Category: Feature

For the love of the game: Wellogy Retreat 23

If you didn’t already know, architects are highly competitive by nature. They want to win the project, develop the best solution to challenges, negotiate unbeatable costs, beat the schedule, unite the perfect team, and create something impactful and memorable. While this is all excellent news for our clients, this highly competitive nature often requires a hard reboot and a chance to pause. Enter half-time, also known as Wellogy Retreat 23.

“As the man once said, the harder you work, the luckier you get.”

–Ted Lasso

Into the locker room.

Our team recently gathered in our new Dublin, Ohio office to spark ideas, build our team, look to the future of architecture, and discuss our evolving strategy to provide the best possible experience and value for our clients. It was a retreat full of new ideas, team building, joy, and the realization that we were becoming who we set out to be a little over a year ago when we rebranded to Wellogy.

“We work daily in our business, and it’s important to also work on our business. We’ve been Wellogy for over a year now, and it was time to stop and take stock of what we’ve accomplished and prepare for what’s ahead.”

-Wellogy President and Founding Principal, Philip O. “Buck” Wince, AIA, LEED®AP

The Ted talk format for our three-day retreat featured Wellogy team members owning relevant topics and sharing their knowledge, experience, and research. Topics included AI: Architecture and the Future of Design, Sustainable Structures, Designing for the Neurodiverse, Wellogy Design Process, Healthy Building Materials, Storytelling, Teaching our Team, Visualization: Style Guide for the Design Process, WFH: Lasting Impacts, and Developing & Growing Relationships.

“We wanted to provide our team with the opportunity to showcase and present on topics they are passionate about that impact our jobs and project outcomes.”

-Wellogy Principal and CFO, Matt Canterna, AIA

The sessions provided valuable information and insight to help shape our firm as we search for and incorporate ways to build and be better together. Team building was also a vital element of the retreat. We worked in small groups to compile wellness kits for those in need, competed in a modeling charrette, and learned about our different working styles through individual Myers-Briggs assessments. Bridge Park Pins Mechanical and Fado were the backdrop for many laughs, shared stories, and memories.

“Whistle!”

-Roy Kent

Now that we have your attention…we are in our 28th year of business and into our second year of officially being Wellogy. The hope and optimism we felt when we rebranded is still ever present in our evolved culture and mission. Our passion for designing places of well-being is sparking new project possibilities and solutions for our clients. The retreat reminded us that we love the game of architecture and the opportunity to unite resources and build great teams to solve challenges. Through our listening, learning, and team building, we know that if we want to change the world through design, we must also change ourselves and how we live, work, and inhabit our spaces. Our team is ready to help you complete your next project. Wellogy on three!

Believe.

How do you bring new life to a mall?

Wellogy partnered with the Adena Corporation to bring new life to the former Lazarus department store in the Richland Mall. The major renovation from retail to healthcare provides a new maternity unit for the growing Avita Ontario Health System in the Mansfield, Ohio area.

Davis Wince is now Wellogy!

Change is good, especially when fueled by growth and an impactful purpose. We’ve evolved into a notable firm with a diverse portfolio of higher education, health + wellness, and senior living clients to uniquely author learning, healing, and living environments. Our firm’s passion for designing healthier environments sparked a change and a focus on studying healthy design and developing ways to infuse wellness into everyday living; our brand now reflects this purpose.

The need we see from our design discoveries, the client relations we have formed, and our passion for creating healthy environments drive our purpose. Market forces and their underlying value reinforce the demand to design healthier, more connected ways to live. We are championing a healthier world through intentional design.

Our new brand reflects who we are and who we aspire to become. Wellogy has an implied meaning, “study of well” – and well has multiple meanings to us including “in good health” as in well-being or wellness, “with skill or aptitude” as in doing an activity well, and “source, origin (of water)” and the notion of ‘drawing from the source’- addressing the inspirational nature and rigor of design. Our new tag line reflects what we are passionate about- designing for life. 

Projects that directly impact well-being inspire us and encourage our curiosity about the possibilities for a healthier future. We are proud of our past and the people and projects that helped us prepare for this change in our firm’s history. The rest of our story starts today, one in which we are more thoughtful and intentional in designing for life.

