Water changes how people feel. That is not a marketing line; it is a finding researchers have measured again and again. At The Waterfront, the Lehigh River sits a few steps from the office window, and science says that proximity does real work for the people who spend their days there.
The Blue Gym began in the United Kingdom in 2009, led by the European Center for Environment and Human Health at the University of Exeter. The question was simple. Does living near water and spending time there make people healthier and happier, and will that connection make them more likely to protect it? The answer, across years of study, was yes on both counts.
Researchers use the term “blue space” to refer to any environment with visible water, such as a coast, lake, or river. The riverbank at The Waterfront, where the Lehigh River is in plain view from the offices and the path along it, is blue space in the truest sense.
The findings are consistent. People living near blue space report higher levels of physical activity and lower levels of psychological distress than those living farther from it. A landmark longitudinal study led by Mathew White and colleagues at Exeter tracked the same individuals over time and found that they reported better mental and general health when living closer to the coast than when living inland. Tracking the same people, rather than comparing strangers, is what makes that result hard to argue with.
The benefit scales with how you use the water. A study of more than 18,000 people across 18 countries, also led by the Exeter group, found that visits to blue spaces perceived as safe and clean delivered the largest gains in wellbeing, and that walking, socializing, and time spent with others near water carried the strongest mental health benefits. The takeaway for a workday is direct: a short walk by the river is more than a break; it is a measurable reset.
Why a river view helps you work
The cognitive side has its own body of research. Rachel and Stephen Kaplan’s attention restoration theory, developed at the University of Michigan in the 1980s, holds that natural scenes offer “soft fascination,” gentle stimuli like moving water and rustling leaves that hold the eye without demanding effort. That kind of attention lets the brain’s directed-focus system recover. The practical result is better working memory, steadier executive function, and clearer decisions after time spent looking at something green or blue rather than at a screen.
This is the logic behind the offices at The Waterfront. Workspaces open to the river and the greenery along it, so the restorative view is part of the floor plate, not an amenity you have to find. A glance up from a deadline lands on the Lehigh River.
Movement built into the day
Being near water also makes people move more, and The Waterfront is laid out to encourage it. The half-mile River Walk runs along the river and connects to longer routes, including the Delaware and Lehigh (D&L) Trail. A walking meeting, a midday run, a lunch on the amphitheater steps: each one is the kind of light, frequent activity the blue-space research links to lower stress and better mood.
Community is part of the formula, too. The Waterfront team programs the riverfront year-round, from Third Thursday food trucks to seasonal gatherings, providing the workday with a social anchor that the 18-country study identified as one of the strongest drivers of wellbeing near water.
The Blue Gym set out to prove something people have always sensed. Nature near water is not a reward you earn after the work is done. It is part of how good work gets done. At The Waterfront, the river is the workplace, and the evidence says that matters.
See the Offices and the path along the river at the River Walk. Schedule a visit.