Introduction - Written Materials

Background

In this first module, we briefly describe some of the background and context with respect to healthier indoor spaces.

Time spent indoors

On average, individuals in North America and Europe spend 90 percent of their time indoors.[1] To calculate your "indoor age," multiply your age by 0.9; the result is the number of years you have spent indoors.[2] This number should scare you. And it has likely increased as the pandemic forced many individuals to spend additional time indoors, and to shift from a traditional, commercial office setting to working from home. 

When working in a commercial office space, a team of facilities professionals were responsible for maintaining that space. Those working – or learning – from home have now taken on the role of facilities manager.[3]

When analyzing healthier indoor spaces, it is important to consider the historical background, develop a common language and understand how “healthy building strategies” intersect with broader sustainability objectives and principles.

Historical examples

There are various historical examples of home design strategies that support health and wellness, which in the past largely meant minimizing disease transmission.[4] Three examples are:

Subway tiles – designed to show dirt or grime in hospitals so they could be cleaned, then later used in restaurants to project cleanliness and now common in many homes.[5]

Powder rooms – designed to allow delivery personnel (who went into many homes in one day) a place to wash their hands or use the bathroom that was separate from the rest of the house and the bathroom that the homeowners used. It is anticipated that powder rooms may become popular again.[6]

Closets – many older homes do not have closets because clothing was generally kept in armoires. Armoires can be difficult to move, so they collected dust which was perceived to foster disease. This is why homes built before 1920 generally do not have closets, but those built after 1920 have closets (which were easier to clean).[7]

As another example, during the energy crisis in the late 1970s, building envelopes  were “tightened” and ventilation rates reduced in an attempt to conserve energy.[8] Within these under-ventilated spaces, we also increased our use of chemicals, scented cleaners, personal products and building materials and furniture that off-gas numerous pollutants.[9] This resulted in a build-up of pollutants indoors and phenomena like Sick Building Syndrome.[10] 

Evolving trends regarding health and wellness

As part of the historical background, it is also important to note the general trend away from treating disease (reactive) and towards proactive health goals and strategies that include broader concepts of wellness. This framework has been recognized by the World Health Organization, “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”[11]

Third-party certification systems

To address the growing awareness of the health impacts of traditional spaces, certification systems that specifically focus on health and wellness were developed, including the WELL Building Standard (2014) and Fitwel (2017). As with “green” building standards like LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), which helped create a common language with respect to sustainability, these “healthy building” standards serve a similar role. In addition to these certification systems, various researchers have also delineated certain aspects that, based on their research, comprise a “healthy” building.[12]  For example, the Healthy Buildings Team at Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health developed "9 Foundations of a Healthy Building." Learn more by visiting their website, here.


[1] US EPA and US Consumer Product Safety Commission, The Inside Story: a guide to indoor air quality (e-book), https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/inside-story-guide-indoor-air-quality

[2] Allen and Macomber, Healthy Buildings: How Indoor Spaces Drive Performance and Productivity, Harvard University Press (2020), p. 38.

[3] McCormick, Kathleen. The Business Case for Healthy Buildings: Insights from Early Adopters. Washington, DC: Urban Land Institute, 2018, p. 2

[4] Elizabeth Yuko, How Previous Epidemics Impacted Home Design, Architectural Digest (March 31, 2020).

[5] Elizabeth Yuko, How Previous Epidemics Impacted Home Design, Architectural Digest (March 31, 2020).

[6] Elizabeth Yuko, How Previous Epidemics Impacted Home Design, Architectural Digest (March 31, 2020).

[7] Elizabeth Yuko, How Previous Epidemics Impacted Home Design, Architectural Digest (March 31, 2020).

[8] Allen and Macomber, Healthy Buildings: how indoor spaces drive performance and productivity, Harvard University Press (2020), p. 25, citing Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

[9] Allen and Macomber, Healthy Buildings: how indoor spaces drive performance and productivity, Harvard University Press (2020), p. 45.

[10] Allen and Macomber, Healthy Buildings: how indoor spaces drive performance and productivity, Harvard University Press (2020), p. 25, citing Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

[11] WHO, Constitution of the World Health Organization - Basic Documents, World Health Organization, New York, 2006. Supplement, https://www.who.int/governance/eb/who_constitution_en.pdf (emphasis added).

[12] Allen & Macomber, Healthy Buildings: how indoor spaces drive performance and productivity, Harvard University Press (2020); https://forhealth.org/

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