wellness Archives - Page 5 of 5

The Paimio Sanatorium: Architectural Solutions in a Pandemic

Posted on June 1, 2020May 21, 2024 by Nancy

At its core, architecture is a response to its surrounding environment. Every space in which we live, work, or play is carefully designed with intention, usually reacting to the wants or needs of the people around them. Oftentimes during a crisis, such as a pandemic, architectural solutions can make the difference between life and death. Located in southwestern Finland, the Paimio Sanatorium epitomizes the crucial part architecture plays in the health and wellness of our communities.

Terrace of Paimio Sanatorium. Credit: Tiina Rajala on Wikimedia Commons,
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0

Completed in 1932, the Sanatorium was designed to house recovering tuberculosis patients. The building was designed by Alvar Aalto, who won the commission after an architectural competition for the project in 1929. Following Modernist design, Aalto included large windows, roof terraces, and a sleek aesthetic. As per most Modernist structures, function was also a priority. At the time, the only known ‘cure’ for tuberculosis was rest, fresh air and sunshine. The Sanatorium offered just that, with balconies and outdoor spaces for patients to enjoy while recuperating. From easy-to-sanitize surfaces to color choices, Aalto designed the entire building around the needs of patients and staff.

By the 1950s, antibiotics ushered in the end of the disease, and eventually the Paimio Sanatorium was converted into a general hospital. Today, it stands as a reminder of the power of design, and how it can nurture and inspire change in the world.

For more information, you can read Cultured Magazine’s full feature on the Paimio Sanatorium here.

Staying Well at Home

Posted on May 4, 2020September 1, 2020 by Nancy

In the face of adversity, nothing is more inspiring than seeing everyone come together and get creative pursuing at-home health and wellness initiatives. As we continue to explore new ways to stay active and entertained, here are a few of our favorite ways to staying well at home:

Take a Digital Fitness Class

Keeping up your fitness routine — or establishing a new habit — is a great way to kickstart your morning and get those endorphins pumping. When it comes to digital fitness classes to help guide you, the options are endless. Good Housekeeping recently shared their all-encompassing list of 25+ free live stream workout classes to try while quarantined, including high-intensity boxing, toning dance parties, yoga, meditation and more. Our own Optima communities are hosting classes too — Optima Signature is putting on virtual fitness classes like pilates and core fitness through Chitown Trainer, while Optima Sonoran Village organized a patio workout series via the building’s Instagram.

Organize an Online Meet-Up

Social distancing still allows for plenty of room to get creative with your social gatherings. Making the time to keep up with friends and family is a great way to boost your mood — and theirs. The increasingly popular video conferencing platform Zoom allows up to 100 people in one meeting. Try gathering your coworkers for a digital happy hour, or getting your friends together for a creative themed night, such as a Chopped-inspired cooking challenge or a Bob Ross-style paint along.

Cultivate Your Green Thumb

Satisfy your spring fever and brighten up your home with your own personal garden. Gardening is a meditative task, and the result is lush greenery that is proven to boost your spirit. At Optima, many of our units feature private terraces, which are the perfect place for you and your new plant friends to soak up the sun. But even without an outdoor space, the rising container gardening trend allows anyone to have a green thumb at home. To help our residents get started, the property management team at Optima Sonoran Village even delivered a succulent plant to each unit.

As we continue to spend our days at home, finding ways to stay grounded and focusing on our wellness is as important as ever. Stayed tuned for more Optima features on at-home initiatives.

Staying Connected Amidst COVID-19

Posted on April 29, 2020September 1, 2020 by Nancy

At Optima, we operate with an intense passion for creating together. Ours is a highly collaborative team, often communicating in real time to share ideas and inspiration as part of our vertically-integrated business model. With collaborative systems already in place, our team is staying connected as ever during COVID-19, across states, offices, communities and jobsites, with some currently operating from home.

Beth Maher heads up Learning and Development at Optima, placing emphasis on the wellness of our team along the way. We sat down (digitally) with Beth and asked her to share how she’s guiding our team through continuing to stay connected, and continuing to stay well, during this time.

Sharing Wellness Resources

Wellness has always been pivotal in our culture, but Beth shares, “It’s become a priority now more than ever. We want to provide additional wellness support to all our coaches and team members to help guide them through the changes many are experiencing from this new environment.” Wellness resources are being offered universally across our team — from architects to property managers to the construction team — giving all access to meditation and yoga guidance and other activities that can be done no matter where you are. Through our partnership with GROW LMS, we recently rolled out a set of online wellness courses that are available for our entire team.

