How Can Your House Help Your Health?

Photograph by Dan K. Haus

An interview with Veronica Schreibeis of Vera Iconica Architecture

The people who live in Jackson Hole have an elevated sense of well-being thanks to easy access to clean air, vistas, and forest bathing, but Veronica Schreibeis of Vera Iconica Architecture has taken this health-full lifestyle one step higher with Wellness Architecture. Her designs are beautifully in alignment with the third principle of osteopathy.

Structure and function are reciprocally interrelated.

We sat down with Veronica to learn more about how All Ages Osteopathy members can start tapping into Wellness Architecture today.

Q: How can AAO members start using Design for Wellness and Wellness Architecture to optimize their health today?

 A: Just as there are layers to our health, there are layers that impact our health. For example, what you put in your body, what you put on your body, the space that you are in, the environmental conditions where you live. Vera Iconica focuses on how your surroundings can enhance human (and planetary) wellbeing. Scientific evidence has shown that the places where we live, work and relax impact all dimensions of wellness: physical, mental, emotional, social, to name a few. That is to say, our environment can either diminish our wellbeing our enhance it. Moreover, our environment can serve to nudge our behavior and choices, which is a key factor in living your best life. Nudge architecture is parallel to nudge psychology. An example of this might be if one has tried to get in the habit of meditating and just can't seem to get the practice going or keep it up. Often, it is because they have not set up an appropriate sacred space for their practice. Think about it. We have bedrooms to sleep, bathrooms for hygiene, kitchens for nutrition, living rooms for socializing. But where is that designated space to practice mindfulness? It doesn't have to be an entire room, but it should be a special place, free of clutter, with sentimental artifacts and meaningful symbols that inspire your practice.

Vera Iconica believes that Wellness Architecture is really the practice of creating an environment that elevates daily routines into rituals that optimize your best life.

There are also the more obvious elements of wellness architecture, such as ensuring you have the right light to promote healthy circadian rhythms, clean air for optimal cognitive performance and health, toxin-free environments that don't sabotage your mental and physical capacity, and so on.

Q: What are a few ways you suggest people build healthy routines and rituals in their existing kitchens?  

A: A few years ago, I had an epiphany: the last time the functionality of our kitchens changed was in the 1950's when massive innovations brought convenience to preparing quick meals and increased the time needed between grocery runs to save time. The problem was, many of those innovations were centered around preservative-laden, high carbohydrate, highly processed food that we now know are the leading cause of preventable disease in the U.S. (Seven out of ten deaths each year are from a preventable disease according to the CDC.) I realized that despite my best efforts, my kitchen was fighting me in my efforts to feed my family a healthy whole-food diet. We reimagined what a kitchen would be if it was centered around nutrient rich, whole food diets, and the Vera Iconica Wellness Kitchen was born. The kitchen has many wellness features that support routines and rituals creating an atmosphere of serenity (environmental psychology and biophilic design). It allows for the simple task of chopping vegetables to double as the mindfulness activity of being in the present moment. There are also appliances that we integrate: rather than a trash compactor that encourages more waste to go to a landfill, we have a Fropost - frozen compost to prevent smells and pests - in its place, are growing cabinets that can feed a family of four 2 salads a week (some lettuces diminish in nutrient value every 3 hours after they are cut).

Q: Vera Iconica Architecture designs promote living in harmony with nature. How do you live seasonally and in tune with nature? 

A: 1. Daylighting and circadian rhythms.

2. Food that we eat, integrating edible gardens (yes even in Jackson) into the indoor-outdoor experience.

3. Ensuring that key spaces have a strong indoor-outdoor connection.

4. Creating different outdoor spaces that can take advantage of microclimates and enjoy activities outdoors during the shoulder seasons.

5. Bring the outdoors in by creating special places for cut branches, flours, found stones or artifacts from your hike, to remind us that after all, we are nature. 

6. Moreover, we specify sustainable natural materials, local where possible, so that the items you are surrounded with have the same quality and atmosphere as the natural surroundings.

Q: Is there a correlation between the optimized health, relationship-building approach at Dr. Charlie's medical practice and your Wellness Architecture initiative? Both practices "positively impact daily habits, rituals, behaviors, mindsets, moods, as well as overall comfort and well-being." How do you think the two businesses/communities are related?

A: Absolutely. The path to optimal wellbeing is layered. Dr. Charlie's practice is supporting an inner layer. Architecture and Design supports an outer layer.

 Q: What is one thing you want to bring to Jackson Hole to improve our community's well-being?

A: I want to support people in living their optimal life, as they define it. We have 20 years of researching scientific evidence to understand which wellness design strategies to implement to improve someone's health, or to bolster a habit or lifestyle that they are aspiring to achieve. For example, if we have a Client with respiratory issues, we can implement oxygen therapy into the bedroom, a room for halotherapy (i.e. salt cave), specify mechanical and HVAC systems that result in the highest indoor air quality. Similar story could be told for someone with sleep issues, compromised immune system, young children where they want to ensure the most supportive environment for development, and so on.

Loved what you learned? Visit the Vera Iconica Architecture website to learn more and interact with the team.