Cultural Heritage and Adaptive Reuse as a Contributor to Well-Being

This chapter aims to discuss the dialectic relationship between interior environments of heritage buildings and users and the importance of preserving interior elements as communicators of cultural significance. Today the conservation practice and reuse proposals focus on preserving the architectural envelope of buildings rather than interior aspects. Conversely, interiors need specific safeguard and care, not only due to their cultural significance but also because they are the part most closely connected to the real life of users. In the perspective of cultural conservation, existing buildings represent the continuity of cultural values from the past to the future, and at this point, interior architecture is crucial as it provides an authentic interaction between users and spaces conveying all these values. Therefore, the conservation of interior envelope and interior elements rises as a very important issue to be discussed, affecting the occupant's well-being in a very subjective and sometimes unconscious way (considering the cultural belonging).

Well-Being in Practice and Policy

Recent research focuses on the concept of well-being, aiming to systematize it and obtain design guidelines. In latest years, various building certification systems have arisen, which, although used for ex post evaluations, contain, specularly, design guidelines. In a first phase the concept of well-being was intended on a global scale, linked to the pitfalls of pollution and consumption of resources, so design guidelines and control systems developed within the construction industry to ensure the conservation of the environment and therefore the “well-being” and “health” of human communities. Having therefore developed certification systems measuring and evaluating the performance of buildings in relation to their impact on the environment and its resources, we are now faced with a shift of attention on a smaller scale, linked to the performance that buildings offer not so much with respect to the environment as to the people who live in them. This chapter explores the concepts behind such systems and the relationship between building certification systems and people's well-being.

The Well-Being Concept

Well-being is related not only to physical health, but also to many other factors about our lives and living environments. It is a very ephemeral condition in relation to the complex system of interconnected components changing from culture to culture and person to person together with time and space. In this sense, design for well-being is an issue that requires intense research on subjective aspects. The chapter begins by discussing different conceptions of well-being and goes on by discussing what design can do for well-being. After discussing the spatial dimensions of well-being, the study focuses on the role of interior design in promoting well-being and underlines the importance of the concepts of flexibility, sense of place, and contact with nature.

Conclusion

This last chapter discusses the need for interdisciplinary research and approaches for well-being. Therefore, it is very important to investigate the intersections of well-being with architecture, social sciences, medicine, as well as neuroscience. Recent well-being research shows that we have the amazing ability to reshape our brains, to change our affective mindsets, and to improve our well-being. On the other hand, it is necessary to understand cultural differences and its effects on well-being and to grasp the issue in accordance with the specific context. Therefore, the conclusion tries to understand how design and architecture can contribute to the way we build up well-being. Since interior space is one of the most important determinants of our everyday experiences, its role in well-being as a conscious construct needs to be the most important concern of spatial design.

A Framework for Well-Being in Interiors

This chapter aims to propose an environmental design framework in order to contribute to sustainability with well-being criteria focusing on human factors. Designers need to handle the issue of well-being with a methodological approach, as it is very difficult to achieve with an intuitive attitude. There are several requirements that need to be fulfilled in order to create the environment that can promote user well-being. The framework proposal, consisting of contextual, functional, psychological, social, ergonomic, aesthetic, and sensory requirements as basic design criteria, aims to support both theoretical and practical activities regarding well-being in all living environments, as a crucial component of sustainability. In this sense, this chapter discusses all the components of the well-being framework and evaluates the effect of cultural differences on the hierarchy of these requirements.

Cultural Components of Well-Being and Vernacular Examples

Vernacular architecture expresses a highly sustainable approach to living as a result of strong connection to cultural and environmental context. On the other hand, today's architecture attempts to create artificial solutions that consume the environment and lack the authenticity of vernacular solutions. In this sense, vernacular living environments need to be conserved, appreciated, and studied carefully because of their great potential to inspire the new generation of living environments. Previous research on the topic has mostly focused on the use of local materials and inherited construction techniques, which are extremely beneficial. Starting from a short survey on international declarations and charters, and discussing the strong connectedness between vernacular design principles and human well-being as an outcome, this chapter will lead the discussion deeper on interiors. Interiors from selected cultural contexts will be examined in order to attract attention to the cultural components of well-being and their meaningful reflections on the creation of interior space.

Well-Being and School Life

The “school climate” includes both social and physical aspects of school life and can affect positively (or not) behavior, achievements, and cultural development. The school environment has attracted great attention from architecture, but perhaps the overall well-being of the students has taken second place to educational needs. As in all work environments, to which the school can be partially compared, we need to overcome the concept of well-being as an instrumental element to the best performance of people, in favor of a holistic conception that tends to a better quality of life (which also influences some profitability). This chapter reports and comments on the results of a survey carried out on two different school complexes (with students aged between 11 and 14 years) in the Turin metropolitan area, where different socio-economic and cultural conditions are represented. The questionnaire submitted to the students is articulated according to different requirements of well-being: functional, social, psychological, ergonomic, aesthetic, sensorial, and connection with the context.

Different Design Approaches for Well-Being

Interior spaces have a great effect on human well-being because of their role as the follower of life. Flexibility becomes an important design issue while considering the subjective character of well-being in interiors. Therefore, not only the inhabitants' needs change during their lifetime, but especially interiors with multiple or changing users need to be considered with a design approach that can lead to multiple solutions that can be adapted to changing users and preferences. This chapter aims to evaluate a series of design approaches that are particularly attentive to a holistic conception of human well-being and that can be adopted with particular reference to interior design. Here it is not intended to identify a general hierarchy of such approaches, as their appropriateness depends on the context, on the user and on the interpretation of the designer himself. Therefore, it is important to know the potentials of different approaches in solving design problems with different priorities.

A Short History of Well-Being in Interiors

Although well-being studies started in the psychological field (1961) when well-being was discussed in terms of “the good life,” the concept dates back to ancient times from Aristotle's idea of eudaimonia to the human-centered understanding of the Renaissance. During the last decades, different studies focused on social, physiological, and psychological impacts of the dwelling and the neighborhood, and some even applied neurosciences to architecture. The contribution of studies carried in healthcare contexts has been crucial, as well as experimental results in workplaces, but also biologists, psychologists, and sociologists supported theory and practice, starting from the 1960s. Nevertheless, the specific role of architecture and interior space has been quite under-evaluated. This chapter aims to discuss the foundations of the concept of living well evaluating the understanding of “space for human well-being” in different cultural contexts at different times.

Well-Being and Home Environments

Home has a special value for human as it reflects the ways of feeling, thinking, and living of their inhabitants. In this sense, home environments have primary importance in individual and social well-being. This chapter aims to discuss the effects of each well-being requirement in home environments using the design framework for well-being in interiors discussed in Chapter 5. In this sense, each requirement is evaluated in terms of its specific value for home, and the discussion is enriched by a survey study that includes questions about contextual, functional, psychological, social, ergonomic, aesthetic, and sensory requirements addressed in the framework.