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H E A LT H AS A DESIGN PRINCIPLE:
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How can our homes enable us to live happy, healthy and fulfilling lives? Ivan Korolev, a researcher and strategist at SPACE10, on the design opportunity to transform how we live
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Front
H E A LT H AS A DESIGN PRINCIPLE:
Column
How can our homes enable us to live happy, healthy and fulfilling lives? Ivan Korolev, a researcher and strategist at SPACE10, on the design opportunity to transform how we live
18
iconeye.com
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I T M A N
I C E L E
I S S A PAT R
M A R
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P H OTO G R A P H Y
As a student of history, I often approach topics by looking for lessons from the past. My hope being that somewhere in the annals of human history are insights that can help make sense of the present – and, better yet, provide guidance for tomorrow.
Currently, I work at the cross-section of futures research and design strategy at SPACE10, an independent research and design lab dedicated to IKEA. We focus on the home and how, in the future, we can make life at home more regenerative, inclusive and healthier for the many.
Recently, we’ve been exploring what health means at home – from the design,
location and features of the home to how it can play a role in supporting our social, physical and spiritual wellbeing.
When researching this wide and multifaceted topic, I started thinking about moments in history when planners and designers saw the possibility of conceptualising and creating buildings and cities that made humans healthier and happier. And immediately a neat parallel emerged.
Just over a century ago, in 1918, a flu pandemic swept across the globe with devastating effects. This globally transformative event forged a new understanding of public health, including the recognition
Autumn 2023
that architecture and design have an influential role in human wellbeing.
Bauhaus and modernism, for example, emerged from the 1918 pandemic. As writer and former architect Lloyd Alter recently observed, the roots of modern architecture began with design that fought disease. Light, ventilation and health considerations gave rise to new forms that followed function. And the function was to support everyone’s health and wellbeing.
Drawing a parallel with the current moment, health remains front of mind for people around the world. Could reprioritising health (and happy living) as the primary goal of design,
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