Abstract
The new era in the design of modern healthy buildings necessitates multidisciplinary research efforts that link principles of engineering and material sciences with those of building biology, in order to better comprehend and apply underlying interactions among design criteria. As part of this effort, there have been an array of studies in relation to the effects of building characteristics on indoor microbiota and their propensity to cause health issues. Despite the abundance of scientific inquiries, limited studies have been dedicated to concomitantly link these effects to the deterioration of ‘structural integrity’ in the building materials. This study focuses on the observed biodeteriorative capabilities of indoor fungi upon the ubiquitous gypsum board material as a function of building age and room functionality within a university campus. We observed that the fungal growth significantly affected the physical (weight loss) and mechanical (tensile strength) properties of moisture-exposed gypsum board samples; in some cases, tensile strength and weight decreased by more than 80%. Such intertwined associations between the biodeterioration of building material properties due to viable indoor fungi, and as a function of building characteristics, would suggest a critical need towards multi-criteria design and optimization of next-generation healthy buildings. Next to structural integrity measures, with a better understanding of what factors and environmental conditions trigger fungal growth in built environment materials, we can also optimize the design of indoor living spaces, cleaning strategies, as well as emergency management measures during probable events such as flooding or water damage.
Highlights
Indoor environments, as the main habitats of modern humans, encompass a complex mixture of viable and dead microorganisms [1] which can affect occupants’ health and deteriorate different parts of buildings
Results showed that diverse indoor fungal taxa can grow on gypsum boards in the presence of humidity with Aspergillus spp., Penicillium spp., and Cladosporium spp. being the most common, and Alternaria spp., Stachybotrys spp., and Fusarium spp. being the least common fungi found in indoor environments (Table 3)
There have been a number of studies on indoor factors affecting fungal growth on different building materials, the underlying mechanisms of such association with building characteristics are not well understood and require further experimental investigations
Summary
As the main habitats of modern humans, encompass a complex mixture of viable and dead microorganisms [1] which can affect occupants’ health and deteriorate different parts of buildings. This may lead to undesirable changes in the structural properties of the building materials [2,3,4,5,6]. Mould growth is a housing epidemic across Canada with 13% of households in 2009 having reported their presence [7] It is a particular problem for the populations living on the First Nations reserves in Canada. Substantial amounts of mould growth have occasionally led to the collapse of buildings, such as the balcony collapse of Berkeley in 2015, which tragically led to the injury of seven and death of six individuals [13]
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