With all due respect to biohackers, forget huffing Huel or popping supplements: The simplest shortcut to a long life might already be on hand, right at home. Indeed, it’s bricks and mortar that could make the difference between hitting 90 or missing out. The World Health Organization’s data suggests that 80 percent of health outcomes relate to your environment — in other words, what surrounds you matters far more for your well-being than whatever’s in your genes. Austin-based biohacker Kayla Barnes-Lent has already embraced that idea, touting the $3 million she spent on her so-called “longevity home.” Design that foregrounds longevity isn’t just smart for your health, though; it’s a canny financial move, too. The Global Wellness Institute predicts that wellness-infused real estate will be a $1.1 trillion market by 2029, and premium homes with a wellness focus already command a 10 percent price difference versus conventional luxury property. “We need to move from longevity intervention to longevity infrastructure,” says Kas Bordier, a consultant in the space with startup Mavi.
Developers and designers are moving into the market: California-based Moses Hershko, who has built homes for Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, among others, just completed an 18,000-square-foot, seven-bedroom mansion in San Francisco. He calls the $65 million home a “Longevity Estate”; every aspect of its construction was aimed at health optimization, incorporating such features as blue-light mitigation and circadian lighting systems.
