Building for Wellbeing

Ageing, physical inactivity, loneliness, stress and health inequalities are increasingly affecting people’s wellbeing. At the same time, knowledge about the impact of the living environment on health and wellbeing is growing. Buildings, areas and infrastructure influence how people move, meet others and experience a place.

Yet little is known about the effectiveness of targeted spatial interventions that can strengthen wellbeing. As a construction, development and infrastructure company, Heijmans wants to explore which design choices and practical solutions can genuinely contribute to the wellbeing of residents and users.

How can Heijmans better understand the user perspective – including that of people who are not yet known – and translate it into concrete, effective interventions?

Wellbeing requires a human-centred approach. It is not only about housing preferences or spatial requirements, but about understanding what works for specific people, in a specific place, to strengthen their wellbeing. This makes it important to understand user perspectives, even when people do not yet live there, are not personally known or are simply passing through.

The Co/Lab therefore explores how wellbeing can become a structural part of area development, housing and infrastructure. Rather than starting with solutions, it first focuses on developing new ways of understanding people and their needs.

Three design teams were selected to explore, each through their own case, how wellbeing can become part of design and development: Afdeling Buitengewone Zaken, Rombout Frieling lab and cocosmos.

Afdeling Buitengewone Zaken is working on the real estate case Bazaar Beverwijk, an area development on a former industrial site.

Rombout Frieling lab is working on the Restorative Horizon Home, a wooden concept home for low-rise development on the edges of cities and beyond.

cocosmos, with Philémonne Jaasma and Aya Bergkamp, is working on the infrastructure case From Disruption Budget to Wellbeing-Promoting Environmental Management.

Each design team is working independently on its own case, in close collaboration with Heijmans and the partners involved. From the perspectives of area development, housing and infrastructure, they are exploring how user perspectives can be structurally translated into design choices and working processes.

The Co/Lab consists of two phases. In 2026, the focus is on developing new and surprising ways and tools to research users and their wellbeing needs. The designers explore how the user perspective can be brought into view and how wellbeing can consequently become a more effective part of plans and processes.

The three cases each approach this question from a different perspective:

Afdeling Buitengewone Zaken explores for Bazaar Beverwijk how the needs and desires of people in an area can be identified at an early stage, including people who do not yet live there, visit the area or even know what they need to feel good and healthy.

Rombout Frieling lab explores, from the principle of inner design, which spatial and sensory design choices can contribute to the mental health of residents of the Restorative Horizon Home.

cocosmos explores how environmental management for a complex infrastructure project can shift from limiting disruption to actively contributing to wellbeing. Through design ethnography, they investigate which temporary interventions can promote wellbeing or set lasting behavioural change in motion.

In 2027, the insights from the user and wellbeing research will be translated into effective interventions, design decisions and practical solutions. These may include calming building elements, co-housing models and natural opportunities for play. The Co/Lab will also explore how the impact of these interventions on quality of life can be measured or tested.

In this way, the Co/Lab makes the shift from building for people to building from people.