The question of this week has been “What are your plans for the fourth?” The fourth of July holiday  in the States is premier vacation time. Kids are out of school, the temps are typically warm but not sweltering and we relish the great outdoors. As we surround ourselves with colorful sunsets on smooth-like-glass lakes or toast marshmallows over cozy bonfires the stress of the office melts away. Recent studies show that incorporating natural elements in interior wall designs in offices, healthcare facilities, and higher education can emote similar well being responses as when we immerse ourselves in nature.

Human responses to natural elements in the built environment are similar to when we’re in nature.

Bamboo panels in interior demountable walls at NxtWall Chicago Showroom

Canadian Research Center FPInnovations compiled a report indicating the benefits of adding wood to interior spaces. Wood as a Restorative Material in Healthcare Environments focuses on healthcare environments but can easily be applied to other residential and commercial interior spaces. Participants experienced reduced stress, improved well being and a plethora of physical and physiological benefits when they were exposed to natural materials. Previous blog articles cite studies on the benefits of daylighting including synchronized circadian rhythms and enhanced productivity with the use of demountable interior glass wall partitions. From wood, water, natural light, plants, nature views and sounds of nature, natural elements in interior commercial environments offer large returns in productivity and improved health for the occupants. Incorporating natural elements in interior wall designs and commercial spaces promotes sustainability while increasing workplace satisfaction and productivity.

NxtWall Flex Demountable wall panels with wood and grass inserted.

Examples of Natural Elements in Interior Wall Designs:

• glass – try embedding natural elements in glass!
• wood – hard wood, bamboo, etc.
• grasses
• stone – rocks, slate, granite, etc.
• water features
• and other organic materials

NxtWall’s View demountable walls are a cost-effective solution for popular moveable interior glass walls. Used in many corporate office construction for conference rooms and offices View glass demountable walls are also installed frequently in higher education settings. From student lounges to administrative offices glass walls are a commercial interior design trend that’s not fading anytime soon. Some of the benefits of glass demountable walls include daylighting, reduced waste, sustainable reuse and recycling of components at the end of use.

Our Flex demountable wall series is an open palette for creative types. NxtWall Flex interior wall series lets you add natural elements in interior wall designs that are limited only by your imagination. Did you find petoskey stones on your Pure Michigan adventure, sea shells in the Florida Keys, driftwood off the Atlantic shore?  The natural elements discovered during your explorations can be incorporated into demountable wall panels. Reap the rewards of nature and bring them back into the office for all to enjoy.

Enjoy your visits to the lakes and streams this summer. Leave the stress of the office behind and get inspired to incorporate that vacation feeling into your next commercial interior design. Maybe the inhabitants of the administrative offices at Michigan State University or the other top 10 universities NxtWall products have been installed in won’t break out into Kumbaya every morning but they’ll likely have less stress and enjoy coming into work more!

Contact us for more information on the best demountable wall series for your next commercial project. Test us with your creativity – we love to showcase unique material uses of our Flex walls!

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In the last few years, increased lighting in office design has been a goal for many architectural designers and is rewarded in the form of LEED points for daylighting. Energy savings is a driving force for natural lighting in new office designs but the perks don’t end there. Studies have shown additional benefits of daylighting on workers’ psychological well-being, productivity, safety and performance. Daylighting recommendations are based on daylight factor levels between 2% and 6%. Daylight factors are a percentage of indoor luminance compared to outdoor luminance on a horizontal serve.1

Because standard office hours are during natural daylight hours office workspace lighting can have a large impact on the regulation of circadian rhythms, humans natural regulator of biological, mental and behavioral patterns. Sunlight simulation has been used for the treatment of health concerns such as depression, agitation and seasonal affective disorder. However, prior to this University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign pilot study¹ the impact lighting in the workplace has on sleep, quality of life, and overall health had not been tested.

A great deal of evidence has shown limited sleep reduces productivity and increases workplace accidents and errors. Short term memory loss, slow reflexes and reduced attention  are often caused by lack of sleep. Sleep quality has also been tied to illness,  mood disorders, cognitive performance and health issues such as diabetes.

The aim of this study was to examine the influence light exposure had in the workplace  on workers sleep, well being and activity levels. The study compared workers in offices with daylight from glass walls, glass doors and windows to workers without direct contact with daylight from their workstations. All other variables being equal or no significant differences. Volunteers wore an Actiwatch 24 hours a day for the testing period which measured the amount and duration of light luminance during and after work hours including days off. The findings of this study suggest increased lighting in office design can raise sleep duration and sleep quality resulting in a healthier, safer, more efficient workplace.

Mental and Physical Conditions of the Two Office Worker Groups:

• average results showed better sleep quality during work night for workers with windows in their workspace than workers without daylight
• workers with windows at their workspace reported better sleep on free day nights (weekends, days off of work)
• workers in office settings without windows recorded lower scores in both physical and mental testing components than workers in offices with daylight exposure.

Summary: Increased Lighting in Office Design Improves Sleep

The results of the study indicate a relationship with workplace light exposure and workers sleep quality, activity level and quality of life. Workers with natural light in their workspaces slept an average of 46 minutes more per night during the work week than workers in workplaces without windows.

“Architects need to be aware of the importance of natural light not only in terms of their potential energy savings but also in terms of affecting occupants’ health,” says co-lead author Mohamed Boubekri, an associate professor of architecture at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

As emphasized in the World Health Organization’s Declaration on Occupational Health for All,2 the focal point for practical occupational health activities is the workplace. Facility managers architects and interior designers dedicated to occupational health must can incorporate architectural features such as glass walls, glass doors, windows and walls with clerestory windows and sidelights, to increase natural daylight exposure and improve the physical and mental factors in the office interiors they create.

1 Impact of Windows and Daylight Exposure on Overall Health and Sleep Quality of Office Workers: A Case-Control Pilot Study http://dx.doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.3780 Mohamed Boubekri, Ph.D.1; Ivy N. Cheung, B.A.2; Kathryn J. Reid, Ph.D.2; Chia-Hui Wang1,3; Phyllis C. Zee, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.A.S.M.2 1School of Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL; 2Department of Neurology, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL; 3Department of Architecture, Hwa-Hsia Institute of Technology, Taipei, Taiwan

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