15 Mar Inspire a Space to Inspire Change to Inspire your Life

An Integrative Space™ implies a balance between function, beauty and inspiration.  Whether the space is residential, commercial or healthcare, the experience of the occupants/patients must be considered in order to determine the success of the space.

Alain De Botton, author of “The Architecture of Happiness,” states:

Belief in the significance of architecture is premised on the
notion that we are, for better or worse, different people in
different places, and on the conviction that it is architecture’s
task to render vivid to us who we might ideally be.

The role of the environment is not just to enable people to feel good and be relaxed but also to hold up a bigger reflection of who we might become.  A space can evoke memories.  It can engage people and it can inspire.

This might be a lot to achieve in a dental waiting room, but I’ve seen it happen.  A patient isn’t browsing mindlessly through a magazine to get their mind off an upcoming dental procedure but instead is engaged in the artwork, the music, the water sounds, the inspired sense of security—-all of which reflects their own inner sense of healing

In a recent article (“A New Aim”) in the February 2018 issue of Healthcare Design Magazine, Debra Levin, president and CEO of The Center for Health Design, describes this process as “humanity-centered design.”  The questions she asks are:  What message do we want our spaces to project into the world?  What behaviors do we want them to encourage?

An Integrative Space can, and should, change behavior.  We should become better people as the result of having been there—not more scared, not more anxious, but better.  For ways on how to do this exactly, check out my e-book Integrative Clinic Design specifically the chapter titled “Create Waiting Rooms Where Healing Can Begin.”

Although my focus is on healthcare spaces, a positive change in behavior can occur in a child’s bedroom, a master bedroom, the kitchen if built and designed with the purpose of making a difference.  If it’s been infused with the breath of inspiration, balance, harmony—and healing—-it can change behavior and change lives.