Wellbeing and Slow Spaces: Can Architecture Distort the Way We Experience Time?Presented by:Save this picture!Son Tra Art Exhibition Center, Vietnam / Ho Khue Architects. Image © Hiroyuki OkiA good conversation can make time feel like it's passing more quickly. But is this effect solely due to the verbal exchange, or could our perception of time be shaped by the spatial conditions surrounding us? There are environments that, due to their scale, distribution, and atmosphere, are conducive to meeting, listening, or pausing, thereby influencing the human experience. Perhaps it's not the words we share, but the space in which we speak that truly shapes our understanding of time. Some sociological theories about our society and the built environment go beyond considering it as a mere physical container and suggest that architecture, in its very duality, can act as both an inhibitor and a catalyst for our temporal experiences, impacting our wellbeing.Two perspectives offer complementary insights into how the relationship between space, time, and subject can shape our perception of time, whether it feels diluted or extended. One comes from Georg Simmel, who presents hypotheses about the effects of urban life in "The Metropolis and Mental Life". In an unavoidably accelerated environment, the urban individual develops a modern, detached personality shaped by an overwhelming array of stimuli, many of which are negative.From another angle, Henri Lefebvre conceives space as a social construction. He introduces a spatial triad: the perceived, the conceived, and the lived as superimposed layers, where seeking denser and more experience-laden moments becomes necessary. These perspectives provide a framework for understanding how design can modulate our time consciousness. Save this picture!Architecture in the Face of Environmental Agitation and HyperstimulationSimmel highlights the impact of speed and overstimulation in modern life. This opens the door to reflecting on how architectural typologies or design gestures might reinforce or counteract that acceleration. From this, one can conclude that architects are challenged to consider how densified environments with multiple functions, forced circulations, or a lack of transitional spaces can intensify the sensation of compressed time.Save this picture!The traditional vision around transportation infrastructures, large shopping malls, or circulation-controlled corporate buildings usually responds to a logic of efficiency, oriented toward optimizing time and movement. However, it is vital to consider the possibility of a model that, without contradicting the conditions necessary for operation —and even the business model of a building— incorporates pause without a commercial or operational reason as part of the definition of spatial quality. Stimulating actions, such as drifting, permanence, or shelter, can invite a more leisurely perception of the environment, opening up space for forms of inhabiting that are less subordinated to urgency. Hyperstimulation and densification do not imply that cities or specific typologies cannot be wellbeing spaces, but the rhythm embedded in them can intensify acceleration. Wellbeing is not merely an individual choice; architecture can actively shape its rhythm by welcoming urban life and promoting more balanced, responsive ways of living.Save this picture!Designing Time and Space Through Deceleration and ProgressionLefebvre's triad provides valuable insights for designing spaces that encourage pause. By thinking of space not only as a physical object (the perceived) but also as a conceptual construct (the conceived) and a bodily experience (the lived), architects can integrate notions of rhythm, sequence, and experience into their designs. Thus, we consider a public library not only as a container for books but also as a temporary framework that enables concentration. A waiting room is a transitory space and a setting for group breaks or spontaneous encounters.We can learn a lot from typologies intended for religious worship, such as monasteries, chapels, or mosques, which construct spatial experiences through compartmentalized layouts or atmospheres defined by scale, materiality, light, or pathways, directly affecting how we inhabit the minutes and hours. Save this picture!Save this picture!In these types of environments, the space guides movement through the design of exterior pathways and interior corridors, promoting slow and deliberate actions. At the same time, interior courtyards and closed or semi-closed structures generate a sense of progression or transition. Other elements present along the route or in specific spaces, such as daylight and views, can act as markers of temporality and simultaneously become focal points for contemplation, either through the integration of carefully defined artificial or natural elements. While these sequences may be associated with rituals that reinforce these qualities, studying the role of these structures can inspire the design of environments where activities are structured to encourage a more intentional experience of time.Save this picture!An example of intended progression is the work of Pritzker Prize winner Liu Jiakun. In his project MOCA Chengdu, immersed in an environment lacking vitality, the path becomes a key tool for modulating the scale of the built structures, allowing for a less intrusive and much more prolonged experience over time. A similar phenomenon occurs in Saya Park, designed by Álvaro Siza and Carlos Castanheira. In the project team's words: "We enter the Art Pavilion as if entering a sculpture that absorbs us and enables us to feel space, light, shade, time, and also, what is before and what is beyond".We can apply this same approach to the interiors of offices, public squares, museums, schools, and even shopping centers, where offering a platform that modulates the rhythm of activities should be viewed not as a loss, but as part of the experience of inhabiting. When we discuss spatial quality, we often find it intertwined with the quality of time.Save this picture!Save this picture!Generally, this idea of wellbeing and pause through architecture requires a contextualized look for reflection. Simmel's ideas emerged in the context of Berlin's rapid growth in the 19th century. At the same time, Lefebvre formulated his ideas amid the post-war reconstruction process in 20th-century France. Both approaches respond to different historical moments and condition a vision of welfare derived from them. Today, economic and demographic data show contrasting realities: overpopulation in Asia, declining population density in Europe, accelerated growth in Africa, and climate challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean.In this scenario, spatial quality seems to be the privilege of the most developed cities or urban areas, and urgent issues prevail over the possibility of pausing or slowing down the pace; it may be tough to imagine wellbeing linked to the built environment. However, it is precisely in that pause and care-oriented architecture that one of the keys to facing many of today's challenges may lie. Rethinking space as an ally of wellbeing is not a luxury but a necessity in the face of a present that demands new, more attentive, sustainable, and humane ways of living.Save this picture!This article is part of the ArchDaily Topics: Building Wellbeing: Designing Spaces for Healing, presented in collaboration with the Hushoffice.With its line of A-class pods Hushoffice helps create acoustically balanced workplaces that offer great environment for collaboration and focus, foster employee wellbeing, and accommodate the needs of neurodiverse staff, as well as employees with motor impairments.Every month we explore a topic in-depth through articles, interviews, news, and architecture projects. We invite you to learn more about our ArchDaily Topics. And, as always, at ArchDaily we welcome the contributions of our readers; if you want to submit an article or project, contact us. Image gallerySee allShow less About this authorEnrique TovarAuthor••• Cite: Enrique Tovar. "Wellbeing and Slow Spaces: Can Architecture Distort the Way We Experience Time?" 22 Apr 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1029304/wellbeing-and-slow-spaces-can-architecture-distort-the-way-we-experience-time&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save世界上最受欢迎的建筑网站现已推出你的母语版本!想浏览ArchDaily中国吗?是否 You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream