Healthy Building Advisory
Practical healthy building input for interiors, amenities and real estate projects
Biofilico provides Healthy Building Advisory services for real estate, hospitality, workplace, education and residential projects.
Our role is to help clients and project teams integrate practical health and wellbeing principles into the design of interiors, amenities and shared spaces.
We focus on the elements of the built environment that most directly shape human experience: air quality, lighting, acoustics, materials, spatial comfort, restoration, movement and the sensory quality of interiors.
This service is designed for clients who want healthier buildings and interiors, but do not necessarily require a formal certification process or a full engineering-led consultancy scope.
user experience
Healthy buildings from an interiors and user experience perspective
A healthy building is not created through one system, product or design gesture.
It depends on the relationship between architecture, interiors, engineering, materials, operations and the way people actually use the space.
Biofilico’s Healthy Building Advisory service looks at this from a practical, interiors-led perspective.
We help clients understand how health and wellbeing considerations can influence design decisions, including:
indoor air quality
material health
lighting quality
daylight and glare control
acoustic comfort
thermal comfort
spatial planning
restorative spaces
biophilic design
movement and active design
user experience
operational use and maintenance
Our work is intended to complement the role of architects, engineers, sustainability consultants, lighting designers, acoustic consultants and contractors.
who is this for?
Who this service is for
Healthy Building Advisory is suitable for clients who want specialist wellbeing input into a building or interior project without necessarily committing to a full certification process.
We typically work with:
real estate developers
hotel and resort owners
residential developers and build-to-rent operators
workplace clients and office tenants
universities and education clients
student housing providers
wellness club and spa operators
architects and interior designers
project managers
asset managers and client-side development teams
The service can be commissioned as a standalone advisory review, or integrated into Biofilico’s wider wellness interior design or wellness strategy work.
when to hire us?
When to appoint Biofilico
Clients typically appoint us when a project has a wellbeing ambition, but the practical implications for the design are not yet fully defined.
This may happen when:
a development claims to be wellness-led but lacks a clear healthy building strategy
a client wants better indoor environmental quality but does not know where to start
an interior design scheme needs to be reviewed through a health and wellbeing lens
a project team needs practical guidance before concept or schematic design
a workplace wants to improve comfort, focus, recovery and employee experience
a university wants healthier study, social and wellbeing spaces
a hotel or resort wants wellbeing to extend beyond the spa
a residential project wants healthier amenities and shared interiors
a client wants credible healthy building input without overcomplicating the design process
Biofilico helps identify where healthier building thinking can have the greatest impact on the user experience and the value of the project.
our focus areas
What we review
Our Healthy Building Advisory work can review the design from multiple angles.
Depending on the project, this may include:
spatial planning and zoning
user journeys and daily use patterns
air quality considerations
ventilation strategy from a user experience perspective
materials and finishes
daylight, artificial lighting and glare
acoustics and privacy
thermal comfort
restorative and quiet spaces
movement and active design opportunities
access to nature and biophilic design
furniture and ergonomic considerations
amenity mix and wellness spaces
operational implications
maintenance and cleaning considerations
alignment with the project’s wellbeing claims
The objective is to identify practical design improvements, not to create unnecessary complexity.
our process
Project Review
We begin by reviewing the project brief, available drawings, interior concepts, sustainability information, materials strategy and client objectives.
This allows us to understand the project context, identify the main wellbeing priorities and assess where the current design may need further development.
Typical inputs may include:
architectural drawings
interior design proposals
material specifications
sustainability strategy
MEP narratives where available
lighting concepts
acoustic information
project brief
target user information
client objectives
Healthy Building Assessment
We assess the project through a practical health and wellbeing lens.
This may include reviewing how the proposed design supports air quality, sensory comfort, lighting quality, acoustic privacy, restoration, movement, material health and overall user experience.
The assessment focuses on the areas most relevant to the specific project.
For example, a workplace may require particular attention to focus, acoustic comfort, lighting and recovery spaces. A residential development may need stronger consideration of healthy materials, amenities, air quality and daily wellbeing. A university project may require more attention to cognitive load, social wellbeing, study environments and restorative spaces.
Recommendations & Priorities
We then provide clear recommendations that can be used by the client and project team.
This may include practical design comments, priority actions, risks and opportunities, coordination notes and recommendations for further specialist input where required.
Where relevant, we may identify areas that should be reviewed by an MEP engineer, lighting designer, acoustic consultant, sustainability consultant, local architect or contractor.
Design Team Coordination
Where required, Biofilico can support the wider project team by joining design reviews, workshops or coordination calls.
