Surveys suggest that most people see the COVID pandemic as something (very scary) in the rearview mirror. However, public health officials and physicians who treat populations that are at risk for this respiratory disease are still on alert about new variants of this condition which could make for ominous headlines as the weather turns colder.
Some historians who studied the psychology of people who survived the economic collapse of the Great Depression have noted that they remained concerned about “money” long after the event passed. Similarly, the emotional and physical trauma resulting from this once-in-a-century global pandemic will continue to be a nagging concern for those who experienced it.
One of the effects of surviving COVID has been a powerful commitment to healthier living, and since most of us spend a large amount of time indoors - in homes and workspaces - the design of those buildings receives considerably more attention than earlier times.
What This Means for You — Design of residential and commercial buildings offers an excellent opportunity for healthier living for their occupants and the architects who design them are using their skills to make this a reality. If improving the spaces that might cause physical or emotional sickness is a priority for your family or coworkers, the 7 minutes it will take to read this post will be time well spent!
Healthier buildings and homes have never been more important, post-pandemic. If you are considering new construction or renovation, ask your architect to talk with the construction experts at Acme Brick, or take a few minutes to review the healthier home products.
Environmental Factors Affect Health
According to the editors of GB&D (Green Building and Design) magazine, “Our health is largely dependent on environmental factors like our access to quality water, air, and daylight. When we consider this, it’s easy to see how important it is for designers to ask, ‘How can architecture improve health?’
“Various design elements—like choosing a nontoxic paint or increasing access to green spaces—can boost occupants’ wellness within the built environment. Many of these design elements reduce stress, germs, and noise within a space, allowing occupants to feel at ease.”
Factors such as daylighting, acoustic design and insulation can improve the health of a home or commercial building. Plus, antimicrobial materials like tile, quartz, copper, and silver promote hygiene and help to reduce the incidence of germs that can lead to disease.
Four Suggestions for Healthy Building Design
#1 Avoid Toxic Materials
Many who grew up in the 1950s, ‘60s and even the ‘70s have first-hand knowledge of the dangers associated with asbestos insulation and lead found in paint and water pipes. Of course, this came as a shock to the parents of children who were gleefully chasing those trucks that were spraying DDT to kill mosquitoes! There were just too many hazards and not enough information about avoiding them.
Those days, when ignorance was bliss, are long gone. Or are they?
According to the experts at GB&D, “There are plenty of other building materials that contain toxic or otherwise harmful chemicals—like volatile organic compounds (VOCs)—that are known to pose a threat to human and ecosystem health. Long-term exposure to these toxins can lead to endocrine disruption, reproductive toxicity, chronic or acute organ toxicity, and even some cancers.”
When choosing materials or products for building projects, one way to avoid these VOCs is to cross-reference their ingredients with the International Living Future Institute’s Red List —the industry’s most comprehensive guide to these “worst in class” chemicals and chemical compounds. Products that bear a Red List–free label fully disclose 100% of their ingredients at or above 100 parts per million in the final product and do not contain any chemicals on the Red List.
Upgrading a new or existing brick home or commercial building by painting presents a unique challenge and opportunity. According to this article on Romabio brick paint, available from Acme Brick, “Many VOCs are human-made chemicals that are used and produced in the manufacture of paints, pharmaceuticals, and refrigerants. VOCs are often components of petroleum fuels, hydraulic fluids, paint thinners, and dry-cleaning agents.
“The Romabio products are mineral-based and contain no VOCs.”
“The EPA ranks poor indoor air quality among the top five environmental risks to public health, estimating that indoor air can be two to five times more polluted than the outdoors,” noted Matt Hocutt of Romabio. “Yet current laws and regulations do not fully regulate the contaminants and chemicals in paint.
“Romabio Paints are all eco-friendly, tested for toxins, and safe for pets, people, and the planet. Historically, limewashes have always been environmentally better than traditional paints and easier to dispose of.”
#2 Air Sealing to Improve Interior Air Quality
For many years, architects have known about the expensive and unhealthy problems associated with leaks and gaps in a home or other building’s envelope. According to GB&D, these gaps are a major source of energy waste and they “also allow moisture and unfiltered particles like dust and pollen to enter, adding to interior air pollution. Locating and sealing these areas of intrusion—such as around windows and doors, in attics and basements, around outlets and plumbing, et cetera—can significantly increase indoor air quality by reducing the risk of hidden mold growth while also reducing stress on existing ventilation systems.”
This concern about air leaks, which can cause energy loss and disease from exposure to the elements, has led some innovative architects and builders to employ the concept of “Passive House” in their designs. Click the link to learn about this approach to healthier architecture.
#3 Let There Be Light
Homeowners, commercial builders, and their architects have learned the importance of natural light in these structures. There is even an industry term to describe this concept: daylighting. Architectural writer Andrew Biro notes, “Growing research tells us how important daylight is to maintaining wellness, in large part because of sunlight’s role in regulating the body’s circadian rhythm.
“Most of us, however, spend a large portion of our days inside with little-to-no exposure to natural lighting for hours on end, resulting in feelings of premature tiredness and reduced productivity. Daylighting, or the practice of using windows, skylights, and other light-admitting features to illuminate a room, presents a solution to this problem, especially when implemented to scale throughout an entire building.”
Seves Glass Block, available from Acme Brick, offers a stylish yet timeless way to achieve or enhance daylighting.
#4 Incorporate Antibacterial and Antimicrobial Products
Quoted in GB&D magazine, Dianne Dunnell, former director of interior design at Margulies Perruzzi, recommends selecting inherently anti-bacterial products like quartz, silver, or copper, for building materials. “Both soapstone and quartz surfaces are highly resistant to bacteria and stains because they are nonporous,” she said.
An excellent choice for antimicrobial tile is Connect, available from Acme Brick. This stunning tile combines different stones to create a unique, original surface with a slightly “lived-in” texture where delicate colors, a variety of designs and natural veining intermingle. Simple and elegant, Connect tiles generate an extraordinary new look, suitable for any type of indoor environment.
Connect, is a porcelain tile that is made with Microban ® antimicrobial technology and will help keep highly used surfaces safer from germs that might cause disease.
Here’s to a Healthier Life
The improvement in the technology of construction products and architectural design is nothing short of stunning. For homeowners and those of commercial buildings there has never been a better time than now to provide a safe and healthy place to live and work. Commit to research, get expert design and building advice and enjoy a healthier life.
Need some healthy home improvement ideas for your next building project? Get started today.