Healthy Habits & Harmony

Health

The strength of the mind-body connection is well-documented. Physical health affects mental health and vice versa, so as part of a holistic approach to trauma-informed design, these housing facilities were built to improve the health of their residents.

At a basic level, this involved measures such as using premium, low-VOC building materials, modern plumbing techniques, active ventilation, and a water filtration system to greatly reduce the amount of harmful substances in the air and water.

At a higher level, this meant purposefully designing environments that promote healthy habits.

Sleep Hygiene

The most important of these habits is promoting proper sleep hygiene to help residents get regular, high-quality sleep.

Over a dozen soundproofing measures, including extra-thick walls with offset studs and extra insulation, sound-insulated garbage disposals, quieter doorbells, solid wood doors with , soft-close hinges, hydraulic dampeners on Murphy beds.

Light control

Dim-to-warm lights, in all the bedrooms at Haven House and every light fixture in Cloud Nine Studios. These lights automatically turn from cool white to warm yellow light as you dim them, which feels more comfortable and doesn’t interfere with sleep like regular LED lights.

Healthy Cooking Haven House features two full kitchens,

Reducing Clutter (reduces stress)

Cleanliness All materials are easy to clean and hard to break. Smaller dishwashers and laundry machines are much more expensive than normal, but Laundry Machines encourage smaller, more frequent

Stress Reduction / Reducing Stress

Sleep Hygiene / Improving Sleep Quality

Harmony

Most conflicts are over light, sound (sleep disturbance) or bathroom

Simple but powerful measures like ensuring every person has their own dedicated towel rack so that there is no need to hand wet towels anywhere that could bother someone else.

Two laundry areas, at Cloud Nine, in every unit.

Individual HVAC systems in each bedroom let everyone be comfortable without wasting energy. Lighting throughout the house is recessed and dimmable.

For noise reduction, security, and privacy, all doors are solid wood and each bedroom door has a heavy-duty deadbolt. Luxury vinyl flooring throughout the home is beautiful and durable. All materials used throughout home are easy to clean. Tankless water heater never runs out of hot water.