With this aim, one of the most efficient strategies is to ensure that all occupied spaces have access to light, air and nature via an operable window. Because, if there is one thing we should already know in the world of design, it is that simple things can make the difference in terms of health, productivity and happiness.
Spaces need to consider our bodies because, as Ilse Crawford says: “We are our bodies.” However, it is curious that, once again, the body of an average heterosexual working-age male continues to be the reference point in our society. A society of 7.7 billion people, in which, according to 2020 data of the World Bank Group, 25.5% are children, 9.4% are over 65 and 65.1% are of working age (between 15 and 64 years of age). But, if we separate this last percentage by gender, we discover that working-age males make up just 33% of the world population. And I say “just” because designing the world while taking as a reference 33% of the population does not seem to be our most democratic action.
There are ways of doing things well, it is merely a matter of interiorising a thought of universal design when tackling any problem. Below, I have set out to dissect four examples of how to contribute through design to the wellbeing of the human habitat.