Towards a new society brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic;
Well-being and the Design of the Built Environment in the “After Corona” Age

　If we look at health from a social perspective, we can see that there are more aspects and issues that go beyond the definition put forth by WHO. For example, prior to the coronavirus pandemic in Japan, emphasis was placed on health care to avoid becoming sick from the perspective of increasing productivity to compensate for the growing burden of medical costs due to an aging demographic and labor shortages associated with a shrinking population. However, our experience with COVID-19 is likely to change the way we have traditionally thought about health. This is due to the mental stress people experienced from the unprecedented restrictions placed on going out and movement, together with the realization that we could find relief for this stress by spending time in nature, through physical movement, and in interactions with others. It is common medical knowledge that stress can weaken people’s immune systems. In the “after Corona” society, I believe that people will be more actively oriented towards healthy living, including ways to reduce stress, as a way to avoid infections.

　American psychologist Abraham Maslow believed that human needs could be organized into a five-level pyramid, and when the needs of the lower levels are satisfied, we move on to the next level of needs in the hierarchy. By applying the three elements of health in well-being (physical, mental and social) to the five levels in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, we are able to explain the needs for human health. Starting from the lower levels, physiological and safety needs are classified as “physical” elements, the need to love and belong is a “social” element, and esteem and self-actualization needs are “mental” elements. This order is important, because prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the main need was to be physically healthy to avoid becoming sick. However, in the “after Corona” society, we may be able to say that people’s growing consciousness of health that emerged from the coronavirus pandemic has spread to a need for a higher level of social and mental health.
　Next, for example, if we look at a built environment that is required to satisfy well-being, the need for safety can be seen as an environment that protects personal safety, which, in today’s situation, seems to apply to actions to avoid the “3C’s” (closed spaces, crowded places, close-contact settings). Although this need is found on the lower level of Maslow’s hierarchy, it is very important and should not be taken lightly because it is easy to imagine that without a comfortable and safe level of physical health, people will not be motivated to connect with others or seek better mental health. Today, various studies and research are being carried out on optimal air conditioning and ventilation in the “with/after Corona” society with the participation of architectural design offices, mainly in relation to academic societies. First, based on the findings of these studies, it will be necessary to introduce robust, evidence-based infection prevention measures.
　Furthermore, as we turn our attention to higher-level needs, we can say that social needs can be found in “environments where people relate to others” and that the needs for esteem and self-actualization exist in “environments that spark creative activities”. There is no clear, one-size-fits-all approach to creating such an environment, but in both cases, co-existing with nature is a critical element. Nature’s healing power and diversity are irreplaceable, something to which people are attracted and flock towards. And, in the midst of this relaxing environment, new ideas are born. In recent years, designs and ideas have emerged that contribute to mental well-being and give people a sense of the natural environment, even indoors, such as biophilic designs that incorporate natural elements like greenery into indoor spaces and elemental technologies that appeal to the five senses, such as lighting to match biological rhythms, 1/f fluctuation air-conditioning, and fragrance-based air-conditioning. Gradually, quantitative assessments of the effects of these designs and ideas on health and intellectual productivity have become clearer.

　What is most important to consider in designs of the built environment to satisfy well-being? We can consider the answer to this question by looking at past case studies on design. The Daikin Technology and Innovation Center was designed as a building to house a research and development base. The theme of the design was to create a space that would spark innovation in researchers from all over the country.
　One example of the way we achieved this was with the design of a communication space called “Waigaya Stage” in the middle of a large spatial floor where the researchers worked. At the top of this space, we installed a void (atrium) to pull in light and wind, creating a space that allows natural breezes to flow through and where people could feel the light from the sun as it shifted throughout the day.
　We also designed TIC Forest, a wooded area for walking, on the south side of the building. In addition to providing a comfortable environment for the small animals in the area, this design aspect planned to stimulate the intellectual productivity of researchers and to open up the facility to residents in the surrounding area, creating a space for interaction between the researchers and local residents.
　As a result, Waigaya Stage is satisfying the mental health needs of researchers, while the TIC Forest is meeting social health needs in terms of communication between people. In this way, it may be important to create clear design concepts that take the wishes of users into account and to cleverly incorporate nature into the spatial design of built environments to satisfy well-being.

　As we have introduced here, the design of the built environment, which incorporates natural elements that contribute to people’s health and happiness, is in line with the global trend towards decarbonization, a movement to reduce energy consumption from fossil fuels and prevent global warming. We will strive to create a sustainable society through these types of initiatives that promote well-being.