very first BioFit Nature Gym showroom in London. And already by then there was, we were maybe early, it was sort of perhaps before biophilia and wellness spaces had really become as, I wouldn't say mainstream as they are now, but certainly more recognized.
00:04:32
Speaker
So Lilly Jenk is obviously a big name in architecture and specifically in landscape architecture. How was that experience of working with someone coming from that background of primarily designing sort of outdoor and garden spaces, very unique spaces, and you were the architect within that studio? So how did that influence your thinking about wellness design and wellness interiors?
00:04:57
Speaker
Yeah, well, yeah, it was a long time ago when we met. Yeah, it was my first contact with biophilic design. At the beginning, it was a bit of a shock for me to work with someone like Lily Yanks and Charles. I was coming from the polytheneic University of Valencia, and my education was very technical. And in terms of architecture style, we were very influenced
00:05:26
Speaker
by the rationalism of the modern movement. And suddenly, I encountered myself drawing carves and thinking architecture in a very narrative way. Just after starting to work with Lily, I found out about the connection of the Jenks family with the Maggie centers. And it was then when I realized the impact that architecture can have in people's health and well-being,
00:05:53
Speaker
Also working with Charles was incredible. Not only it was unbelievable for me to be sharing ideas with one of the most influential architecture critics of the 20th century, but also because he was the first person who taught me about the universe and the brain. I think that's probably why I'm so interested nowadays in neuroscience and environmental psychology.
00:06:24
Speaker
Yeah, I remember it was a magical moment for me. I was very lucky to work with Lilly for so many years. You mentioned the Maggie Center, so perhaps for anyone listening who doesn't know what the story is there, there are essentially healing spaces for people diagnosed with terminal cancer, and it came about through the connection with the late Maggie Jenks, is that right? Yeah, Lilly's mother, yeah.
00:06:51
Speaker
So the idea is that you would then have a space where someone who is perhaps dealing with a critical illness is able to in some way experience the positive energies of being surrounded by nature, even in a city environment. So then thinking about how you apply that same logic to, let's say urban projects that you're working on,
00:07:21
Speaker
you're taking that well-standard or the well-building standard knowledge that you have and
Implementing WELL Standards
00:07:27
Speaker
applying it. So can you just talk to us about perhaps some of the projects that you have been working on or are working on now, where you're combining your architecture skills with that approach to wellness?
00:07:38
Speaker
Yeah, I have to admit, I was a bit lost on how I could develop this interest between health and architecture. I came across the world building standard in 2018, but I wasn't sure if that was for me. So instead of enrolling the course, I continued doing my own research.
00:07:59
Speaker
However, last year I wanted to start my company, The Good Thing, and I did realize that studying for becoming a well-AP, well-accredited professional, was going to be easier for me rather than doing research on my own to help me in my goal of being an expert in well-being in the built environment.
00:08:21
Speaker
And I think I wasn't wrong. I didn't become, well, AP, only to be a consultant that can help a project to get certified. I did it in order to understand how I could think about my architecture projects from the beginning with human health as a driver. So I tried to implement the world concept in my projects. For example, we recently did the concept design for a small office in Alicante.
00:08:50
Speaker
And we have so many features of the world building standard like air quality, lighting, comfort, movement, nourishment, and mind. But not everything is designed.
00:09:06
Speaker
around 40% of the standard is about policies. So even if the client doesn't want to get the certification, but they want to have a health building, we give them a series of advices or rules that we encourage them to implement.
00:09:23
Speaker
And in a very similar case with private residential projects, we start our projects with a health and lifestyle questionnaire that helps us to create a brief of a project that will improve the residents' life. And we base this on our findings on the well-being standard.
00:09:50
Speaker
In summary, I think, yeah, we use human center and evidence-based design, like the world standard, and our findings on neuroscience and environmental psychology as a base for our projects, not necessarily to get the certification, but to create healthy spaces for humans where they can perform an overall field at their best. It's interesting. You mentioned the idea of that being
00:10:20
Speaker
I think you said 40% of the well standard that is more about policies, effectively building management or facility management. I've done the fit well certification, which is pretty much all about operations and facilities management piece.
Healthy Spaces: Natural Materials
00:10:36
Speaker
And in fact, it's often an easier way in for a corporate office building where perhaps they just haven't got the budget to do a full refit, but they're interested in adding some
00:10:47
Speaker
some elements of this sort of healthy building concept, but obviously there you don't get to have an impact on, for example, the materials used in a building, whether it's the interiors or the façade or indeed in the construction. From your perspective then, as an architect who delivers projects as an architect with an understanding of the well-standard now, how do you think about materials, for example, on a fit-out? What are the kind of
00:11:14
Speaker
materials that you're typically pushing or recommending for a client that can have a positive impact on the health and well-being of someone spending time, eight, 10 hours each day, potentially in that same building.
