Rise of emotional architecture and wellness in homes

This Palmvale home for sale is among a slew of homes have been listed with wellness features, from geodomes to yoga rooms.

Features once reserved for luxury wellness retreats are becoming more common in Australian homes, with “emotional architecture” combined with smart technology driving a revolution in design.

With a rise of designers embedding wellness into interiors – including sensory lighting, soundscaping, aroma systems and meditation nooks – wellbeing inclusions are becoming more accessible for homeowners.

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59 Double View Rd, Farrants Hill is currently listed with its own yoga studio

According to Klemich Real Estate managing director Matt Smith, wellness features which were once an expensive optional extra are becoming a part of core building design as people seek to live in spaces that are calm, peaceful and relaxing.

Mr Smith said they are seeing technology developing quickly to support better wellness designed apartments such as ambient lighting shifts, music and even scent diffusion.

777 Wilsons Creek Rd, Wilsons Creek currently listed with a yoga studio with built in Japanese tatami mats

Some key trends being integrated in Australia include nature first design, such as living walls, planters, view corridors, natural materials such as wood, stone, tactile textiles and rooftop or garden access specified to reduce stress and improve cognitive function.

Circadian (human-centric) lighting was another feature, mimicking daylight cycles such as blue-enriched daytime or warmer for the evenings to support sleep and mood, moving from high-end to mainstream apartment specs.

Klemich Real Estate Managing Director Matt Smith

New technology is also assisting in this rise, such as air and water health integrated as basic infrastructure. This integration has been made possible by integrated heating and more efficient filters that capture at least 99.9 per cent of airborne particles like pollen, smoke and bacteria.

Energy recovery ventilation systems also bring in fresh outdoor air while transferring heat and moisture between incoming and outgoing airstreams.

This keeps indoor temperature and humidity more stable while improving indoor air quality.

Active reduction systems reduce “volatile organic compounds”, such as paints and cleaning agents, minimising headaches, respiratory irritation or long-term health effects.

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1741 St Albans Rd is currently listed with geodome accommodation, 10 person hydrotherapy spa, two glamping tents, yoga and massage room

1741 St Albans Rd, St Albans has a yoga room.

This St Albans property has luxury glamping tents.

Emotional or experiential architecture also includes the deliberate use of colour, texture, scale and choreography of spaces to evoke safety, delight or calm, such as framed views and quiet contemplative nooks.

Neuroaesthetics and “experiential” design inform layout decisions, evident in flexible and wellness-enabled floorplans, such as apartments designed with dedicated “wellness corners” with meditation or yoga alcoves, movable partitions for privacy and tech-ready fitness or recovery micro-spaces.

Outdoor sauna at 261 Whian Rd, Eureka.

These inclusions can also be integrated in shared-spaces and amenities in apartments such as onsite mental and physical wellness including yoga or meditation rooms, infra-red saunas, recovery lounges, small fitness studios, rooftop gardens and edible landscaping.

‘Third spaces’ such as semi-public co-working and social spaces are additionally designed for connection, which reduce social isolation.

892 & 904 The Pocket Rd, The Pocket is currently listed featuring an indoor sauna

Mr Smith said emotional architecture combined with smart tech is making a very positive difference to the way we live.

“Not long ago this was the domain of very high end luxury living, but now it is becoming both accessible and affordable,” he said.

This Palmvale home listed with a price guide of $2.5m includes a GEO Dome with the potential for yoga classes, retreats or Airbnb

Mr Smith said they expect to see colour palettes change too, where once minimalist and muted tones dominated, it is now predicted different hues such as greens and soft blues will be coming through to help bring the outside in.

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