Wellness
A healthy and a happy home
Wellness
A healthy and a happy home
2–3
Introduction
Wellness isn’t simply about avoiding the latest strain
of flu that is going around, rather it is about striving
towards ‘physical, mental and social wellbeing’.
So while it’s imperative one gets enough physical
exercise, to ensure overall wellbeing one needs
to attend to other aspects of life.
Social interaction has proved vital, especially in this
ageing population where women are outliving men;
a recent study by Brigham Young University
suggests mortality increases by 26% for those
suffering from loneliness. Similarly, the impact of
mental health is becoming more known, with one
in four people in the UK suffering from mental
health issues in their lifetime.
Increase in mortality associated with loneliness
26%
Clearly, where you live and work can have a huge
impact on overall wellbeing. While there has been
a considerable emphasis placed on an employer’s
responsibility to provide a ‘well workplace’, including
a recent CBRE study, there has been less emphasis
on developing a ‘happy and healthy home’. But as
a person spends around 65% of their time at home,
arguably this is just as, if not more, important. In this
report, CBRE establishes a framework to help inform
developers when designing a healthy and happy
home and buyers when they are looking for their
perfect home.
We have taken the seven dimensions of wellness,
developed initially by Dr. Bill Hettler, co-founder of
the National Wellness Institute, and considered them
in a real estate context. With this in mind we have
examined how a home can be designed to cater
for the seven dimensions of wellness.
Wellness
A healthy and a happy home
Home design
Home Specification
Social
–– Living space
–– Large kitchens
–– Outside space
–– Dining space
–– Room dimensions
–– Privacy
–– Connectivity
–– Guest toilet
–– Wifi
–– Ceiling heights
Emotional
–– Quiet space
–– Private outside space
–– Windows
–– Security
–– Comfort heating
–– Storage
–– Materials
–– Colours
–– Sound insulation
–– Functional user friendly systems
–– Open fires
Spiritual
–– Quiet space
–– Windows
–– Balconies
–– Specifications with certain religions
in mind
Environmental
–– Air quality
–– Sound insulation
–– Light
–– Ventilation
–– Laundry room
–– Adequate number of
bathrooms
–– Low impact materials
–– Non toxic materials
–– Water purification
–– Adequate number of power sockets
–– Tinted windows
–– Grey water
Occupational
–– Office space
–– Wifi
–– Storage / shelving space
Intellectual
–– Quiet space
–– Storage / shelving space
Physical
–– Ventilation
–– Air quality
–– Kitchens
–– Storage
–– Sound insulation
–– Light
–– Water purification
–– Non toxic materials
–– Home health monitoring system
–– Planting areas
–– Air quality sensors
–– Non VOC finishes
4–5
Building design
Neighbourhood
–– Communal facilities
–– Outside space
–– Entrance lobby
–– Residents lounge
–– Building entrance
–– Connectivity
–– Safety
–– Restaurants and bars
–– Community centre
–– Accessibility to wider locations
–– Art and culture
–– Local events
–– Green / outside space
–– Security
–– Storage
–– Hobby space
–– Child friendly play area
–– Safety
–– Church/Mosque
–– Accessibility
–– Art and culture
–– Local events
–– Yoga rooms
–– Prayer space
–– Communal gardens
–– Water features
–– Church
–– Mosque
–– Energy efficient systems
–– Air quality
–– Sound insulation
–– Biodiversity
–– Ventilation
–– Communal gardens / vegetable patch
–– Renewable and low carbon energy
–– Recycling facilities
–– Air quality
–– Local food production
–– Public transport
–– Car share
–– Communal workspace
–– Meetup rooms
–– Print facilities
–– Connectivity
–– Access to employment
–– Quiet space
–– Communal workspace
–– Library area
–– Access to art and culture
–– Access to education facilities
–– Access to library
–– Water and air filtration
–– Leisure and fitness activities
–– Play spaces
–– Storage for bikes
–– Amenity space
–– Natural daylight
–– Sound insulation
–– Gym
–– Healthy food outlets
–– Access to healthcare facilities
–– Leisure and fitness activities
–– Play spaces
–– Air quality
–– Access to nature
–– Parks
Wellness
A healthy and a happy home
Social
Social Wellness is the
ability to relate to and
connect with other people
in our world. Our ability
to establish and maintain
positive relationships
with family, friends and
co-workers contributes
to our Social Wellness.
