Allan Louie Lompot, Assistant Professor at Heriot-Watt University Dubai, shares that applying Blue Ocean Strategy to interior architecture can transform everyday environments into spaces that naturally support Generation Alpha’s mental health, holistic wellness, and emotional resilience
Allan Louie Lompot, Assistant Professor at Heriot-Watt University Dubai
Allan Louie Lompot, Assistant Professor at Heriot-Watt University Dubai

“Envision a future where mental health and wellness support is as accessible as a first aid kit.”

Mental health and wellness are no longer optional luxuries; they are fast becoming everyday essentials. Urban spaces that once catered only to work or leisure are now evolving to nurture emotional well-being. From wellness hubs to recreational lounges, design innovation is dissolving the boundary between care and lifestyle. The future demands environments where looking after mental health is as natural as grabbing a cup of coffee.

In many urban neighbourhoods, commercial complexes now bring together diverse services, for instance, a salon, an Ayurvedic treatment centre, and even recreational spaces like billiards and gaming lounges, creating a single destination for relaxation, self-care, and leisure. These hubs reflect a growing cultural shift: the recognition that mental health and wellness are not luxuries, but essentials woven into the fabric of daily life.

This need for spaces that balance leisure and well-being becomes even more pressing as responsibilities evolve across generations. Children born in the Generation Alpha era (2012 onwards) will grow up in a world where “mental health” and “wellness” are no longer passing trends but core priorities.

A striking example of this emerging mindset was captured in an interior architecture project called “Karaoke Kove,” designed by a Generation Z student and inspired by Blue Ocean Strategy—a theory by professors W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne that focuses on creating new, competition-free market spaces through value innovation. The concept envisioned a wellness hub blending steam baths, jacuzzis, massages, and private karaoke sessions—a refreshing, non-clinical approach designed to help women de-stress, recharge, and have fun.

Examples like the Karaoke Kove illustrate how the principles of Blue Ocean Strategy can be translated beyond leisure into the realm of mental health and wellness, creating spaces that feel inviting rather than clinical. Blue Ocean Strategy emphasises creating new demand rather than competing within existing markets. Applied to the mental health and wellness of the younger and future generations, this translates into designing spaces that attract people who might never step into a traditional ‘mental health clinic’ but would willingly engage with familiar settings like a café, billiard hall or art library, interior architecture spaces that naturally nurture emotional resilience and dissolve the boundaries between everyday life and mental well-being.As these design innovations show their potential, the need to rethink everyday spaces becomes even more urgent for the new generation.  I foresee a revolution in how interior architecture typologies are designed to meet the future needs of Gen Alphas. Schools, playgrounds and community centres shouldn’t just exist; they should actively nurture mental health and wellness. As of this year, 75% of schools report growing demand for mental health services for Gen Alpha students. Smartphone and social media addictions are rising, and so is awareness. 75% of children aged 8–10 are already thinking about mental health, while 74% go outside or disconnect from the internet to stay balanced. For Gen Alpha, they need spaces that don’t just treat mental health, they normalise it. Well-being should be as natural and essential as learning, as fundamental as play.

As Gen Alpha enters a world where average life expectancy has risen to 73.3 years, which is about 20% longer than that of the oldest Millennials. They will navigate careers that mostly do not exist yet, from artificial intelligence to blockchain, driven by a desire to make a meaningful impact on people and the planet. In parallel, the spaces they inhabit must evolve beyond mere shelter, becoming interior spaces that nurture mental health and well-being. Schools with reflection rooms as common as prayer rooms, offices with mental recovery spaces alongside meeting rooms and community centres where wellness hubs double as cultural spaces exemplify how interior architecture can empower, heal and connect. For Gen Alpha, designing with mental health and wellness in mind is not a utopian idea, but it should be a conscious choice, one that can envision a future where mental health and wellness support is as accessible as a first aid kit.