How much health is there in a room?

More than we see—and far more than has been taken into account in many planning processes to date. Interior spaces are not neutral backdrops. Their colors, lighting conditions, materials, proportions, and spatial structures constantly influence how safe we feel, how well we can orient ourselves, whether we can concentrate or relax, and the extent to which our bodies are stressed or supported by the environment.

Under the theme “Aesthetics & Health – How Interior Design Influences Our Well-Being,” the 2026 Interior Design Summit will bring together leading voices from interior design, architecture, medicine, psychology, research, and planning practice in Berlin from November 13 to 15. I am very pleased to help shape this pioneering professional conference organized by the bdia—the Association of German Interior Architects—with a keynote address and a master class.

From an Aesthetic Choice to a Health-Related Goal

Interior design is still primarily judged on the basis of formal aesthetic criteria. The discussion centers on whether colors, materials, and shapes complement one another, conform to a particular style, or convey a contemporary impression. These criteria remain important—but they are not enough.

The crucial question is not merely what a space looks like, but above all: What effect does it have on the people who spend time there?

Does it promote a sense of direction and emotional security? Does it support concentration, communication, or recovery? Does it reduce stress and sensory overload? Does it convey a sense of protection and safety? Does it stimulate without being overwhelming? And does it take into account the diverse physical, psychological, and social needs of its users?

Health-promoting interior design begins when such objectives are not merely asserted after the design is complete, but are systematically incorporated into the planning process from the very beginning.

Keynote: Color as a Factor in Health

In my keynote address , “Color as a Health Factor,” I explain why the colors of light and surfaces should not be viewed merely as decorative choices. Colors are a fundamental component of our perceptual environment. They structure spaces, direct attention, facilitate orientation, alter the perception of proximity and distance, and shape the emotional atmosphere of a place.

Their effect is by no means created solely by individual shades of color. What is crucial is the complex interplay of color, brightness, contrast, materiality, light, the function of the space, and the context of use. The same color can have completely different effects in different spatial and social contexts.

Based on my many years of research and the latest work from the Institute for Evidence-Based Color Psychology, I will explain how color design can help to,

To reduce stress,
promote a sense of direction and security,
support concentration and performance,
facilitate recovery and rest,
strengthen communication and social participation,
and create health-promoting environments.

This makes color a key design factor in virtually all areas of interior design: for healthcare and long-term care facilities as well as for workplaces, educational spaces, residential buildings, public facilities, and the renovation of existing buildings.

Master Class: Designing Spaces for People – Translating Impact Goals

The masterclass “Designing Spaces for People—Translating Impact Goals” focuses on the practical application of scientific findings in planning practice.

Terms such as well-being, safety, engagement, comfort, and regeneration are frequently used in design processes. However, it is only once it has been clarified what these goals actually mean for a specific user group, activity, and spatial context that sound design decisions can be made.

Together, we explore how abstract requirements can be translated into clear spatial objectives. Building on this, we develop strategies for tailoring color, light, materials, contrast, spatial organization, and atmosphere specifically to the needs of future users.

Participants will gain insights into current research findings and explore a methodological approach that goes beyond personal preferences, conventional color symbolism, and general impact tables. The focus is on evidence-based, user-centered design, in which decisions are grounded in expertise, communicated within the project, and evaluated in terms of their intended impact.

A Necessary Shift in Perspective in Interior Design

The 2026 Interior Design Summit takes place at a crucial turning point for the discipline. In light of growing mental health challenges, an aging society, new ways of working and learning, and increasing demands on care, prevention, and inclusion, the health impact of interior spaces can no longer be treated as a secondary consideration.

Interior design bears responsibility for people’s living conditions. It can exacerbate stress—or counteract it. It can make it harder to find one’s way—or instill a sense of security. It can exclude people—or enable their participation. It can create institutional coldness—or create spaces where dignity, self-determination, and human connection can be experienced.

This is one of the key challenges facing our profession in the future: not to pit aesthetic quality against health benefits, but to view them as inseparable components of good design.

I look forward to professional exchanges with interior designers, planners, researchers, and everyone who not only designs spaces but also seeks to understand their impact on people and use them responsibly.

Interior Design Summit 2026
Aesthetics & Health – How Interior Design Influences Our Well-Being

November 13–15, 2026
AXICA Congress and Conference Center
in the DZ BANK building
Pariser Platz 3, Berlin

Friday, November 13, 2026

Masterclass:
Designing Spaces for People – Translating Impact Goals

Keynote: “
: Color as a Factor in Health“

Link to register with the organizer bdia

Der Beitrag Color is a factor in health erschien zuerst auf Farbpsychologie.