Humans are social beings; we all know
intuitively that having friends around us
improves our happiness. However, an
increasing body of literature goes further
and suggests an association between
loneliness and mortality. What’s more, the
association is stronger for those under 65
than the elderly. Research by Smith and
Holt-Lunstad suggests the heightened risk
from mortality from loneliness is on par with
smoking 15 cigarettes a day. And loneliness
is on the rise, with a 17% increase in the
number of single person households over
the past twenty years. Furthermore,
according to Relate, 10% of UK residents
do not have a close friend.
People living alone in the UK
7.7m
The ability to get out and about can
help alleviate loneliness, so living in a
neighbourhood with a wide range of
restaurants, bars and galleries can
promote social wellness.
Similarly, local events can provide an
opportunity to meet new people and get
involved with grass roots events. Good
connectivity and transport links can be
key to meeting friends and family who
live further afield. However, ones home
can also help.
People that do not have a close friend
10%
The layout and design of a home can also
be adapted to promote social wellbeing.
Features such as large kitchens promote
interaction during meal preparation and of
course large dining areas mean families
and friends can get together while eating.
Similarly, there is a need to ensure there is
appropriate living space for the size of
home to engender social interaction.
Building design is also important.
Communal facilities can encourage new
friendships to emerge and be sustained
with other residents within the development.
6–7
Wellness
A healthy and a happy home
Emotional
Emotional Wellness is
the ability to understand
ourselves and cope with the
challenges life can bring.
The ability to acknowledge
and share feelings of anger,
fear, sadness or stress; hope,
love, joy and happiness
in a productive manner
contributes to our
Emotional Wellness.
One in four adults in the UK suffers from
mental health problems at some point in
their life and many studies conclude that
anxiety and depression are markedly higher
now than they were in earlier eras.
Research suggests five things can help
your emotional wellbeing, these are:
–– Connect with others
–– Be active
–– Keep learning
–– Give to others
–– Be mindful
A range of housing solutions can help drive
emotional wellbeing. These include having
quiet space within the home and access
to private outside space. A good security
system can make one feel at ease and
safe within the home, which adds to
emotional wellbeing. In addition, the
colours and materials used throughout
the home can create an aura of serenity
and calmness.
There are lots of ways a home design
can help reduce day-to-day stress.
It is the little things that matter, such as
adequate storage space and easy to
use comfort heating. Of course the home
needs to have an efficient affordable energy
provision, including renewable energies.
Emotional wellbeing can also be boosted
by social interaction and connecting
with others. With this in mind, living
in a neighbourhood with activities
and social events can be beneficial.
8–9
Wellness
A healthy and a happy home
Spiritual
Spiritual Wellness is the
ability to establish peace
and harmony in our lives.
The ability to develop
congruency between values
and actions and to realise a
common purpose that binds
creation together contributes
to our Spiritual Wellness.
Many people assume that being spiritual
means you have to be religious. However,
this isn’t necessarily the case; the whole
concept of spiritual awareness isn’t all
about connecting with a higher divine
power. Instead the basis of spirituality is
discovering a sense of meaningfulness
in your life and coming to know that you
have a purpose to fulfil.
Many factors play a part in defining spirituality
– religious faith, beliefs, values, ethics,
principles and morals. Some gain spirituality
by growing in their personal relationships with
others, or through being at peace with nature.
Spirituality allows us to find the inner calm
and peace needed to get through whatever
life brings, no matter what one’s beliefs are or
where they may be on their spiritual journey.
It is thought that people with a highly
developed sense of spiritual awareness
are often less prone to depression.
For many, proximity to churches and
mosques is key. But home design can be
vital to spiritually; to help promote spiritual
awareness, homes should have quiet space
to provide an opportunity for reflection and
meditation. Windows let in light and views
should be maximised. Balconies and
outside space can help a connection with
nature. Similarly within the building,
communal areas should be divided into
quiet space, and gardens should have
seating and water features. Yoga and
meditation rooms are becoming
increasingly popular in the US.
