Interior Environments Studio
Our Interior Environments (IE) Studio is passionate about creating beautiful interior spaces that inspire and have a positive, lasting impact on people and the environment. We use human-centered design to support healthy, safe, and comfortable spaces where communities thrive. But how do the realities and needs of an environment dictate the design process? Using a tailored approach, one that puts evidence at the beginning of each conversation, we improve upon our iterative process across all our interior design projects.
I believe that every space should feel as good as it looks, and we apply this philosophy throughout all our interior design work. By exploring the psychology and science behind design, we transform ideas into tangible, resonant environments with provable benefits to both occupants and owners. As a firm and as a studio, we champion Evidence-Based Design (EBD) because it directly addresses unique challenges that are grounded in real observations. We seek to describe these observations and then tackle them effectively, rather than prescribe an assumed one-size-fits-all solution.
How Does it Work?
Well, it is in the name! Evidence-based design takes data and research — evidence — and uses it to inform design decisions that improve the overall quality of a project and the lives of users. It is taking a psychological and physiological approach to design and overcoming the urge to make decisions solely based on aesthetics, institutional knowledge, or preconceived notions. A general approach will only generally work, but EBD directly challenges this by asking more of the design process and for greater collaboration between clients and designers. For example, rather than using the color green because it works with the palette, EBD takes it a step further by analyzing how it reduces cortisol and stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system to promote calm in humans. It then involves post-occupancy research to assess how the end users have been impacted and uses that data to inform the next project. When we look at things through the lens of measurable outcomes, we begin to draw a clear picture of what designing for “good” truly is.
The Use Cases
EBD has roots in healthcare design, but we should apply EBD principles to every project. Established, standardized concepts like Trauma-Informed Design, Biophilic Design, Sustainable Design, and many more are all elements under the umbrella of Evidence-Based Design. They should be considered on a daily basis. As designers, it is our responsibility to understand how all our projects will impact end users. By using EBD, we are making sure that we not only create spaces that look nice, but that also provably support physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing.
Just a Trend or Here to Stay?
EBD has been around for a while, but in different ways. Good acoustics, natural light, sustainable materials, and more are proven, rigorously tested elements that designers have incorporated for a long time. EBD is a new encompassing term for these existing ideas, but good design has unknowingly utilized its principles before. As stewards of good design, we should always evaluate our projects from the end-user perspective and consider the psychological, physical, and logistical impacts of every decision. It is difficult to categorize EBD as just a trend when the benefits are as self-evident as they are.
Why is it important?
Really, it is important because it works! EBD principles can help reduce stress and anxiety, improve safety and healing, increase productivity, and improve other metrics in similar ways. Its measurable benefits have been proven. Our job is to protect the health, safety, and wellbeing of the public, and EBD can essentially guarantee that!
How we apply EBD at MWA
At MWA, we embrace the importance and positive impact of incorporating evidence-based design principles into all our projects — and specifically into healthcare projects, where EBD has flourished. Internally, we practice a culture of continuous improvement that aligns with the principles of EBD.
MWA uses Trauma-Informed Design, as an extension of EBD, to lower stress and improve safety in our designs by reducing behavioral triggers for vulnerable populations. MWA first implemented this practice in our affordable housing projects and — seeing the tangible benefits firsthand — have expanded it to all our work, including our interior environments. TID and EBD build on positive outcomes and reduce the likelihood of poor-performing environments. Similarly, across healthcare projects, EBD principles contributed to the following:
- Reduction of healthcare associated infections by 20-30%
- Reduction of patient falls and medication errors by 25-40%
- Reduction in length of stay by 1-3 days
- Increased direct care time by 30-40%
- Increased patient and staff satisfaction by 10-40%
- Reduction of staff travel distance by 30%
The Road Ahead
Evidence-based design is here to stay at MWA, and we look forward to helping it grow throughout the design community. So, take some time to observe your environment and identify spaces that make you feel productive, peaceful, anxious, or any other discernible emotion or physical feeling. Is it the lighting, colors, smells, or sound? Is it something different altogether? Share how you feel in a space — good or bad — with designers and begin to understand why you feel that way! By linking our feelings to our environment, we help add more evidence to Evidence-Based Design and positively influence the spaces we create.