Architectural Services
Centers for Well-Being – Community Facilities

The design of  community places to facilitate well-being ( “a good or satisfactory condition of existence; a state characterized by health, happiness and prosperity”).
January 4, 2010
                                      
Goal – since 1987 Architectural Alternatives’ three largest specialty areas include health care, churches, and community facilities.  The common theme among all is the  provision of places to improve our well-being - our physical, mental, spiritual, and community “health”.  In this program we see medical centers, churches, community centers, and other places of public service and wellness as essentially the same building type – all seeking to improve the ways that we relate to ourselves and each other.  This area of work complements the other primary center for well-being – the home.

Centers for Well-Being - Areas of Service  - each building type (whether that of a hospital, a church, a museum, or an office building) has its own unique requirements but there are many common elements.  Our work seeks to reflect the common themes as well as the rigorous demands brought about by technology as well as the service goals of organizations.

1. Well-Being is different from Wellness – the term “wellness” implies a health focus, whereas “well-being” suggests a broader concept , as noted in the definition above.  Part of our role is to research and  understand this term and how it relates to the very practical needs of each project,  including the new economics arising from the “great recession.”
2. Well-Being is part of “Sustainable Living” – our belief is that well-being improves if we engage in more sustainable lifestyles.   We strongly affirm the evolving “green economy” and in our work utilize various guides as part of our sustainable design approach.  This includes our own organically-based approach to design, coordination of landscape and interior design as part of design for well-being,  and utilization of other techniques as part of efforts to do our part to reduce our impact on the earth’s resources and climate.
3. Focus on both new and renovation/addition projects  -  recognizing the wealth of potential in existing environments, our services focus on how to better use spaces and create appropriate changes and expansions.  Sometimes new projects are required and these are treated as “renovations” of the existing landscape, seeking to build connections to the surrounding community.
4. Planning for technology and change – health care projects represent the dramatic role of technology which must be part of every project.  Other projects may not have as much technology but still must plan for change, within the new or renovated envelope, and as might be needed for facility expansion.
5. Coordination with EASL Homes  - our residential design work is called EASL (Exploring the “Architecture” of Sustainable Living) Homes.  We see the home as partner in well-being to the community-based facilities.  Incorporation of simple systems to encourage well-being, technology centers for linkages, incorporation of healing gardens, and other techniques are part of this work.      

 
How can we help you?– please visit our web site listed below, or call Shelley Sewart, our Office Manager, for further information.