Our role is to help keep wellbeing considerations visible as the project develops, ensuring they are not lost between concept, specification, engineering, procurement and fit-out.
our deliverables
Typical deliverables
Depending on the project, Biofilico’s Healthy Building Advisory deliverables may include:
healthy building review
wellbeing design audit
design team recommendations
indoor environmental quality review
healthy interiors recommendations
spatial planning comments
user experience review
materials and finishes comments
lighting and sensory comfort recommendations
acoustic comfort considerations
restorative space recommendations
design risk and opportunity register
project priorities summary
client presentation or advisory report
coordination notes for architects, designers and consultants
The exact scope is tailored to the project stage, available documentation and level of detail required.
key principles
Indoor Air Quality
We review design decisions that can influence perceived and actual indoor air quality, including material choices, ventilation assumptions, cleaning and maintenance implications, planting strategy where relevant, and user experience in enclosed spaces.
Technical ventilation calculations and statutory mechanical design remain the responsibility of the appointed MEP engineer.
Materials & Finishes
We consider how paints, flooring, wall finishes, joinery, furniture, upholstery, adhesives and soft finishes may affect the health profile and perceived quality of the interior.
Where more detailed review is required, this can connect directly with Biofilico’s Healthy Materials Advisory service.
Lighting Quality
We review how daylight, artificial lighting, glare, contrast, colour temperature and lighting atmosphere influence the interior experience.
Our focus is on visual comfort, ambience and wellbeing. Detailed lighting calculations and technical lighting design are typically handled by the appointed lighting designer or electrical consultant.
Acoustics & Privacy
We consider how sound, reverberation, speech privacy and acoustic comfort affect concentration, calm, social interaction and perceived quality.
Where required, we coordinate with specialist acoustic consultants for technical modelling or detailed acoustic design.
Restorative Spaces
We identify opportunities for quiet rooms, recharge spaces, wellbeing lounges, retreat areas and other moments of restoration within the building.
These spaces can support stress reduction, recovery, focus and a more complete wellbeing experience.
Movement & Active Design
We review opportunities to encourage movement through spatial planning, stairs, circulation, amenity placement, outdoor connections and active use patterns.
The aim is to make healthy behaviour easier and more intuitive within the daily experience of the building.
Biophilic Design
We use biophilic design as one component of a broader healthy building strategy.
This may include natural materials, planting, daylight, views, organic forms, texture, natural references and stronger connections to landscape or outdoor space.
For Biofilico, biophilic design is not a standalone aesthetic. It is one tool within a wider healthy interiors approach.
certifications / standards
Health building certifications and standards
Biofilico’s Healthy Building Advisory can be informed by recognised wellbeing and healthy building frameworks, but we do not position this service as a certification management process.
Where a client is pursuing WELL, Fitwel, LEED, BREEAM or another certification, we can provide supporting interiors-led wellbeing input alongside the appointed certification consultant, sustainability consultant or project assessor.
Our primary focus is practical design value: helping the project become healthier, more comfortable and more coherent from a user experience perspective.
advisory by sector
Residential Developments
For residential and build-to-rent projects, healthy building advisory can support better amenity spaces, healthier materials, improved comfort, stronger restorative spaces and a more credible wellbeing proposition.
Hotels & Resorts
For hospitality projects, healthy building advisory can help extend wellness into the guest experience through interiors, materials, lighting, sleep, sensory comfort, arrival spaces, guest rooms, spas and shared areas.
Workplaces
For workplaces, healthy building advisory can support employee experience, focus, collaboration, recovery, lighting quality, acoustic comfort and healthier interiors.
Universities & Student Living
For universities and student housing, healthy building advisory can help shape study spaces, lounges, gyms, wellbeing rooms and shared interiors that better support student life, concentration and restoration.
Wellness Clubs & Spas
For wellness clubs, gyms, spas and recovery spaces, healthy building advisory can help align the interior environment with the wellbeing claims of the concept, while considering durability, comfort, hygiene, materials and user flow.
related services
Wellness Strategy for Real Estate
For developers, owners and operators seeking to define the wellness proposition for a real estate asset, hospitality project, residential development or mixed-use destination.
Wellness Interior Design
For clients seeking interior design services from concept through schematic, detailed design and technical coordination for wellness-led spaces.
Healthy Materials Advisory
For clients and project teams seeking healthier, lower-toxicity materials, finishes, furniture and specification guidance.
Restorative Spaces & Wellness Amenities
For dedicated spaces such as quiet rooms, recharge rooms, wellbeing lounges, recovery areas and wellness-led amenities.
This page was written by Matt Morley: a tedx speaker, Fitwel Ambassador and IWBI well advisor for Mind + movement Chapters (2026 + 2025 respectively)
Make wellbeing visible in the design process
Healthy building principles are most effective when they are considered early enough to influence design decisions.
We help clients and project teams identify where health and wellbeing can be integrated in a practical, design-led and commercially relevant way.
This allows healthier building thinking to move beyond broad aspiration and into the real experience of the interior.
If you are developing, designing or refurbishing a building or interior space and want practical healthy building input, we can help review the design and define clear next steps. Let’s talk.