Designing for the Mind & Well-being with Salutogenic Design

In the evolving landscape of architecture and interior design, a revolutionary approach is transforming how we think about our built environments: salutogenic design. This concept, rooted in promoting health and well-being, offers a fresh perspective on how our spaces can actively contribute to our mental and physical health. At the forefront of this movement are biophilic elements like preserved gardens, moss walls, and planter inserts with preserved foliage, which play a crucial role in creating spaces that nurture the human mind and body.

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Understanding Salutogenesis in Design

Salutogenesis, a term coined by medical sociologist Aaron Antonovsky, focuses on factors that support human health and well-being rather than on factors that cause disease. When applied to design, this approach seeks to create environments that promote health, reduce stress, and enhance overall quality of life.

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The power of salutogenic design lies in its holistic approach, encompassing connection to nature through biophilia, fostering social support and interaction, creating a sense of coherence and meaning, providing personal control and choice, and encouraging physical activity and movement. This comprehensive framework transforms how we conceive and construct our living and working environments.

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The Science Behind Biophilic Elements

Biophilic design, with its focus on integrating nature into built environments, aligns perfectly with salutogenic principles. The field of neuroaesthetics, which explores how aesthetic experiences affect our brain and behavior, provides compelling evidence for the benefits of natural elements in our spaces. Research consistently demonstrates that exposure to natural elements, even in preserved form, can lead to reduced stress and anxiety, improved mood and cognitive function, enhanced creativity and problem-solving abilities, and better sleep quality.

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Preserved nature installations function as art installations that closely mimic the natural world, performing at the cross-section of neuroaesthetics, biophilia, neuroarchitecture, biomimetics, and biomimicry to help designers create human-centric transformative spaces where occupants not only survive but thrive.

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Creating Restorative Environments

One key aspect of salutogenic design is the creation of restorative spaces that allow individuals to recover from mental fatigue and stress. Preserved nature installations serve as powerful focal points for these areas, providing visual escapes and a sense of being away from daily pressures. Unlike living plant installations that require constant maintenance and can fail unexpectedly, preserved gardens offer the psychological and aesthetic benefits of nature without the operational challenges.

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In healthcare settings, preserved gardens and moss walls can create calming environments that support healing and reduce stress for both patients and staff. Once the right provider is chosen (like Garden on the Wall^®), these installations can meet stringent health standards, including compliance with health initiatives and VOC standards for safe indoor environments. In corporate environments, these elements offer spaces for employees to recharge and refocus, ultimately enhancing productivity and job satisfaction.

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Fostering Coherence and Connection

Salutogenic design aims to create environments that are comprehensible, manageable, and meaningful - the three components of Antonovsky's "sense of coherence." Preserved nature elements contribute to this by making spaces more legible and easier to navigate, providing connections to the familiar and comforting aspects of nature, and creating meaningful focal points that enhance the overall design narrative.

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Successful implementations such as Garden on the Wall^® solutions often involve custom design processes where preserved greenery installations are specifically crafted for individual spaces. This approach ensures that each installation tells a unique story and enhances spatial coherence rather than appearing as an afterthought or generic addition.

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The Longevity Advantage

The sustainability and longevity of preserved garden installations represent a crucial advantage in salutogenic design. Quality preserved gardens and moss walls excel in durability, with properly installed systems maintaining their appearance for 10-12 years or longer. This exceptional longevity is achieved by Garden on the Wall^®, through advanced preservation processes where non-toxic, plant-based, and biodegradable preservation liquids replace plant sap, effectively "freezing" the plants in time while maintaining their fresh-cut appearance.

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The extended lifespan of preserved installations makes them particularly valuable in commercial and institutional settings where long-term maintenance costs and replacement schedules are critical considerations. Garden on the Wall^® offers a unique rejuvenation program that can extend garden lifecycles up to 20-plus years, representing significant value proposition for facility managers and building owners.

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Material Health and Environmental Responsibility

As awareness of indoor environmental quality grows, the material health aspects of salutogenic design become increasingly important. The industry leader company Garden on the Wall^® offers unprecedented transparency and documentation, including detailed health product declarations that disclose ingredients down to parts per million levels, extensive contributions toward LEED projects, and compliance with various building standards.

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Comprehensive testing the company offers now includes flame spread ratings, noise reduction capabilities, and bio-based content verification to ensure no off-gassing. This level of transparency makes it possible for designers to specify preserved nature installations with confidence in health-conscious environments where material selection is critical.

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Practical Applications Across Settings

The versatility of salutogenic design principles allows for application across diverse environments. In workplace settings, preserved gardens, moss walls, planter inserts, and draping preserved foliage create break areas and focus spaces that support employee well-being and productivity. The visual connection to nature helps reduce stress while providing micro-restorative experiences throughout the day.

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Educational environments benefit from preserved installations that create calming study nooks and learning spaces. The consistent, maintenance-free nature makes them ideal for schools and colleges where resource allocation is critical. In hospitality settings, these elements enhance guest experiences by creating memorable moments while supporting overall wellness positioning.

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Healthcare applications represent perhaps the most critical implementation of salutogenic design principles. Preserved foliage solutions both in horizontal and vertical plane in waiting areas and patient rooms provide stress reduction benefits without the infection control concerns associated with living plants. The ability to create custom installations that align with specific therapeutic goals makes preserved gardens particularly valuable in specialized healthcare environments.

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Large-Scale Impact and Future Potential

The impact of salutogenic design extends beyond individual rooms to entire buildings and campuses. Major installations, such as those featured at Nashville International Airport and showcased in national architecture programs, demonstrate the scale and impact possible when these principles are applied to public spaces. With industry leaders like Garden on the Wall^® having completed over 1,850 projects covering 178,000 square feet of garden surface, the movement is gaining substantial momentum in commercial and institutional markets.

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These large-scale implementations serve millions of users annually, providing moments of respite and connection to nature in otherwise sterile environments. The success of such projects is encouraging more architects and designers to incorporate salutogenic principles into their work.

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Transforming Our Built World

By designing for the mind with salutogenic principles, we can transform our built world into one that heals, inspires, and uplifts. The holistic approach recognizes that our environments play a crucial role in shaping our health outcomes and quality of life. As we move forward, embracing salutogenic principles and integrating preserved nature into our spaces will be key to creating environments that truly support human flourishing.

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The convergence of evidence-based design research and innovative preserved nature products creates unprecedented opportunities for designers to specify solutions that deliver both immediate aesthetic impact and long-term wellness benefits. This represents the future of interior design - one where every space has the potential to nurture the human spirit while supporting our collective well-being.

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Through salutogenic design, we're not just creating beautiful spaces; we're crafting environments that contribute to a healthier, happier, and more resilient society. The preserved gardens and moss walls that grace our walls today represent seeds of transformation that will continue to benefit occupants for decades to come, embodying the very essence of designing for life itself.

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For more information on this subject and other related information, please visit our website: www.gardenonthewall.com

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