Healthy Buildings Research Articles

Analysis of the Importance of Fresh Air System to Indoor Environment of Green Building and Healthy Building

As an important place for people to live, study and work, the building indoor environment has gradually become the focus of people’s attention. The fresh air system plays an important role in improving indoor environmental health problems. This paper discusses the control requirements of green buildings and healthy buildings on the indoor environment. Through the real-time detection of the indoor environment temperature, relative humidity, CO2 concentration, PM2.5 concentration, air flow speed and fresh air volume of the building, the operation process of the fresh air system is analyzed. The impact on the indoor environment, expounds the importance of the fresh air system to the indoor environment, and provides a reference for the improvement of the indoor environment of green buildings and healthy buildings.

Electrostatic Air Filtration by Multifunctional Dielectric Heterocaking Filters with Ultralow Pressure Drop.

In air filtration, for creating healthy indoor air, there is an intrinsic conflict between high filtration efficiency and low wind pressure drop. In this study, we overcame this conflict by developing new dielectric heterocaking (HC) filters, in which high relative dielectric constant (εr) materials were heterogeneously loaded on traditional polymer fibers. The dielectric HC filters in an electrostatic polarizing field generate a great amount of charges on their surface, leading to a strong attraction to precharged aerosol particles, and result in high filtration efficiency. Observing via a charged coupled device camera, the migration speed of aerosol smoke particles toward the polarized HC fiber exceeded those toward the unpolarized HC fiber by a factor of 6. We loaded high-εr HCs including manganese dioxide (MnO2), activated carbon, zinc oxide (ZnO), copper oxide (CuO), and barium titanate (BaTiO3) on polyurethane foams using a fast and large-scale roll-to-roll gel squeezing method. Based on the experimental results, when HCs had a εr larger than 5.1, an increased εr did not benefit electrostatic filtration efficiency for aerosol particles much, but resulted in a larger net ozone production. We suggested a MnO2-HC filter for efficient and multifunctional filtration of indoor particles, ambient ozone, and formaldehyde with only 3.8 Pa pressure drop at 1.1 m/s filtration velocity. This efficient and cost-effective dielectric HC filter opens a new avenue for the design of multifunctional filters, which will facilitate its large-scale production and commercial application in the ventilation system for healthy buildings.

Effect of Biopolymer on Bricks

Compressed Stabilized Earth Brick (CSEB) is a one of the sustainable building material utilizing locally available soils mixed with stabilizers in order to increase its strength. This type of brick mainly consists of soil, sand and a stabilizing agents such as lime, fly ash, chemicals etc. Fly ash brick (FAB) is also a building material containing class C or class F fly ash ,fine aggregate, lime and gypsum .Both the bricks are unburnt bricks which is used to reduce the fuel consumption. In this study, the laterite soil is used and it is stabilized by chemical stabilization which is extensively employed to enhance the physical and mechanical properties of problematic soil. This study examines the effect of xanthan gum which is one of the biopolymer stabilizer in both the compressed laterite soil brick and fly ash brick . Experiments have been conducted by replacing 2%, 4% and 6% of xanthan gum in compressed laterite soil brick and replacing 2%, 4% and 6% of xanthan gum in fly ash brick partially with cement. The results indicate the potential use of xanthan gum. Tests were conducted on both the bricks and it is compared with normal clay fired brick. It has been shown that 4 % of xanthan gum in compressed laterite soil brick gives high strength of about 8.79 N/mm2 and 6 % of xanthan gum in fly ash brick give more strength of about 7.31N/mm2 .The minimum water absorption is achieved in both compressed laterite soil brick and fly ash brick of about 14.2 % and 10.10 % in the mix of C2 and F3. It promotes a healthier building material and cost reducing not only in production but also in service cost

Prevalence of psychological distress and its association with perceived indoor environmental quality and workplace factors in under and aboveground workplaces

