The Role of Landscape Architecture in Designing for Health
There is an increasing awareness across not just landscape but the whole built environment of the link between design and health. The places we choose to spend our time; the landscapes, the buildings and everything in between have a real and very distinctive impact on our health. The link between nature and health can be traced back through millennia and more recently the evidence supporting these theories has cited benefits right down to a cellular level. Professional bodies like the Landscape Institute, RIBA and even wider government bodies are beginning to look at this idea as a real development in the realm of design. The LI even put out a manifesto back in November 2013 highlighting their healthy places strategy and those who follow our practice will know that here at Studio 31 “design for health’ is a core part of our ethos.
One big question remains though. Much of the research is directed at uncovering the links between health and landscape, place and nature but how do you design for it? Much less research pertains to the art of design for health, though increasingly researchers are taking huge steps to understanding more about this.
One thing we do know is that, as with all things design, ‘design for health’ is not a ‘one size fits all’. It’s easy to believe that there’s a generic formula to using certain plants, materials, structures or layouts which are known to have a positive impact on health, but this just isn’t true. The very real danger of this belief is that, in having a generic view of designing for health, we are in fact at risk of having the opposite effect (there is even some research to support this hypothesis). The way a place has an impact on someone’s health will depend on a number of factors, not least the way a user perceives both a space and their own health.
When thinking about design we should be asking questions such as; what are we designing for? Are we designing a space as a treatment/therapy, to be health promoting or even to prevent ill-health? How do the users view their own health? How are we anticipating the users of the space to interact with it? Are we considering the impact on the users if it is not used for its intended purpose? Research suggests that if this is the case, it is likely the health promoting effects will be greatly reduced. As a profession how can we define the use of the space as part of the concept design?
This paper, written by Ulrika Stiggotter on Nature, Health and Design, highlights many important points specifically in relation to Landscape Architecture. That though the profession itself is becoming increasingly evidence based, very little of the research in relation to nature and health has been conducted from a landscape architecture perspective and this makes the application of theory to landscape architecture (or indeed architecture) difficult.
More work needs to be done which is relevant to the vital role the profession has to play in designing for health and the results of this should include tools and training for landscape architects and other professionals to use in designing with this strategy in mind.
As a profession, we also need to move forward with facilitating and encouraging education around health and landscape and look to personalise design for health in the same way that all design in personalised.
Landscape architecture is increasingly becoming the profession of the future. It’s impact on almost every issue of our time (including health) is potentially colossal and there is more responsibility than ever on us to keep up with the evidence base and facilitate the research to keep up with us.
Photo by Kien Do