Staying Connected

“Connectedness is at the core of Optima,” Beth explains. The Optima Wellness Page in the company intranet is just one source of connectivity where many resources are located. All teams continue to communicate seamlessly by regularly hopping onto Microsoft Teams, where we continue to share ideas in real time. We also use the Yammer app, which is a messaging board where we share inspirational quotes and ideas. We continue to engage at a safe distance over video chat too, whether that’s for a quick brainstorming session or to come together for a company-wide trivia night or virtual book club discussion.

Looking to the Future

The current state of the world may prove to be a challenge in some ways, “but we have the resources to keep everyone connected no matter what,” Beth affirms. “I’ve never worked in an organization that has such strong connectivity between its team members and coaches.” Human connection is important now more than ever, and it is this connection we have at Optima that will enable us to stay agile, strong and able to tackle this challenge — together.

Rooftop Amenities at Optima

Posted on December 26, 2019September 1, 2020 by Nancy

Across all of our projects and properties, we believe amenities are essential to building wellness-focused, holistic spaces. From our single-family homes to our multi-family residences, we carefully curate our outdoor and indoor amenities to reflect these values. One of our favorite applications is utilizing our rooftop areas, particularly in our multi-family residences. Although rooftop gardens and green spaces have existed since the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, new technologies have allowed us to expand into sophisticated, expansive systems of features. Optima began using green roofs in Chicago back in the early 1980s, and have evolved our practice to include both green space and amenities throughout our properties in Arizona and Illinois.

The rooftop views from Optima Sonoran Village.

One of our favorite aspects of moving out to Arizona was creating outdoor spaces that celebrated and embraced the desert atmosphere. Our Arizona rooftop amenities include heated pools, built-in seating areas, spas,cold plunges, rooftop running tracks, outdoor yoga studios, entertaining spaces with barbecues and fire pits, and of course, panoramic mountain views. At Optima Sonoran Village in particular, we maximized the small footprint of the building to offer incredible views of Camelback mountain and to create socializing space for residents.

With state-of-the-art features and unparalleled views of the surrounding environments, our rooftop spaces across our Arizona projects create the perfect backdrop for time spent outside with loved ones.

Despite the cold Chicago winters, our projects within the city still take advantage of their rooftop space for dynamic city views and amenities for our residents to enjoy. With outdoor heated swimming pools, cabanas and bars, outdoor saunas and steam rooms, outdoor terraces, fire pits, herb gardens, dog parks and outdoor children’s play areas, both Optima Chicago Center and Optima Signature feature plenty of enticing areas and activities.

Our building amenities are an integral step in our process of creating functional, beautiful and welcoming spaces, and in utilizing our rooftops, we extend our creativity into designing desirable, innovative outdoor space.

Wellness at Optima Signature

Posted on September 2, 2019September 1, 2020 by Nancy

As with most luxury high rises in downtown Chicago, Optima Signature includes spaces specifically dedicated to resident amenities. Unlike most luxury high rises, Optima Signature’s amenity spaces span 1.5 acres across several floors, creating an unparalleled living experience for residents. We curate our amenity spaces with wellness in mind, designing to meet the physical and mental health needs of the people who enjoy our space.

Let the Light In

With floor-to-ceiling windows that show off breathtaking views of our Streeterville neighborhood, our amenity floors are the perfect spot to work from home and soak up some extra Vitamin D. In addition to energizing a space, natural light can help ward off seasonal depression, which is essential for the long Chicago winters. It can also aid in regulating your natural sleep cycle, which can seriously impact your mood. So whether residents are catching up on emails or catching up with friends, our amenity spaces are the perfect place to soak up some sun.

Get Active

Optima Signature features resort-style indoor and outdoor heated swimming pools, a cutting-edge fitness center, basketball, squash and bocce ball courts, golf simulator and putting green, yoga studio and more; needless to say there are plenty of ways for residents to get active and stay in shape. And with spa amenities such as indoor and outdoor saunas and steam rooms, decompressing after a long workout (or a long day at work) is always convenient.

Be Social

Along with physical wellness, Optima Signature’s amenities also provide resources for social wellness, which research shows increases mindful habits and lowers depression rates. Club 52, a residents-only club and amenity floor, features an outdoor kitchen, wine lockers, community lounge, and an outdoor terrace, allowing residents to mingle and get to know each other. On Level 20, the coffee bar, library, movie theater, demonstration kitchen, business center, conference room and coworking space encourages residents to connect with their friends and family.

From pools to green spaces, each of our projects feature aspects of healthy living. Helping our residents stay well is part of how we enhance the lives of those who live in our buildings, and how we stay connected to each of our projects.

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Tag: wellness