10–11
Wellness
A healthy and a happy home
Environmental
Environmental Wellness is
the ability to recognise our
own responsibility for the
quality of the air, the water
and the land that surrounds
us. The ability to make a
positive impact on the
quality of our environment,
be it our homes, our
communities or our planet
contributes to our
Environmental Wellness.
Buildings are large entities and, as such,
they impact upon the environment in
various ways. They consume large
quantities of physical resources such
as materials, energy and money in their
construction, maintenance and use; but
they also can result in effects such as loss
of amenity and biodiversity which are much
more difficult to assess. If we are going to
build more sustainably, it will be necessary
to consider the impact of a building over its
full life-cycle, sometimes described as a
‘cradle-to-cradle’ analysis.
The adoption of more sustainable lifestyles
is becoming increasingly accessible with
the availability of affordable technologies,
including wireless sensors and remotely
programmable controls. The connectivity
provided by the ‘internet of things’ allows
the management of heating, hot water,
lighting and security from a smartphone,
providing flexibility for modern lifestyles
while also increasing efficiency and
reducing energy consumption and costs.
Incorporating low energy heating, cooling
and lighting, renewable or low carbon energy
and efficient waste recycling facilities at a
building or precinct level will also facilitate
environmentally responsible behaviours.
The introduction of green open spaces,
community gardens and local food
production also have environmental wellness
benefits. These features will appeal to an
increasing segment of the population for
whom sustainability is important.
Finally, landscaping and planting – both
indoor and outdoor – have been shown by
NASA to reduce pollutant levels. This should,
therefore, be considered in the design and
specification of the building and units.
Passivaus is a fabric first approach to
buildings which aims to reduce energy
consumption and improve quality of life in
buildings. It drastically reduces running costs
by up to 90% and can work to reduce fuel
poverty as a result. It ensures that clean air is
brought into the home with the use of heat
recovery systems and that pollutants from
outside are filtered out before entering the
home, creating buildings which are evenly
heated in winter, cool in summer and always
filled with fresh air, as such ‘passively heated’
and more environmentally sustainable.
12–13
Wellness
A healthy and a happy home
Occupational
Occupational Wellness is
the ability to get personal
fulfilment from our jobs or
our chosen career fields
while still maintaining
balance in our lives. Our
desire to contribute in our
careers to make a positive
impact on the organisations
we work in and to society
as a whole leads to
Occupational Wellness.
CBRE recently published a report
examining wellness in the workplace.
It found that despite 74% of European
office occupiers having a wellness
programme in place, there remains an
opportunity for organisations to boost
their competitiveness, attract talent and
manage employee costs by introducing
wellness initiatives.
People working at home
1.5m
However, it also showed that by 2040 the
lines between home and work will have
blurred. This trend is definitely emerging
as the number of people working from
home has increased by a fifth in the last ten
years to reach a record 1.5m; that’s up by
nearly a quarter of a million in a decade.
The biggest growth in the trend has been
among women with 35% (157,000) more
working from home in 2015 than in 2005.
To facilitate this, homes need to be
designed with home working in mind.
This means consideration for office space,
storage and wifi. Communal workplaces
with the ability to print and meeting rooms
would be hugely beneficial. However,
connectivity and access to external
employment opportunities remain
of paramount importance.
14–15
Wellness
A healthy and a happy home
Intellectual
Intellectual Wellness is the
ability to open our minds
to new ideas and experiences
that can be applied to
personal decisions, group
interaction and community
betterment. The desire to
learn new concepts, improve
skills and seek challenges in
pursuit of lifelong learning
contributes to our
Intellectual Wellness.
Ever since Tony Blair proclaimed
‘education, education, education’, there has
been a seismic shift in the attitude towards
higher education. Since 2001, the numbers
studying at university have increased by
over 17%. And its not just the traditional
route into further study; since its conception
the Open University has helped 1.89 million
people gain a qualification.