00:11:28
Speaker
Well, first of all, and this is related to materials, I think, so if we have the opportunity, if we have a project in which the client is not sure about if he wants to demolish or if he wants to do a refurbishment, that is a very important part of the project.
00:11:50
Speaker
So it's something that is not always possible to refurbish, but as I say to my students that are currently working on improving a social housing estate from the 70s, if you decide to demolish, I mean, if you decide to demolish, you have to be aware of the carbon footprint that your actions will generate.
00:12:16
Speaker
And then you need to think about the waste. So it's not only thinking about the materials ahead, it's about thinking the materials that you are producing as a waste as well when you are taking some decisions as an architect.
00:12:34
Speaker
But if you, and you need to plan for a second life for those materials, but if we were to build something new, I recommend exploring the structural timber systems, like sick panels.
00:12:53
Speaker
and CLT, cross-laminated timber, because timber is a renewable material that could also help to neutralize or absorb CO2 from the atmosphere. And I would recommend to try to use as many natural materials as possible, like timber and natural stones.
00:13:13
Speaker
In interior fit-outs, use CO box paints, use natural fabrics and avoid anti-stains and other chemical treatments that can alter your endocrine system and therefore can cause metabolic issues like diabetes and obesity.
00:13:32
Speaker
Excuse me. And these chemicals can cause learning disabilities in children, respiratory problems, and can alter nervous system. And so, yeah, look for a cradle to cradle.
00:13:50
Speaker
There are many certifications there now that are trying to make easier this process of specifying and choosing the right materials. But I have to say it's still a very complicated process. And make use of new technology like circadian lighting systems.
00:14:15
Speaker
And yes, avoid plastic as much as possible and of course bring nature in.
00:14:22
Speaker
So you've touched on a theme there around the idea of where wellness can connect with nature. And in many instances, the natural is often healthy. It is often sustainable, not always, but presumably if one's sourcing, for example, bamboo, then you have a natural and sustainable solution that is also healthy. So then you get into the discussion around
00:14:48
Speaker
green buildings and healthy buildings. So for example, on the green building side, the LEED and BRIAM certification systems, and then on the healthy building side, you have primarily the well-building standard and Fitwell. So how do you now think about that sort of balance of concerns for sustainability on one side and health and wellness on the other? Are they completely separate? How much crossover do you see between the two?
00:15:17
Speaker
Yeah, I love this question. Everybody is asking me this because I think certification systems apart, this is one of the questions that I get most. And my answer, in short, is I have know that what is good for the planet is good for your own health and vice versa.
00:15:41
Speaker
Sustainability is something that should be implicit in every architectural project. 10, 15 years ago, it was a trend, but now it is or should be part of architectural projects. And with health and well-being, it's going to happen the same and even faster because
00:16:06
Speaker
is when you are concerned that there is a lot of pollution out there and we are suffering all the issues from climate change. But when you start realizing that you actually can have physical and mental illnesses because of the spaces that you inhabit,
00:16:35
Speaker
I think you get more nervous about it and you get more aware. And so I think this process is going to be even faster with health and wellbeing than it was with sustainability. But coming back to your question, yes, absolutely. For me, they come together.
00:16:58
Speaker
However, clients are frequently concerned only about sustainability and they get very surprised when you mentioned that their homes might be making them sick and unhappy, for example. So part of that is then rising awareness amongst clients, but particularly, let's say, the general population around
00:17:19
Speaker
an understanding of how the indoor environments can impact our
WELL Health Safety Rating
00:17:26
Speaker
health. I think within the WELL certification or the WELL approach, there's obviously a lot
00:17:32
Speaker
that perhaps we might feel is more instinctive. For example, they have sections or entire chapters on movement and nourishment. I think we all understand that sort of moving more during the day, not sitting down for too long, eating a healthy diet, avoiding too much refined sugar, et cetera. A lot of that is common sense. Obviously, it's backed up by a lot of science in the well.
00:17:58
Speaker
accreditation system but from from your perspective as you went into that as an architect you know just perhaps thinking of someone who's could be in a similar situation an architect or engineer background and they're going into the well ap accreditation or just starting to do their research on it.
00:18:14
Speaker
what were the areas of it that that felt more comfortable for you and what were the areas of it where you you sort of had to step outside of your comfort zone if there were any and and sort of stretch across into facilities management or even to some extent lifestyle concerns right.
