Interior Designers Understand Value of Health, Wellness in Built Environment

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The  American Society of Interior Designers was a featured research partner in the new SmartMarket Report by Dodge Data & Analytics. “The Drive Toward Healthier Buildings 2016: Tactical Intelligence to Transform Building Design and Construction SmartMarket Report” reveals that the business benefits of healthier buildings are driving increased attention across the design and construction industry to factors that impact physical health, social health, mental health and well-being, and are leading building owners, developers, managers and investors to an increased interest in creating healthier buildings.

ASID assisted in crafting the survey used to collect data for the report and played a key role in distributing the survey to the Society’s interior designer members. Health, wellness and well-being in the built environment are central to the ASID mission.

Information revealed in the SmartMarket report shows that the interior design community is at the forefront of acknowledging the importance of creating healthier buildings and environments, with interior designers and architects credited with leading the industry in the use of healthy building practices. Additionally, interior designers were found to be in alignment with owners’ goals for “happier and healthier building occupants.”

In addition to the Society’s participation in the SmartMarket Report by Dodge Data & Analytics, the ASID Foundation’s annual Transform Grant awards up to $100,000 in support of Evidence-Based research projects that address the impact of design on the human experience.

Additional highlights from the report include:

• According to interior designers and architects, investment in healthier buildings is improved by public awareness of the health impacts of buildings.
• Sixty-nine percent of owners that measure employee satisfaction and engagement report improvement in these areas due to healthier building investments.
• According to public health professionals, the most common policies currently in place to support healthier building practices are requirements to avoid the use of hazardous materials in buildings.
• Key policy areas being considered include incentives that encourage physical activity and ongoing requirements for air quality.

To download the report, click here.