Increase in numbers studying at university
since 2001
17%
To help facilitate learning, whether it be
teenagers studying for GCSEs, or young
adults on a degree course, or adults
studying part time, homes should have
defined office space. Wifi and other
technologies are important to help
computer based learning. Of course,
connectivity to nearby academic
institutions and schools is hugely
beneficial. Research suggests that
being close to a top-performing school
can add anywhere from 16% – 28% to
property values.
16–17
Wellness
A healthy and a happy home
Physical
Physical Wellness is the
ability to maintain a healthy
quality of life that allows
us to get through our daily
activities without undue
fatigue or physical stress.
The ability to recognise
that our behaviours have
a significant impact on
our wellness and adopting
healthful habits (routine
check-ups, a balanced diet,
exercise, etc.) while avoiding
destructive habits (tobacco,
drugs, alcohol, etc.)
will lead to optimal
Physical Wellness.
Physical wellness is the poster boy for
overall wellness, particularly as it is relatively
easy to measure and articulate. We all know
the benefits of eating healthy food and
regular exercise. Despite this, obesity is
on the rise; in the last twenty years the
proportion of obese adults in England rose
from 15% to 26.9%. Estimates suggest
the direct costs to the NHS of treating
obesity is over £4bn. However, projections
suggest it could be costing up to £27bn
in indirect costs.
Proportion of English population that
is obese
26.9%
Lifestyle and behaviour is key in influencing
weight status. The Department of Health
recommends that adults do at least 150
minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic
activity every week and children over five
should engage in at least 60 minutes of
moderate physical activity every day.
Physical activity that can be incorporated
into everyday life, for example brisk walking
and cycling has been found to be as
effective for weight loss as supervised
exercise programmes. Although group
classes can help promote other dimensions
of wellness, including social and emotional.
Many new-build developments incorporate
a range of leisure and fitness facilities, such
as pools and gyms. However, in the UK this
is generally associated with the luxury end
of the market. In contrast in the US leisure
amenity is much more widespread,
particularity available in its ‘multifamily
housing’ offer. There is a need to follow
that trend in the UK.
In addition to facilitating a more active
lifestyle, we need to plan new homes to
optimise indoor environmental quality
and avoid materials harmful to humans.
Consideration should be given to water
and air quality, and the avoidance of
volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in
carpets, materials and finishes. While
VOCs create that desired ‘new’ smell,
they also can cause irritation, headaches,
dizziness and longer term damage.
The availability of daylight, views and the
colour and intensity of artificial lighting have
also been shown to have significant effects
on our natural circadian rhythms, with big
impacts on human’s performance.
18–19
Wellness
A healthy and a happy home
Case Study
The Eddy, Boston
The Eddy is a perfect
example of a residential
development that embodies
the seven principles of
wellness. A multi-family
housing scheme located
on the waterfront in East
Boston, it has great views
of the Boston skyline, both
ideal for emotional and
spiritual wellness.
The apartments all have well-designed
living spaces. They encourage
environmental wellness by using
locally-sourced and recycled-content
materials and include features such
as Nest Learning Thermostats™,
high-efficiency LED lighting, Energy
Star-rated appliances and low-flow fixtures.
Power is produced on site via a 75 kW
natural-gas co-generation plant.
The building also has a real-time energy
monitoring system and is designed with
resilience in mind with elements such as
salt-water resistant landscaping.
Social wellness is enabled by an on-site
restaurant, a lounge with chef’s kitchen and
music room, as well as an outdoor terrace
with a pool, grilling stations and fireplace.
It is also within walking distance of an
eclectic mix of restaurants, shops and
entertainment. The Eddy is well-served
by a wide range of transit systems including
water taxi, making it is easy for residents
to connect with friends further afield.
With private conference rooms, the
development helps occupational and
intellectual wellness, and access to modern
fitness facilities and a pool help promote
physical wellness. Nearby outdoor facilities
include a football pitch and basketball
court. It also has secure bike parking
and bike maintenance facilities.
20–21
Wellness
A healthy and a happy home
Case Study
443 Queen Street
443 Queen Street heralds
a new generation of design.
