Salutogenic Design: the theme of the 13th World Health Congress

In April 2024, Milan hosted the 13th World Design and Health Congress, organized byInternational Academy for Design & Health (IADH), in collaboration with the Politecnico di Milano. This meeting brought together experts from different areas to discuss the role of design in promoting health and well-being, where the main theme was Salutogenic Design. Understand what this is about in this article.

Salutogenic design: spaces that care

SecondAntonovsky, sociologist and doctor who coined the concept, salutogenesis is the study of the origins of health. That is, instead of asking“Why do we get sick?”, Antonovsky proposed thinking about that“that keeps us healthy”.

The basis of this thinking is theSense of Coherence (SOC), translated asSense of Coherence— a concept that involves the importance of the stimuli we face throughout life and their impact on our health.

How do they describeMittelmark et al.nodeHandbook of Salutogenesis, available on NCBI Bookshelf, this model shows that environments built according to the principles of salutogenic design can strengthen the Sense of Coherence and, thus, promote the health of space users.

Salutogenic design in action

In the context of design for healthcare, applying the principles of salutogenic design involves designing environments that promote comfort, functionality and safety. These spaces help to reduce stress, facilitate orientation and create a feeling of safety and comfort, factors that have a positive influence on the recovery of users.

At this congress, somepractical examples, from hospitals to community centers and urban areas, where these principles are already being successfully applied.

WCDH 2025 in Singapore

The next world meeting is scheduled between October 29th and November 2nd, 2025, at the Pan Pacific Orchard, in Singapore. The theme will be“The Mission for a Salutogenic Healthy Society”, reinforcing once again the importance of salutogenic design in the construction of hospital, school and work spaces.

For more information about the 14th World Congress on Design and Health (WCDH 2025), clickhere.

Medd as a health agent

InMedd, we believe that the built environment plays a fundamental role in promoting well-being. For more than two decades, we have applied principles of ergonomics, spatial organization, lighting and sensory comfort to create solutions that respond to the specific needs of clinical, pharmaceutical and hospital contexts. Our goal is to create spaces that actively contribute to the well-being and recovery of the people who use them.

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