CLAD PEOPLE
Wellness is essentially an insurance policy to promote physical and mental long term health Veronica Schreibeis Smith Founder Vera Iconica Architecture
V
eronica Schreibeis Smith, CEO and founding principal of Vera Iconica Architecture, has spoken to CLAD about her mission to get wellness architecture on
the agenda of the wider architecture community. Schreibeis Smith will be moderating a Wellness Architecture Forum and Global Wellness Institute Roundtable on the topic in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, in September 2018. Making the case for an urgent need to improve on the “typically toxic and wasteful conventions standard in the building industry”, Schreibeis Smith said: “The population has never been sicker than it is today. Our bodies are constantly surrounded by chemicals and toxins in our foods and environments. Our ability to remain healthy is like a rain barrel...we can handle a lot, but when our exposure gets too high, we overflow and start seeing environmental stressors manifest as illness or disease. “From an economic standpoint [wellness architecture] makes sense. Well building
Schreibeis Smith
developers are assuming a 10 to15 per cent
set up Vera Iconica
cost increase for healthier building materials
Architecture in 2010
and systems. This is recouped by charging a premium for the real estate, as the end users justify this by valuing their health and wellbeing.” to live the lifestyle they aspire to and promote
healthy hormone production that can assist
as: “The art and science of designing the built
physical and mental long term health. Lifestyle
in the prevention of disease and illness.”
environment to empower people to thrive across
is influenced through ‘nudge architecture’, a
all dimensions of wellbeing (physical, mental,
practice that uses environmental psychology to
by Veronica Schreibeis Smith in 2010 in
spiritual, emotional, social and environmental).”
help shift behaviour patterns.
Jackson Hole, Wyoming, with a focus on ‘how
Schreibeis Smith defined wellness architecture
Asked how architects can sell the idea of
“Physical and mental health is influenced
Vera Iconica Architecture was set up
environments impact human wellbeing and planet
wellness architecture to their clients, Schreibeis
by designing with materials that purify the
earth’. The practice recently merged with Peruvian
Smith said: “Wellness architecture is essentially
air, or designs with appropriate daylighting
firm Luis Longhi Architecture. Ongoing projects
an insurance policy to help empower clients
to nourish circadian rhythms which leads to
include the Hotel Valle Sagrado in Cuzco, Peru. ●
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CLAD mag 2018 ISSUE 1