Set to be Brisbane’s first
premium subtropical
residential tower, it will
consist of 264 high quality
residential apartments
with unprecedented views
over Brisbane. As far as
wellness is concerned, it
ticks many of the boxes:
Amenities and communal
space ensure social,
spiritual and physical
wellness. But it is its
environmental credentials
that really stand out.
Jointly designed by Singapore-based
WOHA and Brisbane-based Architectus, the
architectural inspiration behind 443 Queen
Street’s design has come from Singapore’s
Parkroyal on Pickering which has been
designed to allow natural air and light into
all common areas of the building. There is
no need for mechanical ventilation as the
Breathable façade allows cross ventilation
and passive ventilation of individual
dwellings. Natural daylight permeates each
arrival garden on every floor and helps
reduce total energy consumption by 60%.
Along with the building’s passive
architecture, there are numerous green
sustainable elements throughout:
–– Rainwater harvesting
–– Integrated shading system
–– Highly efficient LED fixtures to reduce
energy consumption and thermal load
–– General / recyclable common waste
separation system
–– Highly efficient ‘heat pump’ hot
water systems
–– Naturally ventilated lobbies, stairs,
common areas and car parks to promote
cross flow ventilation, environmental
comfort and reduce energy use and
mechanical load
–– Shared green space amenity
–– Recessed lobby increases shade
zone and reduces thermal loading
–– Bio-retention system to gardens for
treatment of stormwater
–– Extended public realm, providing
shared amenity
–– Tenants cycling storage facility
To promote physical wellness,
443 Queen Street features a full recreation
floor including a riverside infinity edge
swimming pool and a gym. To help spiritual,
social and emotional wellness there will be
a yoga studio, relaxation cabana lounges
and outdoor gardens.
22–23
Wellness
A healthy and a happy home
Case Study
Al Barari
An exemplar of
environmental wellness,
Al Barari is a botanic
haven in the middle of the
Dubai desert. 80% of the
18 1/2 million-square-foot
development is made up
of green space, including
beautiful themed gardens,
naturally landscaped lakes
and freshwater streams.
With its native fish
population and variety
of wildlife, it is unrivalled
in its ecological sensitivity.
As well as homes, the
complex encompasses
a restaurant, a health
club and a spa for
physical wellness.
This eco-friendly and sustainable community
has put into practice various systems to
ensure environmental wellness. It has a
reduced carbon footprint, having adopted
numerous sustainability initiatives including:
shading, daylight harvesting, solar power,
cross ventilation, smart control irrigation,
radiant cooling, waste management,
recycling and water treatment, as well
as energy saving systems.
Part of the sustainable landscaping at
Al Barari is the use of recycled green
waste from landscape maintenance
through composting. The compost is
beneficial as a soil conditioner and
organic fertiliser to maintain and enhance
healthy soil that supports soil life. Additionally,
residents are encouraged to recycle through
the underground waste system that
separates organic from inorganic waste.
Water conservation is an essential part of
the Al Barari community. The community
has a Treated Sewage Effluent (TSE) water
system enabling them to recycle Dubai’s
water. There is a polishing plant to clean
and enhance the quality of the water, which
is then used throughout the waterways and
for irrigation of the landscape.
Over 80% of Al Barari is dedicated to
greenery, spread over 423 acres there
are 700 different kinds of plants. Al Barari
features six themed gardens, namely
the Mediterranean, Balinese, Water,
Renaissance, Contemporary and Woodland
Garden. All of this helps promote a social,
emotional, and spiritual wellness.
24–25
Jennet Siebrits
Head of Residential Research
t: +44 (0)20 7182 2066
e: [email protected]
Mark Collins
Chairman of Residential
t: +44 (0)20 7182 2264
e: [email protected]
Lisa Hollands
Managing Director
t: +44 (0)20 7182 2004
e: [email protected]
Luke Mills
Head of Development Consultancy
t: +44 (0)20 7182 2949
e: [email protected]
Rebecca Pearce
Executive Director, EMEA Head of Sustainability
t: +44 (0)20 3257 6232
e: [email protected]
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