Virginia Commonwealth University VCU Scholars Compass Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 2017 Active Design: Creating a Blue Zones model for interior environments Alexis Holcombe Virginia Commonwealth University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd Part of the Interior Architecture Commons © The Author Downloaded from https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/4867 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at VCU Scholars Compass. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of VCU Scholars Compass. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ACTIVE DESIGN creating a Blue Zones model for interior environments alexis c. holcombe ides 699 spring 2017 virginia commonwealth university integrity approach work honestly and openly intention define concept and plan clearly and articulately form give meaning and order to materials PROGRESSION love respect and care for people and the earth RESEARCH i am committed to making design that serves many and is universal, because that is AND PROGRAM CONCEPT THE BLUE ZONES economical, sustainable and ethical. 12 but I honor design that celebrates the individual, PROGRAM AND CODE ACTIVE DESIGN FOR 64 because that is WELL-BEING DESIGN personal, poetic and joyful. 14 GRAPHIC PROGRAM AND ADJACENCIES BACK THE WELL LIVING LAB 66 SCHEMATIC DESIGN design is power 20 AND SITE BUILDING 76 FRONT TAI CHI CHUAN CONCEPT DESIGN DEVELOPMENT WORKS CITED 22 DEVELOPMENT 78 104 designers have a responsibility to help people experience RICHMOND AND THE 68 and manage their time and place on earth. THESIS PREFACE TEAISM FAN DISTRICT DESIGN REALIZATION SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 06 24 42 WABI-SABI 84 108 THESIS ABSTRACT CASE STUDIES SITE STUDY AND MATERIALITY REFLECTION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS — Alexis Holcombe 08 28 46 72 102 111 THESIS PREFACE “It is a question of environment.” Although it was one thing to define areas of the world where people already were living long, healthy lives, Buettner’s chal- That was the assessment of Dr. Pekka Puska, a cardiologist lenge was to discover a way one could create a Blue Zone from a and public health professor with Finland’s National Institute community where people led comparatively unhealthy lives. for Health and Welfare (THL). I was sitting at a cozy kitchen conference table with Dr. Puska and his associate, Vesa Korpe- Dr. Puska explained how, as an idealistic young doctor in the lainen. They had agreed to meet me at their office in Joensuu, 1970s, he proceeded to help bring Joensuu back from the brink Finland, a seven-hour journey by train from Helsinki, through of a serious public health crisis. North Karelia, the eastern endless miles of thick Baltic birch forest. province where Joensuu is located, had the highest mortality rate for men under the age of 35 in Finland. Through trial and I visited Joensuu and Helsinki to discuss the connection error, Puska and his associates learned that they couldn’t make a between interior environments and public health. Dr. Puska lasting difference by treating people individually. Instead, they had reservations that he could provide any useful insights to a discovered that a community approach based on lifestyle was researcher looking for clues to well-being and indoor health. the most effective, long-term solution to addressing the prob- Yet as our conversation continued, it was clear that both men lem. And so they took an ecological approach and worked with noticed the same growing awareness that I had intuitively grocers, restaurant owners, teachers, parents, doctors, students grasped after reading The Blue Zones Solution by Dan Buettner. The — anyone from the community who wanted to participate. environment is critical to healthy living, both indoors and out. Using this example, I conceived of a mixed-use building project The germ of an idea that grew into this book started in the in Richmond, Virginia where one could live, eat healthfully and summer of 2015. I had just finished reading The Blue Zones Solution participate in a mind-body strengthening program. In doing so before entering the master’s program at Virginia Common- I hope to provide a blueprint for a micro-Blue Zone for healthy wealth University’s department of interior design. After a six- living within the context of modern-day urban Richmond. week immersion in the department’s summer intensive work- shop that prepares master’s students for the rigors of a two-year I am grateful to Dr. Puska, Mr. Korpelainen and their asso- design program, I started to wonder whether interior design ciate, Dr. Tiina Laatikainen, for initiating this research and TITLE SECTION could help people live longer, healthier lives. design process. — Alexis Holcombe I learned about Dr. Puska’s effort to address a public health cri- FRONT sis in Joensuu from reading Buettner’s work on the Blue Zones. (right) I Was Told, by Alexis Holcombe. Mixed media on fifteen cards, front and back. The author’s artist statement addresses the journey a designer makes in the long process of achieving artistic maturity. This project’s emphasis