Designer's Role in Healthy Air and Wellbeing

Air pollution is considered the most significant environmental threat to human health, causing approximately seven million deaths each year. Exposure to polluted air increases mortality risk to people from stroke, heart disease, pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and respiratory infections. Our buildings and cities worldwide both expose people to indoor air pollution and contribute to the ambient (outdoor) pollution crisis. Both pollution sources have distinct causes across the building lifecycle and must be tackled accordingly to protect human health and wellbeing.

Unfortunately, it is blatantly obvious that those in charge of making decisions that affect the masses do not always put the health and safety of those human beings above profit, policy, or implementing the tough actions necessary to keep people safe. It always seems to be someone else’s problem to solve or not a big enough issue to invest time and energy into taking steps to make healthier decisions that will positively affect individuals in the long run.

Individual actions by designers can play a crucial role in making life healthier for those individuals who cannot always make the necessary choices to keep themselves or their families safe in the built environment. Studies suggest people spend 90% of their time indoors. Exposure to pollutants within the home and other indoor environments can damage human health and worsen in sealed or contained indoor environments with reduced airflow.

All human beings deserve health, comfort, and happiness. Still, socioeconomically diverse populations are affected at a higher rate due to several factors that create disparities in the community members’ overall health, as we looked at in the last lesson.

Designers alone can’t solve all the world’s problems. Still, they tend to be more progressive problem solvers and have the power to help create healthier spaces for all inhabitants, leading to more productive lifestyles and potentially to a more just environment for all. 

A few ways designers can tackle air pollutions:

• Support the switch to more efficient building material production, particularly around traditional brick firing
• Energy-efficient building design (and renovation) to improve the quality of building envelope and consequential energy load for heating and cooling
• Passive design strategies, including energy-efficient building fabric, vegetation, and ventilation, can reduce heating or cooling requirements within buildings and maintain comfortable living conditions
• Lessen exposure to hazardous chemicals in the indoor environment through conscious product selection and the use of low emission materials, such as low volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emission paints, sealants, adhesives, fixtures, fit-outs, and flooring, as well as low-formaldehyde products
• Energy-efficient building design and/or renovation to reduce risk of damp or mold build-up
• Minimization of potentially harmful chemicals in building materials 
• Proper filtration of air for forced air systems, particularly in locations susceptible to poor air quality, such as areas susceptible to wildfires

Bottom line – Architects, designers, and planners are uniquely trained to think in cross-disciplinary ways to solve problems and have a massive role to play in healthy built environments that consider their duty to diversity and inclusion. 

Sources
https://worldgbc.org/principle-1-protect-and-improve-health
https://www.cdc.gov/healthyplaces/factsheets/health_issues_related_to_community_design_factsheet_final.pdf|
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/justice-in-design-america