Swan Pool Business Community: A Wellness Co-Working Hub
Mixed Use
The Swan Pool Business Community hub is a wellness co-working facility offering a flexible space geared towards the needs of the community. The space has been designed to create a successful work environment whilst promoting mental health and wellness, tackling issues that have occurred since the Covid-19 pandemic. The hub is within the commercial area of the new Western Growth Corridor development in Lincoln City Centre, an area focused on place-making for the new development. The distinctive design makes use of a hybrid frame structure to balance aesthetics with structural integrity and has two layers of wood fibre insulation within the walls for acoustic performance, both designed due to the proximity of the railway.
My research focused on the role of architectural variables when designing for wellbeing. The aim was to explore the potential of mixed reality technology in evaluating the users visual comfort in the context of the author’s project, the Wellness Co-Working Hub. Design variables and their impact on visual comfort were researched in a literature review alongside the methods for measuring these impacts. From this, 3D layouts were created of the Wellness Co-Working Hub with combinations of parameters identified being used in a survey and eye-tracking assessment. Results showed that positive environments provoked the best visual comfort where there were high ceilings, windows and natural views. These variables were therefore implemented throughout the author’s project wherever possible.
