Wellness and Sustainability. Can architects design air?
What do tuberculosis sanatoriums, baby cages, and open air schools have in common?
This first explainer in the sustainability series of explainers looks at the theme of air. Good air quality and access in buildings can benefit our mental and physical health, but the design of air is often overlooked. Are the shifts in priorities due to the pandemic an opportunity to change that?
Transcript:
The COVID-19 pandemic has made it clear. Healthy buildings and spaces are essential, whether we are talking about the technicalities of good ventilation, or the psychological wellness of the ideal home office or workplace. The idea that the built environment can affect our physical and mental health is not new.
Let’s rewind…
In the 1800s, unrelenting illness and epidemics created the need for what was eventually called “the great sanitary awakening” (Charles-Edward Amory Winslow, 1923). At the time, cleanliness and hygiene was controversially considered an indicator of public and moral health.
In the 1900s, architecture and health intersected in the design of sanitoriums for the treatment of tuberculosis. Facilities were designed specifically for air-and-sun therapy with rooftop terraces, large windows, and the careful placement of lighting to soothe bed-ridden patients. The buildings became medical instruments with some architects asking themselves, “Is this the cure?”
At the same time, we saw the introduction of open-air schools bringing light, air, and sun to all, and even the trend of “airing out” babies in special cages. This trend understandably faded with time. Although, we can see its echo today in the trendy and popular catio.
The link between people, health, and buildings became even stronger in the 1970s, when office workers began to experience negative health effects. Headaches, dizziness, nausea, and fatigue caused by the office buildings where they worked. Referred to as Sick Building Syndrome, the cause was ultimately understood as a side-effect of the 1973 Oil Embargo which pushed for the construction of ever more air-tight buildings in the pursuit of energy efficiency. And, in the process, contradicting the pervious emphasis on fresh air.
The priority for architects had shifted from health to wealth.
While Sick Building Syndrome can occur in any building, until now it was mostly associated with office buildings. This could change because of the COVID-19 pandemic. With more people working from home or working next to each other and worrying about ventilation, will there be a push to embrace design strategies that address health and well-being in all buildings and public spaces?
Will we see new kinds of houses? New kinds of offices? New kinds of schools? New kinds of warehouses? New kinds of factories? New kinds of parks? New kinds of streets?
But, can architects design air?
Info from:
X-ray Architecture by Beatriz Colomina (2019)
The Future of Public Health by the Institute of Medicine (1988)