The development of underground spaces serves a range of common urban functions, including workspaces. However, underground workplaces, work-related factors and the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) parameters within them may negatively affect worker's mental health. This study assessed the prevalence of psychological distress with repeated measures over time in aboveground and underground workspaces, and assessed the association between perceived IEQ parameters and work-related factors with psychological distress. A total of 329 workers in similar aboveground and underground workspaces were followed-up in three assessments over 12 months in Singapore. Psychological distress was assessed using the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and defined as a GHQ-12 score ≥2. Perceived IEQ (air quality, temperature, noise, light) in the workplace were collected using the OFFICAIR questionnaire. We used generalised estimating equation models to assess the association between working underground, perceived IEQ, and work-related factors with psychological distress. The overall prevalence of psychological distress was 21.9%, 26.1% and 21.9%, at baseline, 3- and 12-months follow-up, respectively. The fully-adjusted multivariable analysis did not show any association between working underground and psychological distress, however, perceived IEQ parameters and longer working hours were significantly associated with psychological distress. Regardless of working in under or aboveground workplaces, perceived IEQ was associated with psychological distress. Future studies are needed in order to examine the relationship between objective measures of IEQ and psychological distress and the impact of healthy building policies and improved IEQ on psychological distress.

HEALTH ENGAGED ARCHITECTURE IN THE CONTEXT OF COVID-19

ABSTRACT In the context of the COVID-19, this article reveals the potential of architecture and urbanism in the prevention and control of epidemics and in playing an active role in human health. The historical approach shows that the same space-controlled measures against pandemics were used for centuries to combat leper or plague: quarantine, isolation and confinement. The fight against tuberculosis led, from the 1830s, to the hygiene movement which facilitated current principles for a healthy architecture regarding sunlight and ventilation. In the 1920s, hygienic concepts constituted the foundation for modernist architecture and urbanism. With the advent of antibiotics, in the 1940s, medicine was emancipated from architecture. In the 1970s, the criticism of the social modernist shortcoming led to the New Urbanism or Urban Village movements and environmental issues to Green Architecture and Urbanism. The paper investigates how the present pandemic confirms the last decades warnings and the previous concerns about the correspondence between population density and mortality rates. The article examines the linkages between scale in the built environment, epidemiology and proxemics. The goal is to determine the place of architecture and urbanism in social resilience management during pandemics. Solutions for health engaged architecture and urbanism are indicated at different scales: object scale—hygiene; people scale—distancing and isolation; interior spaces—air control by ventilation, filtering and humidifying; residential—intermediate housing, public spaces between buildings—the key for social interactions; working—telecommuting, size and dispersion; shopping—proximity and downscaling; transportation—walking, bicycling, shared mobility and robo-taxies; and higher scale-mixed use neighborhoods. Architectural certifications such as BREAM and LEED may need to implement similar guidelines for public health. Healthy building movements like Fitwel and WELL Building Standard have already taken steps to foster healthy urbanism, and LEED for Neighborhood Development addresses health related issues. In the context of the COVID-19 and the concern of future pandemics, research in these areas will need to be expanded.

Investigating the Crucial Aspects of Developing a Healthy Dormitory based on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs-A Case Study of Shenzhen.

In recent years, with the development of green building and the increase of health awareness, the concept of healthy building has been proposed. Recently, studies have been made on developing healthy residential buildings; however, few attentions have been paid to the development of healthy dormitories. To bridge this research gap, this paper aims to investigate the crucial aspects of developing a healthy dormitory. Based on the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, three influencing aspects which include 17 measurement indicators are identified. Questionnaire surveys are subsequently conducted to collect students’ perceptions on the identified indicators. After a structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis, the relationships between the three influencing aspects are analyzed. The research findings show that building performance, bodily sensation, and humanistic environment must be taken into account in the development of a healthy dormitory. In addition, it is revealed that building performance has a significant impact on bodily sensation, while bodily sensation has a significant impact on humanistic environment. However, building performance is found having little impact on humanistic environment. The findings of this study could provide useful information for the construction of healthy dormitories.

