Designing for wellbeing

for individual, system and infrastructure level changes through integrative
and collaborative processes (Figure 1). These combinations take innumerable
forms and the processes by which the different starting points come
together vary. Design for wellbeing is not one thing, it is many. If this
sounds overly abstract, the real-life cases that we completed will make it
easier to understand.
365 Wellbeing
We worked with projects illuminating future development scenarios for
suburbs in eastern Helsinki and Lahti. These residential neighbourhoods
were built in the 1970s and are now reaching an age where the buildings
are in need of fundamental renovations. At the same time, the areas suffer
from a somewhat unfavourable reputation because of social issues. Our
design target has been to create positive future visions for the suburbs,
combining the initiative of residents with alternative ways to develop the
infrastructure, aiming to turn area problems into strengths. We worked
with the city of Kauniainen to rethink concepts of service provision for
the elderly. The driving ideas have been built on local strengths and the
local identity, on the integration of municipal services and on bridging the
generation gap. The Helsinki Health Care Centre has been our collaborator
in the development of information technology services for basic healthcare,
such as solving the problem of patients missing appointments and
getting high-risk segments of the population to test for sexually transmitted
infections. We have also worked with psychiatric wards and outpatient
clinics for improved care practices and patient experiences, and more
fluent collaboration between special healthcare units and third sector
organisations. Finally, our projects have also dealt with the problems of
individuals and families needing to adopt healthier and more socially
responsible lifestyles, particularly in the areas of smoke-free living and
helping families to cope with bringing up the next generation.
12 · Design, wellbeing and design for wellbeing