on flaws and imperfection in materials as seen through wabi-sabi principles is used to emphasize the acceptance of change and fate as natural and necessary aspects 06 of life. THESIS ABSTRACT How might interior environments play a role in promoting life that can inform principles for the creation of interior environ- creases in healthy behaviors, which ultimately lead to increased long well being? According to Passarino, et al., genetic variety ments. longevity. only accounts for about 25% of the variation of human longev- ity. A combination of diet, environment and exercise comprise RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES Using these guides, a building in Richmond, Virginia will be the greatest factors. redesigned as a micro-Blue Zone that could be used as a model Further analysis of Blue Zones principles will address specific for promoting increased life long well being. This two-lev- The amount of time Americans spend indoors presents a chal- conditions and behaviors that encourage natural movement. A el adaptive reuse, mixed use commercial project will address lenge to increasing physical activity: the Environmental Pro- literature review and case studies will be presented that show a vertical transitions, social spaces and outdoor relationships that tection Agency (EPA) states that Americans spend 93% of their correlation between natural movement within the built envi- encourage residents and visitors to move throughout the day. lives indoors (Roberts, 2016). Therefore, if physical activity ronment and measurable increases in healthy outcomes. The is crucial to living longer, the design of interior environments example projects include La Maison de Verre, Paris, France; could logically be a critical factor in promoting natural move- L’Unité d’Habitation à Marseille, France; and Tea House, ment and sustaining lifelong well-being. Bethesda, Maryland. SARDINIA ITALY IKARIA LOMA LINDA GREECE CALIFORNIA National Geographic fellow Dan Buettner identified five “Blue OKINAWA JAPAN Zones” throughout the world where people naturally live lon- Interior design that encourages regular natural movement ger: Ikaria, Greece; Okinawa, Japan; Oligastra Region, Sardin- NICOYA occurs primarily in the design of a building’s major circulation COSTA RICA ia; Loma Linda, California; and Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica. systems and its program (Center for Active Design, 2010). These regions have unusually high concentrations of cente- Corridors, elevators and lobbies that connect other spaces in narians who had grown old without noticeable signs of heart the program encourage walking. Elements like stairs, bicycle disease, obesity, cancer or diabetes (Buettner, 2015). storage and furniture that produces micro-movement promote activity when they are visible, safe and attractive. Programmed Buettner identified nine common principles that universally spaces that encourage physical activity like dance/movement characterize well-being in the Blue Zones. The first, and most studios and those that promote healthy diets also lead to in- crucial to design in the built environment, is to “move natural- ly.” Healthy centenarians, Buettner says, “live in environments that constantly nudge them into moving” (Buettner, 2015). Centenarians living in the five orginial Blue Zones have created environ- how can interior design help us ments where they naturally live longer, more vital lives. FRONT This research will seek to translate Blue Zone principles aimed FRONT at promoting continued well-being through natural movement live longer, healthier lives? 08 09 THE BLUE ZONES 12 ACTIVE DESIGN FOR WELL-BEING 14 THE WELL LIVING LAB 20 TAI CHI CHUAN 22 TEAISM 24 CASE STUDIES 28 RESEARCH THE BLUE ZONES 12 9 3 There are many factors that work against creating healthy life HOW TO BLUE ZONE THE HOME 02 6 03 habits for most Americans. Cheap, high caloric food with little A deconvenience the home to maximize movement the BLUE 01 move naturally purpose down shift nutritional value adds pounds and degrades our bodies’ ability ZONES Have something to live for Make a daily habit of taking to fight disease. Technological advances make life easier but also B create an efficient kitchen layout People in Blue Zones when waking up each day. time to meditate, pray or make us more inclined to be sedentary. POWER NINE live in environments C have plenty of cleared kitchen counter space and good lighting that build movement Having a sense of purpose nap. adds seven years of extra Previous generations moved more because they had to and ate into their daily D make the bedroom a sanctuary for a good night’s sleep life expectancy. simpler diets. Scarcity and hardship created an environment routines. where people’s bodies worked harder to maintain health. As E own only one TV researcher Dan Buettner notes in The Blue Zones Solution (2015), most Blue Zones residents, such as those in Sardinia and F have indoor plants for better air quality Ikaria, for example, live in communities that are physically iso- G create a quiet destination space for relaxing and meditating 04 05 06 lated from many modern conveniences.