00:18:52
Speaker
have an impact in our mood and can produce physical illnesses as well, not only mental.
00:19:02
Speaker
The circadian lighting topics, yeah, when you apply it to a gym, it gets quite, not complicated, but you have to think about, well, a gym is somewhere that people want to exercise. They want to be energized most of the time until they're doing the cool down at the end of their workout. So you'd think, well, sort of more in the blue white light spectrum. But if someone's doing a workout,
00:19:24
Speaker
At eight pm after work, this is obviously outside of COVID constraints, but say they're training between eight and nine pm and then going home, do we want to be blasting them with blue-white light or is it better to
00:19:37
Speaker
keep them in the amber spectrum and try not to disrupt their sleeping patterns. Something else that we're finding a lot at the moment with gyms that connects with the WELL program is this idea of health and safety seals. So trying to create a space that is effectively protected against
00:20:00
Speaker
viruses, whether it be this particular variant of COVID or whatever might come back in the future. So have you looked at the new well health and safety seal that's come out? And if so, what are your thoughts on that? Well, I, yeah, have you seen the promotional video with all the celebrities on it? Yeah, I saw that. It's Hollywood.
00:20:24
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. I'm not the kind of person that is into the Star System, but I have to say that I think it's very clever to have Lady Gaga or Robert De Niro to reach as much diverse population as possible because the most important thing is to bring awareness. And the Well Health Safety Rating is an evidence-based third-party verified rating for
00:20:53
Speaker
all type of facilities. So it's the sign of a trust. So just focus on operational policies, maintenance protocols, emergency plans, and stakeholder education to help organizations get back to business now and address broader health and safety related issues into the future.
00:21:20
Speaker
It's important for the financial system that businesses continue operating. The idea is that people are safe when going into commercial or educational or other types of premises.
00:21:38
Speaker
But it's effectively a lighter touch than going through the whole well certification process, right? It doesn't require huge amounts of capital expenditure or big budgets. It's something that's more accessible to a wider range of, for example, office buildings or office occupiers, right?
00:21:56
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. In fact, as we said, it's a lot about policies, it's a lot about operational maintenance and the registration for this
00:22:14
Speaker
health and health safety seal is I think it's starting in two thousand five hundred dollars so and the and the and the process is much quicker yeah absolutely yeah so then if we if we step back to
Future Trends in Architecture
00:22:30
Speaker
focus again on on really your core business which is you know as an architect designing
00:22:36
Speaker
buildings and interior spaces or interior architectural spaces. So looking forward from today as you look two or three years down, what's coming next? What do you see as being perhaps the most relevant trends that are going to be either that are impacting your business or that you hope to be able to play a part in over the next few years? So the trends and influences that are impacting wellness architecture.
00:23:03
Speaker
I don't know if you agree, but I think residential will be the main protagonist. The pandemic has forced us to have a very intimate relationship with our homes. People will be more demanding and we will hopefully see higher standards in public housing in terms of materials, quality, but also about special special conditions. And yeah, the home will be seen more as a retreat, healing space.
00:23:33
Speaker
a haven where we feel safe and good. I think we will see a boom of adaptable furniture that allows home working solutions and also rooms for exercising at home, as you would probably agree. But we will also see an interest in adapting homes for telecare.
00:23:59
Speaker
And indoor air quality will be one of the things that people will persuade more. Therefore, not only because of air quality matters, but also because of its healing and mood boosting properties, biophilic design will be a recurrent solution for all those needs, I'm pretty sure.
00:24:23
Speaker
It sounds good to me. It feels like it's, in a way, a lot of themes that have been popular in the sort of commercial sector for a few years now suddenly becoming more applicable and relevant to personal individuals at home. These are things that we've been talking about in big office buildings, corporate office buildings for years, but now it's
00:24:43
Speaker
We're talking about the air quality in your home office. Things have changed so much in the last year. It's a really fascinating time. Patti, thank you so much for your contribution today. It was very insightful. Lots of interesting tips and suggestions for
Connect with Patti Santos
00:25:00
Speaker
people. So where can listeners follow along? You've got your main website, thegoodthing.co.uk. Are you doing the social media? Yeah, we're doing Instagram. It's thegoodthing.architecture.
00:25:14
Speaker
and yeah and but mainly yeah so mainly Instagram and the website. I have to say that we have in the website we have a library with a lot of research that has been very useful for us
00:25:35
Speaker
with lots of insights from biophilic design, neuroscience and healthy materials. So I encourage people to go and have a look because yeah, it might be helpful for you as well. I saw that. I found that the neuroscience section particularly interesting, but quite challenging. I might need to go back and read that one a second time. Thank you Matt for having me.