Longevity is a revolution that is taking over all areas of life, work and leisure. Companies are racing to fit in with the trend of the popular slogan "longevity." Why? Swiss investment bank UBS estimates that the overall longevity market will be worth in 2030. US$8 trillion. So the outlook on the architecture and functionality of buildings is also changing. The sporty ones, are no longer just sporty.
Wellness Real Estate and Strength-Based Design: Longevity is making its way into architecture.
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The data is inexorable, societies around the world are aging. The UN predicts that by 2050 there will be 1.6 billion people aged 65 and older in the world, more than double the 761 million recorded in 2021. On top of that, taking care of one's well-being has become fashionable not only among young people, but also among the silvers generation. The longevity (longevity) trend is thus not just a fad, but a global business that is beginning to drive every walk of life and even the real estate sector.
Wellness Real Estate and Strength-Based Design: longevity enters architecture.
©KNAUF CEILING SOLUTIONS Ltd.
The investment bank and real estate sector already know
Swiss bank UBS, revered worldwide for years as one of the oracles of investment, puts 3 pillars in its published recommendations for the coming years: artificial intelligence (AI), energy and just longevity. It forecasts that the broader longevity market will grow from $5.3 trillion in 2023 to $8 trillion in 2030. That, according to the bank's analysts, will be the impact of an aging population on finance, healthcare and consumption.
This focus on extending healthy lives is also seen by real estate and public building investors. The so-called wellness real estate sector - real estate designed to actively support the physical and mental health of users - is growing rapidly. That's why facilities so far mainly associated with leisure like hotels, or typically sports areas - swimming pools, gyms - are changing their character. Fitness is no longer just a popular "gym," it's a place that is becoming a zone for taking care of health, for the young, but increasingly also for people of the silvers generation.
Wellness Real Estate and Strength-Based Design: Longevity enters architecture.
©KNAUF CEILING SOLUTIONS Ltd.
Interiors need to be healthy, too
In addition to water or sports equipment, interior design is starting to become key, but not just in the sense of what's important to the eye. - Friendly acoustics, good air quality, eco-friendly materials used in interior design. All of this is starting to be important in the design of swimming pool areas and gyms," enumerates architect Anna Baczkowska of Knuaf Ceiling Solutions. These solutions can also be available in a luxury version - such as in Switzerland, in the city of Uster, where the ceiling above the heads of users swimming in the pool is decorated with gold ceiling panels. Not literally gold, but gold-colored, though metal. Such solutions were chosen by the designers at K+L Architekten mainly for durability - the ceiling panels are made of corrosion- and salt-water-resistant aluminum, which is used, among other things, in the shipbuilding industry. To improve acoustics - which is particularly important in swimming pools due to the reflection of sound from water and hard wall and floor surfaces - the panels have a special perforation characteristic of Knauf Ceiling Solutions ceilings and, in addition, a special acoustic mineral insert that absorbs noise.
Wellness Real Estate and Strength-Based Design: Longevity enters architecture.
©KNAUF CEILING SOLUTIONS Ltd.
Heradesign acoustic panels are just as often chosen as metal panels for sports facilities. Like the metal ones, they are environmentally friendly, boasting Cradle To Cradle certification. Heradesign are made of wood wool, so they are also excellent at absorbing noise and reverberation. The possibilities offered by Knauf Ceiling Solutions also make it possible to achieve virtually any color imaginable.
Wellness Real Estate and Strength-Based Design: Longevity enters architecture.
©KNAUF CEILING SOLUTIONS Ltd.
Designers at the Wasserwelt Langenhagen aquapark near Hanover took advantage of just such a wide range of options. The complex houses a total of as many as 8 indoor and outdoor pools and an extensive sauna area of more than 500 m². Studio 4a Architekten is behind the vibrantly colored interior. The colors of the acoustic panels placed on the ceiling change depending on the zone: moving from different shades of blue in the sports zone, through shades of blue and green in the jumping zone, to warm shades of yellow and orange in the recreation zone.
- The ceiling is the main visual accent, but it also protects the hearing of the interior users. This is because Heradesign panels have a high sound absorption coefficient αw of 0.85, reports Anna Baczkowska of Knauf Ceiling Solutions.
The new approach to aging, i.e. not fighting anti-aging, but focusing on maximizing fitness and vitality has also moved into gyms. Here, the noise of working equipment and the sounds of users can be no less annoying than in a swimming pool. For such interiors, architects also often choose Heradesign panels. Their advantage, in addition to their impact on acoustics, is that they can be mounted on walls and are impact resistant. As, for example, in the swimming pool in Zoetermeer, the Netherlands, which was handed over after an extensive renovation in 2025. Acoustic panels in calm, muted colors ranging from gray to dark navy blue were installed on both the ceiling and walls. At both locations, they are rectangular panels of 1200 x 600 mm
with a thickness of 25 mm. In addition, Heradesign's Superfine Alpha+ panels installed on the ceiling are factory-fitted with acoustic fleece on the back for even better sound absorption.
Wellness Real Estate and Strength-Based Design: Longevity enters architecture.
©KNAUF CEILING SOLUTIONS Ltd.
Aleksandra Laudanska, an architect and social innovator in the field of healthy aging and author of the Longevity Lifts training program for 70+ people, admits outright: longevity is changing the definition of good architecture. - A new parameter will be added to the criteria describing the quality of buildings and interiors - such as functionality, aesthetics or environmental performance: the ability of spaces to sustain the fitness of users. In an era of longevity, we need places that encourage movement and maintain strength, because it determines independence in the later years of life. I call this Strength-Based Design, an approach in which architecture becomes a tool for preventive health, and pools and gyms become part of the longevity infrastructure," says Laudanska.
Wellness Real Estate and Strength-Based Design: Longevity enters architecture.
©KNAUF CEILING SOLUTIONS Ltd.
The expert is also editor-in-chief of the Warsaw-based seniors' monthly "#Pokolenia," and in its pages the topic of activity is a constant theme of articles. But silvesr's sports and strength activities are the domain of more than just the capital. Group classes organized at gyms are now available in even the smallest cities and towns. The interiors of these buildings are sometimes austere and industrial, but architects and manufacturers have found a way around this. Among other things, free-hanging acoustic panels from the Sonic line can be installed on the ceiling, without losing anything of the original character of the gym.
Public swimming pools are also generally well-lit compared to the water areas of
in hotels. This also makes a big difference in the well-being of taking care of fitness. Being able to at least visually connect with the greenery outside the window has an added calming effect, no matter how friendly the acoustics are inside.
For more information, visit the company's KNAUF CEILING SOLUTIONS Sp. z o.o. page on the A&B portal.
