Planetary and human health go hand in hand.
That’s why we developed VIA Wellness Architecture.™
People spend 90% of their time indoors. So it'd better be good, and good for you.
We have all felt the beneficial effects of time spent outdoors. In fact, neuroscientists and microbiologists can name the changes in cognitive behavior and brain chemistry that many of us feel after communing with nature. As research continues to establish the positive advantages of wellness living, we build our practice upon the benefits of natural materials and textures that nourish a space, positive rituals that guide our daily activities, and elements that delight the senses.
Studies show that better lighting and optimal thermal conditions can improve sleep scores by 25%. Better sleep, better you. Source
Certain plants are indoor air purification powerhouses, helping to remove the most common indoor toxins. Breathe deeply now. Source
"Green" is good. But it's simply not enough.
Our VIA Wellness Architecture™ design principles are founded on multiple dimensions and measures—68 of them, to be exact. We combine precision and intuition to create environments that improve human habits in harmony with nature.
Our multidimensional design principles are proven to positively impact your wellbeing.
People who spend more time in nature tend to live longer, happier lives (Source). Since we spend most of our time indoors, we build to bridge the gap between nature and our indoor reality. This is how we developed our design principles and building processes.
- Selecting building materials and interior finishes to support human and planet health.
- Our environments provide you with the tools, through design strategies influenced by scientific research, such as nudge psychology and nature connections, which help you live optimally and improve your sense of vitality.
- Ensuring our spaces are created only with materials known to be friendly to the built-in environment. Why? Living in spaces with traditional building materials can create adverse health effects over time, such as stress, mental fatigue, and hormone disruption.
- By avoiding the use of traditional building materials that omit toxins, such as those that can be inhaled through the air or absorbed through contact with the skin, we help create resilience!
- Experiences shape our world, and our understanding of it. By designing all spaces to be about the experience of being there, and intentionally making those experiences beautiful and refined, we facilitate enjoyment and grace in your daily life.
- Space is known to impact our emotional state. We curate and design spaces to support healthy responses to situations, such as stress reduction and attention restoration.
- Nature is our ultimate guide for healthy living environments. Unnatural materials lack the ability to nourish us, and without that we miss out on the production of feel-good hormones that are so important for our sense of wellbeing.
- Using natural building materials can contribute to reduced stress, depression, anxiety and other related mental health problems.
- Spacial orientation and flow, curated intuitively and purely, reduces confusion and cognitive fatigue.
- Our designs give inhabitants tangible and spiritual connections to themselves and the natural world.
- Drawing on the premise of Attention Restoration Theory, thoughtfully placed windows, or an artifact, can cause one to pause and reflect, bringing us into the present and reducing stress.
- Seamlessly blurring the lines of inside and out, we are able to facilitate a direct link between our shelter and our surroundings.
- We find that spiritual wellness goes beyond religious beliefs and, in essence, is how we see the world and our place within it. Spacial experiences which uplift our spirit and bring us into the present moment support healthy spiritual wellness by elevating our consciousness and mindfulness.
- Our underlying principle is one of “balance.”
- Environmental wellbeing promotes interaction with nature and your personal environment, encouraging us to be stewards of the environment and commune with it often.
- Materials that come from the natural environment make up the “living structure” and will promote health.
- Eventually, when these materials are no longer in use, they are returned to the natural environment and will integrate with the environment, and cause no harm.
- The less adulterated a material it is, the healthier it will be for people and planet.
- Occupational wellness inspires us to prepare for work in which we will gain personal satisfaction and find enrichment in our life.
- By inserting graceful experiences into the rhythms and actions of everyday life, we are able to facilitate harmony, beauty and peace. In so doing, we help contribute to the holistic, healthy lifestyle you desire.
- Feeling at ease and supported at home helps one cope with everyday stressors from work and elsewhere, and find more purpose.
Our spaces improve lives.
We’re paving the way for a regenerative future where buildings and nature harmonize—and where people thrive. Let us transform your space in synchrony with nature.