Why We’re Turning our Offices into Blue Zones

by Jennifer M. Bobbitt

What are the Blue Zones? The term “Blue Zone” comes from Dan Buettner, author and National Geographic Fellow, who researches areas of the world where people live long healthy lives. His curiosity with those living into their 100’s led to the discovery of common themes in areas with high numbers of centenarians. Buettner and his team identified places in the world where there are high concentrations of those living over 100 and labeled them “Blue Zones.” What is it about those areas that encourage longevity, and why are we trying to recreate it in our Wellogy (formerly Davis Wince) offices?

“The Power 9” The research uncovered that the “secrets” to longevity aren’t secrets at all but simple, easy to obtain, and maintain lifestyle choices that, when put into action, can benefit people for a lifetime. Buettner brands the everyday lifestyle choices common among the Blue Zone regions as the “The Power 9”.

Wellogy thought it would be interesting to incorporate “The Power 9” into our office culture. Throughout the evolution of our firm, we’ve been exploring how to make a lasting impact and ignite change in health and wellness by rethinking the way we design communities, buildings, and homes. Our journey started when our design experience collided with our passion, and we discovered our purpose- To Create Places of Well Bing to Enrich People’s Lives. We accomplish this by incorporating intentionally designed elements that help communities thrive and proposer- a concept we call Healthy Urbanism™. To thoroughly explore our purpose, we decided to make healthy changes and support opportunities to learn more in the place where we spend our days- at work.

Following the Power 9 areas for improvement, we asked everyone to participate by taking a topic to research and present on at our weekly staff meeting. The presentations have been very informative, interactive, and all very unique.

Stretch time and standing desks in action in our Denver, CO office. Below: Wellogy President and Founding Principal, Buck Wince provides examples of office stretching.

Additionally, we asked a sample group from each office to take the Blue Zone True Vitality Test. According to the Blue Zone website, “calculates your life expectancy and how long you’ll stay healthy.” We also took the Blue Zone True Happiness Test “to improve your environment and maximize happiness.” The tests are based on leading scientific research and make recommendations to improve your well-being. We plan to retake the test at the end of our nine-week challenge to determine if we’ve improved our scores.  More important than the actual score, though, is the impact the changes are having on our day to day wellness. We’ve also explored the “The Blue Zone Kitchen: 100 Recipes to Live to 100” cookbook and shared recipes while encouraging healthy eating at our office Blue Zone breakfast.

Our monthly potluck/ cookouts focus on fresh and healthy foods.

From walking meetings, standing desks, stretching breaks, healthy snack options, and increased awareness of the benefits of plant-based diets, we have all learned something that we have taken home and incorporated into our daily lives. While we may not all live to be 100, working together to make changes to be better and create a healthier way of life for the next generation, benefits us all in hundreds of ways.

Can Architecture Affect Your Health?

by Jennifer M. Bobbitt

Can architecture affect your health? We passionately believe that it can. That’s why we’re working with partners engaged in designing a better way to live. From healthcare, senior housing, higher education, and our other market segments, the goals for each partnership are the same- to enhance and improve the quality of life by creating a new standard in the way we live and interact with the built environment.

We’re on a mission to incorporate elements of Healthy Urbanism™ into every project we deliver. What is Healthy Urbanism™? It’s the integration of intentionally designed elements that helps communities thrive and prosper. No matter what the size of the project, an impact occurs when the built environment is purposely designed for wellness, creating a ripple effect that places a priority on health. The result is a wellness-centered community with the potential for improved physical health, accessibility to medical care, healthy food, activity, and social interaction.

Our projects can be as broad as a surgery center in a new community to ensure better outcomes for its residents, and designing student dining halls with a focus on healthier choices, and as specific as designing buildings with sustainable materials that incorporate walking and bike paths to promote physical activity. At the heart of Healthy Urbanism™ is the drive to reimagine health by creating communities of wellness. We hope you’ll join us on the journey as we create places of well being to enrich people’s lives.

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