Episode 220: Use Your Space to Enhance Your Well-being with Yoko Kawai

Centered in the City

Today's podcast episode, I sit down with Yoko Kawai, Ph.D, a Yale School of Architecture lecturer and expert in designing spaces for well-being. Yoko shares with us how specific Japanese design principles are scientifically proven to enhance our well-being. This is important because as Americans, we typically spend about 90% of our time inside. How we use and travel through space can offer us mindful moments to pause and get centered. Yoko shares various nudges you can use in your space to enhance your well-being that are approachable and inexpensive. Take a listen to this episode and share your takeaways with us on Linkedin. Yoko Kawai, Ph.D and Wade Brill.

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Yoko Kawai, Ph.D., pioneers "space for well-being" in workplaces, blending evidence-based strategies with Japanese spatial concepts rooted in human-centric perspectives. As a Yale School of Architecture lecturer, her research focuses on fostering mindfulness through spatial interventions. Co-founder of Mirai Work Space Alliance, she advocates for holistic well-being in modern workplaces. With expertise in the mind-space relationship, Yoko advises companies and serves on the Research Advisory at the International WELL Building Institute. Principal at Penguin Environmental Design, she integrates nature into architecture, aligning with her "People First" approach to well-being strategies.