A new study shows that evidence-based color design improves well-being, orientation, concentration, school enjoyment and teacher motivation – without additional costs, but with measurable effects on learning and therapy processes.

Why learning environments are underestimated

What does it take for education to succeed? International educational research largely agrees on one point: the most important factor for learning success is the quality of the teacher. However, this raises a crucial follow-up question: under what conditions can teachers, therapists and pupils develop their potential at all?

Learning never takes place independently of the environment. Spaces influence whether people feel safe, whether they can find their bearings, whether they can calm down, develop confidence or are permanently under stress. Despite this, schools and therapy facilities are still often planned primarily on a functional or economic basis – while the psychological effect of the environment is hardly ever systematically taken into account.

This is precisely where the new study on the MOSAIK school in Grevesmühlen comes in. It examines color not as decoration or a question of style, but as a controllable environmental factor with a direct effect on perception, behavior and motivation.

The MOSAIK school as a real-life experiment

The MOSAIK school in Grevesmühlen is a special school with a focus on mental development. As part of a comprehensive new build, an evidence-based color and lighting concept was developed there, which was scientifically supported by the Institute for Evidence-based Color Psychology at the University of Wuppertal.

The aim was to create spaces that facilitate orientation, promote emotional security, reduce sensory overload and actively support learning and therapy processes. Color was not selected according to decorative preferences, but according to functional criteria: Orientation, concentration, calming, activation and social interaction.

The project was designed to be participatory right from the start. The needs of pupils, parents, teachers, therapists and those involved in planning were analyzed in workshops. Color and material concepts were then developed, which were sampled on site under real lighting and room conditions and adapted several times.

This phase in particular is crucial: colors never work in isolation, but always in combination with light, materiality, room size and usage situation. Often, even a minimal nuance decides whether a room is perceived as calming, stressful or orienting.

The key finding: motivation can be influenced spatially

The results of the study show an exceptionally high level of agreement between all groups surveyed – pupils, teachers, therapists and parents. It is particularly noteworthy that the positive effects affect almost all factors that are crucial for successful educational processes.

88% of pupils report a greater sense of well-being and greater enjoyment of school. Just as many rate learning, concentration and emotional regulation positively. 94% find their way around the building better thanks to the color-coded orientation system.

Parents also notice significant changes. 89% report that their children speak positively about the new rooms. Confidence in the educational quality of the school is just as high. Many parents describe the environment as appreciative, professional and emotionally stabilizing.

Perhaps the most important finding, however, concerns the teachers and therapists themselves. 89% experience the color scheme as a direct support for their educational and therapeutic work. The majority report a greater sense of well-being, a better atmosphere, greater calm and increased motivation in their day-to-day work.

The study thus points to a previously largely underestimated connection: if the quality of the teacher is the most important factor for educational success, then the conditions under which teachers work also become crucial. The MOSAIK study shows for the first time under real conditions that evidence-based color design not only has an effect on students, but can also positively influence motivation, professional identification and social dynamics within an educational institution.

Why the results are scientifically relevant

International interest in the effect of built environments on learning, health and behavior has been growing for years. Studies in environmental and perceptual psychology show that factors such as light, color, orientation, acoustics and stimulus levels have a significant influence on concentration, stress regulation and social interaction.

The MOSAIK study adds a crucial aspect to this field of research: it examines the effect of evidence-based color design not in the laboratory, but in the real everyday life of a sensitive educational-therapeutic environment.

It is precisely this practical relevance that makes the results so relevant. The study shows that design not only creates aesthetic quality, but can also have concrete effects on behavior, motivation and institutional trust.

What the study means for the future of educational spaces

The results of the MOSAIK school make it clear that schools are more than just functional buildings. They are emotional and social environments. Those who plan educational spaces always design the conditions for learning, relationships and participation.

Evidence-based color design is therefore not a decorative add-on, but a previously underestimated tool for supporting educational and therapeutic processes.

The study is an example of the potential that lies in a design that is consistently geared towards human perception and psychological needs. This knowledge will play an increasingly important role in educational and healthcare buildings in the future.

Because good education doesn’t just start in the classroom. It begins with the environment in which people learn, work and meet.

The complete study “Color as a controllable environmental factor in learning and therapy rooms” is published at: DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.18963.03367
Download the study free of charge at Research Gate
Download the study free of charge at Academia

Der Beitrag The underestimated power of the learning environment erschien zuerst auf Farbpsychologie.