How to Attract Students with Health, Safety, and Wellness strategies

When education went remote in the spring of 2020, it forced innovation. Everyone had to figure out how to duct tape their life together through a series of remote experiences. Education was the same. But while students were protecting their physical health, their mental health began to suffer.

“I think it was incredibly telling that during COVID there was a lot of breakdown of social connections and we were socially isolating each other. And then afterwards, you saw that spike of mental health issues and social health issues, particularly among that age group,” says Flora.

All this to say, there’s an appetite for communal experiences, group learning, and togetherness. But with ever-rising tuition, and a more seamless experience for remote learning, the draw to come back to campus needs to be stronger if it’s going to be meaningful. Like workplace environments, schools can’t just be places that students check in, put their heads down, and check out. The space has to resonate aesthetically. It has to provide support. It has to deliver a healthy environment for them to learn.

“It's of great value to the universities and the campuses and the students who are prospects because, they're looking at these spaces like, well, these are beautiful spaces. I want to be studying here. I want to be working in a space that provides me an environment that will have a positive impact on me,” says Flora.

While material selection is an important acoustic consideration, it also has wide ranging health impacts across any space. What you choose to build your space with will impact indoor air quality and the wellness of those breathing in the space.

“We tell people the time, if you walk into a room and you can smell the carpet, that's an irritant, a toxic fume,” says Flora. “Even the new car smell everyone loves is not necessarily healthy for you.”

“You’d be surprised how much artwork in academic buildings or office buildings is made of formaldehyde. And it's like, well, I wouldn't want that anywhere else, why do I want in this academic space or in this lobby?”

Knowing that a wide array of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are used in finishes means you can avoid them. Looking for finishes that don't off gas helps improve indoor air quality, which has a direct effect on users. Not just in reduced allergic responses, or eye and nose irritation, but in the way they work. According to a study by Harvard, air quality has a direct correlation to improved cognition.

Studies have also shown that incorporating elements of nature into a space have a positive effect on the work people do and more importantly their mental health. Views to the outside and as a result increased daylighting aren’t just benefits for a workplace environment.

“We know that when you give students places to study where they can have access to natural daylight that's going to make them more productive,” says Flora. “That's going to help them with their decision making. Help them think more critically and solve problems.”

Taking that a step further, incorporating elements of biophilic design can create spaces that elevate mood and reduce stress levels. “If you have a large living wall those things go a long way,” he says. “Because I'm looking up from my computer and I see that plant, it does help you reset mentally and reduce stress levels.”

“Designing those spaces with these same concepts is really important for making the building feel cohesive. It's not just this one corner where we've done this, but can you take this across the whole building and provide that activation?”