Guanjingchan Xu
Taubman College of Architecture & Urban Planning, Master of Architecture︎
#HealthbyDesign is ...
Health is the balance between body, mind, and environment—a fragile harmony we are constantly striving to sustain. Yet what does this balance feel like in daily life? Honestly, it isn’t
about hitting a benchmark—it’s about a sense of freedom.
It’s the freedom to say “yes” without your body vetoing it. When a friend spontaneously calls you for a hike or a late-night pizza, your first thought isn’t “Ugh, my back,” or “I’m too tired.” Your body feels like a partner in crime, not a problem you constantly have to manage. Health is also the freedom to be cool on your own. It’s enjoying the energy of a great party but also genuinely cherishing a quiet night alone without feeling lonely. It’s having a solid crew you can count on, but not needing their validation to feel okay about yourself.It’s the freedom to actually get a good night’s sleep. In today’s world, this is the ultimate flex. It means your mind is quiet enough to power down. There’s no greater sign that your body and brain trust you enough to shut off and reboot.At its core, health is your capacity to engage with life. It’s the invisible engine that lets you fully enjoy the good times and weather the rough ones. It’s that feeling after a great meal where you’re just satisfied, not guilty. It’s the productive ache after a workout, not pain. It’s waking up and feeling—at the very least—curious about the day, not already defeated by it. So really, health is just your built-in ability to go out and play—whatever that looks like for you. It's your body and mind being reliable teammates in the adventure of your life. You don't really
notice it when it's there. You only truly feel its absence.
Design is the intentional humanity that shapes that capacity.
Sometimes it’s a quiet cue—a door that almost tells you which way to push without a sign. Other times it’s empathy at work, like an entrance that welcomes a wheelchair without the barrier of stairs. On the scale of the city, design becomes rhythm, inviting you to walk instead of drive, to breathe instead of rush. Design, at its best, is invisible—not shouting, but solving. It doesn’t simply ask, “Can we make
it beautiful?”; it dares to ask, “Can we make it kind, clear, an human?” And when we speak of Health by Design, we recognize this truth: health is never an accident—it is built, through intention, through care, through design.
Feature Project
︎Healthy Defaults by Design
︎STREAMLINE