Contact Rayvees Goh, Director, Landscape Architecture
rayvees.goh@benoy.com
Urban environments have a major influence on psychological wellbeing. As global studies from WHO and The Lancet Commission confirm, the cities we live in can contribute to stress, anxiety and isolation. But when thoughtfully designed, these same cities can create connection, joy and a sense of belonging.
Rayvees Goh, Director of Landscape Architecture in Benoy’s Singapore Studio, explains how ‘designing for wellbeing’ can transform people’s interactions with urban spaces and boost mental health and happiness.
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"Designing for wellbeing in landscape architecture goes beyond aesthetics; it shapes urban environments that enhance mental health, foster connections, and create vibrant communities. By harmonizing nature with human experience, we can cultivate cities that genuinely support the psychological and emotional needs of their inhabitants."
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, ‘wellbeing’ refers to the “state of being comfortable, healthy or happy”. Design that promotes wellbeing is therefore not only concerned with the physical aspects of urban living, but with the mental and emotional dimensions as well. But how many cities currently get this balance right?
Today, the pace, density and disconnect of modern cities can negatively affect people’s mental health. Even in smart and efficient cities, psychological wellbeing can be impacted. Singapore, for example, ranked third happiest city in the world in the Institute for Quality of Life’s #2025 Happy City Index. And yet even here, mental health problems are on the rise. According to the National Population Health Survey, between 2020 and 2022 the prevalence of poor mental health in Singapore increased from 13.4% to 17%.
So, how do we use design to address these issues? How do we create architectural solutions that promote mental health, wellbeing and community resilience in our cities and urban environments?
By prioritising walkability, access to parks and open spaces, we can create environments that naturally promote physical activity and social cohesion. These elements are foundational in shaping healthier, happier and more connected urban communities.
Indeed, walking is known to significantly improve mental health. But seasonal weather and climatic conditions often create barriers to pedestrian activity. To address this challenge, we can deploy design features such as tree cover and overhanging canopy structures to provide thermal comfort, shade and rain shelter, enabling people to walk from A to B.
Similarly, by creating spaces that support alfresco city experiences, we can use design as a platform for wellness – encouraging physical activity in open, outdoor environments. For example, the creation of spatial and functional adjacencies, such as parent social areas alongside playgrounds, provides opportunities for outdoor interaction. And this in turn strengthens social connections and enriches city life.
Through environmental design approaches, we can optimise urban environments for human comfort and psychological wellbeing. Design choices around natural light, spatial flow and acoustic control, for example, directly impact mental health and cognitive function. The integration of nature and biophilic design features has also been shown to reduce cortisol levels, enhance concentration and support overall wellbeing.
The blending of indoor and outdoor environments enables us to bring greenspace and nature into our buildings, while encouraging people to move seamlessly from internal to external areas. Greenwalls, plants and trees within malls, or outdoor F&B seating and covered walkways, mean people can experience the best of both worlds. This approach also allows us to explore interstitial spaces, those pockets in between destinations where people can find temporary respite, distraction and delight.
Embedding arts and healthcare into the urban fabric helps to create nourishing, supportive and caring cities. Public art, community festivals and creative placemaking, for example, activate urban spaces emotionally and socially. Events showcasing local artistic traditions can help to connect people to place, creating a sense of living history and culture. Such interventions foster community identity, enhance inclusivity and add to the psychological vibrancy of public environments.
Wellness services, meanwhile, can be embedded into the urban landscape to reduce barriers to care. The proactive integration of onsite mental health resources, public exercise stations and therapeutic landscapes reinforces the concept and culture of wellness. Such measures can support preventative health and de-stigmatise access to care, promoting the idea of wellbeing as a shared value supported by local communities and authorities.
By considering how people interact with the city spaces they inhabit, and by anticipating their emotional needs, we can shape urban environments that positively influence physical and psychological wellbeing.
These considerations are key to achieving what author Richard Florida refers as the “quality of place”. This concept, says Florida, refers to a “unique set of characteristics that make a city attractive…includ[ing] not just natural and built environments but also the vibrancy of street life, arts, and how inclusive and welcoming a place feels.”
Where cities exhibit quality of place, they provide opportunities for people to thrive and flourish, which in turn attracts future talent and growth and promotes optimism, happiness and wellbeing.
At Benoy, we believe quality of place – and quality of life – in cities is achieved through an integrated design approach. By blurring the boundaries between different disciplines, for example landscape architecture, architecture, interiors and data, we can conceive holistic and integrated design solutions. Solutions that reflect the multidimensional nature of modern city life – and the multifaceted needs of city dwellers.
Across the Benoy portfolio, there are many examples of ‘designing for wellbeing’. For the Resorts World Sentosa Waterfront Lifestyle Development in Singapore, we developed a masterplan that seamlessly integrates luxury, nature and sustainability, featuring a public promenade and shaded ‘mountain’ trails to promote exercise and activity.
In Taichung, Taiwan, we developed a landscape design concept for the Taichung D‑ONE mixed-use development, which incorporates wellness through a vibrant community hub where nature and art meet commerce. With dynamic spaces for arts and culture, public gardens with greenspace and trees, plus immersive, multisensorial outdoor experiences, our concept presents a utopian urban vision with wellbeing at its core.
And finally, in Manila, Philippines, we helped to redesign the SM Megamall. Our designs include an indoor wellness garden, featuring low-maintenance plants and a self-sustaining irrigation system to minimise environmental impact. We also introduced ETFE roofing materials, which admit a light spectrum that’s beneficial for plants while keeping out the sun’s heat. In this way, we created an indoor environment that’s conducive to green growth and human comfort.
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