Merging Form and Function to Support Student Wellness

Years later, college campuses nationwide report higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. According to the Healthy Minds survey, the majority of college students meet the criteria for at least one mental health problem. This is a nearly 50% increase since 2013. Mental health challenges often result in less physical activity, eating too much or too little, making unhealthy food choices and sleep disruptions. As a consequence of the psychological stress, both physical well-being and academics can suffer.

Redefining Wellness Through a Holistic Approach

To help and support their students’ well-being, colleges and universities nationwide are taking action and redefining wellness on campus. Today’s higher education campus environments need to be more than just a place for supporting academic work. Students’ social, physical, psychological and personal wellness need to be considered as well.

Students benefit both mentally and physically from access to spaces to unwind, the ability to obtain affordable, healthy food and ways to socially connect with others and feel a sense of belonging. Campus spaces focusing on wellness should provide a sense of safety and security, act as a healing space and facilitate counseling and mentoring by staff and mental health professionals in response to students’ needs.

Through concerted action from university leaders and strong support from the Biophilic Design movement and the WELL Building Standard communities, campuses are being redesigned to enhance overall wellness. Colleges and university buildings and grounds are being reimagined to function as an additional tool that not only supports students’ academic performance but also their health and well-being. With the support of a campus designed with areas for concentration and collaboration as well as spaces for relaxation and rest, students can help improve their mental, emotional and physical health as well as their academic endeavors.

Reimagining Wellness Spaces

The SAGA Center is part of Franklin & Marshall College’s Office of Community & Belonging

An active design approach in architecture considers and incorporates a person’s physical wellness, mental health and social well-being into design elements. Using this approach as a guide, both designers and higher education institutions can help steer students to make healthier choices and improve their overall well-being. The result of this holistic design approach is students that are overall healthier, happier and perform better academically. Institutions also reap benefits through these designs by maximizing resources and creating efficiencies realized through merging different services and academic departments under one roof. These centralized spaces eliminate silos while providing a consolidated, recognizable hub for services.

These reimagined “wellness” spaces can become a destination for students to stay and hang out, instead of just passing through. University services commonly being incorporated into these spaces include specialty health/physicians, teaching kitchens, a pharmacy and retail space, as well as respite areas and nap pods. With diversity and inclusivity offices also located in campus wellness centers, students are provided with an additional sense of belonging and often gain an overall feeling of safety and security

Designing Residence Halls for Wellness

Dickinson College’s Drayer Hall encourages socialization between residents.

In addition to centrally located centers for wellness, residence halls also provide an opportunity to encourage healthy choices among students who live there. Community activities occurring inside residence halls encourage socialization between residents. These activities also decrease the risk of isolation while increasing the feelings of acceptance and inclusion. Simultaneously, residence hall design should also allow for private and quiet time. Spaces that allow students to unplug and read provide students an opportunity to reflect and relax and develop healthy sleep patterns.

Motivating Healthier Indoor Choices

Building design emphasizing wellness incorporates subtle features to encourage and guide students to make healthier choices. Large windows provide ample light, add to a feeling of openness and create a welcoming environment. Views to an appealing courtyard or green space encourage students to head outdoors to study or for an equally beneficial study break. By making stairways convenient and attractive so that students take them instead of looking for an elevator, a bit of extra activity is incorporated seamlessly into a student’s day. In addition to bright colors and wide-open stairway design, social lounge areas located at the top of stairs can entice students into walking, especially when the seating areas can be seen from the floor below. Indoor game nooks and restrooms positioned at the far end of communal spaces encourage additional steps and movement inside buildings.

Outdoor Spaces

Outdoor areas have become just as important as indoor spaces since the pandemic. Existing campus quads and green spaces can provide outside study and meeting areas as well as places to engage socially through games, tables and labyrinths. These natural spaces have also been shown to have a positive calming and nurturing effect on the body. However, an open quad on campus shouldn’t be the only green spot available. Courtyards and shaded seating areas encourage social interaction as well as offer additional areas for study and/or rest.

Having designed, landscaped and well-lit paths and bikeways encourages walking and biking between buildings instead of driving and contributes to overall campus safety. These paths also give students and staff an additional way to relax before and after class. Walkways strategically placed near open spaces and athletic fields can encourage students to join in casual games as they pass by.

Design in Action

Lighting, sound and furniture are just a few design elements that can help physiologically change a body as students enter a building. Spaces can be re-imagined into mood-enhancing areas that take into account light, color, vibrancy and access to artwork. Filling buildings with natural light not only brightens the space and saves energy, it also allows the body’s natural circadian rhythm to take over which can help improve productivity and sleep.

Pink noise or natural soundscapes can be pumped into a building through hidden speakers to help promote boost mood and focus. Living plant walls, water walls, and incorporating natural materials such as wood, cork, bamboo and ceramic can remind visitors of nature and further impart a sense of relaxation.

Color can establish context and be calming and encourage rest and relaxation. Comfortable seating options in communal areas offer places to linger with friends while in smaller spaces allow for recharging and quiet moments alone. All of these elements can promote a positive attitude by providing students with a visual and mental break.

A Focus on Wellness with Wide-Ranging Benefits

By consciously incorporating active design, biophilic and WELL Building principles in a college or university’s new construction or renovation reinforces the idea that health – and overall wellness – are an important part of campus life. In many cases, higher education institutions are introducing students to wellness for the first time and in the process helping to create what could be long-lasting habits and practices. Frequent exposure to these principles can make overall wellness a daily part of a student’s life as well as forming a practice that continues past matriculation.

Both wellness spaces and thoughtfully designed residence halls can be a safe haven for students, provide them with a place to go and find help for physical or mental challenges, as well as offer comfortable, welcoming locations to interact with their peers. Numerous and easily accessible campus green spaces allow for physical activity and additional social interaction without students having to go out of their way to find it.

For colleges and universities, the variety of services and spaces available can transform campus culture. Not only can a well-designed building look beautiful, but a focus on wellness initiatives can assist in recruitment efforts and attract new students and staff. Healthy buildings and outdoor spaces can also enhance the academic experience while maximizing the performance and productivity of those attending and working at the higher education institution.