A comparison between the daylighting and energy performance of courtyard and atrium buildings considering the hot climate of Saudi Arabia

Daylighting is a healthy and energy-efficient building design strategy that has increasingly attracted the attention of researchers. This study investigates daylighting and the energy performance of courtyard and atrium office buildings, considering different window-to-wall ratios (WWR) applicable to the hot climate of Saudi Arabia. In such a climate, it is recommended to reduce window area and use shading devices in addition to the shaded daylighting elements such as courtyards and atria. This study analysed several cases in this regard and found that the examined courtyard and atrium building configurations presented equivalent cooling and artificial lighting energy performance in general. As for daylighting performance, the most balanced option of those examined was the use of a moderate WWR value of 30%, given that shading devices were used. This moderate value provided a better balance between daylight availability and glare reduction. Increasing WWR to 40% or 50% would only increase cooling energy demand and visual discomfort through glare.

Are metrics and data the answer to delivering ‘healthy buildings’?

Are metrics and data the answer to delivering ‘healthy buildings’?

Healthy buildings for a healthy city: Is the public health evidence base informing current building policies?

Research has demonstrated that housing quality is a key urban intervention in reducing health risks and improving climate resilience, addressing a key ambition of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Yet housing quality remains a problem even in high income countries such as England. In particular, hazards such as excess cold, excess heat and lack of ventilation leading to damp and mould have been identified as a major issue in homes. Research shows that these hazards can lead to a range of health conditions, such as respiratory and cardiovascular disease, infections and mental health problems. This article explores the use of public health research and evidence in policy to regulate new buildings in England to deliver improved public health, climate resilience and a reduced carbon footprint, in particular exploring the policy drivers and awareness of the public health evidence.Findings show that public health evidence is hardly referenced in policy and that the focus on other evidence bases such as on climate mitigation in building regulations results in both positive and negative impacts on health. This reflects a lack of a systems approach around urban interventions leading to weaknesses in standards regulating the private development sector. In conclusion, this paper recommends: 1. the consideration of health impact in future building regulations; 2. the integration and coordination of key policies covering various scales and phases of the development processes and 3. the better education of residents to understand advances in new energy performance technologies.

Tackling difficult problems through collaboration among multi-disciplinary research and industry

Healthy building is a new trend after green buildings in the world. “WELL” was launched as the first guideline for healthy buildings in 2014 in USA. In 2017, China Healthy Building Assessment Standard was launched. Good indoor air quality is an important part for healthy buildings. The score of indoor air quality accounts for nearly 25 in the total score (100) in Healthy Building Assessment Standard (T/ASC 02-2016). The indoor air quality items in the standards are mainly based upon China Indoor Air Quality Standard (GB/T 18883-2001). However, the target indoor air pollutants in the both standards (T/ASC 02-2016 and GB/T 18883-2001) are not determined based upon the indoor air quality investigations in China. In order to revise the China Indoor Air Quality Standard (GB/T 18883-2001) and improve or develop the relevant indoor air quality control techniques, it’s necessary to know the important and unsolved problems in indoor air quality control in China. From them, the important scientific problems and key technical problems in China can be identified, and the gaps between the control demands and the levels of the related industries in China can be recognized. Then, various control approaches and strategies can be developed effectively. For this purpose, we present a series of important and unsolved problems in indoor air quality control in China: Identify the target indoor air pollutants and the corresponding thresholds based upon China’s indoor air quality situations, develop energy efficient engineering approaches to simultaneously control indoor air climate and quality, and develop the approach of scientific evaluation for indoor air quality control effect. The important scientific and key technical problems behind them are: The method of determining the target indoor air pollutants, the method of determining the thresholds of the target indoor air pollutants, the principle and method to overall control of indoor air climate and quality, the method of scientific evaluation for indoor air quality control effect not only based upon the concentrations of the target indoor air pollutants but also based upon the human health response. We are carrying out a national research project whose title is “study on fundamental problems and key technical approaches in indoor air quality control”. Based upon its research advance, we put forward a framework and understanding of solving the aforementioned problems: (1) Determining the target indoor air pollutants based upon the burden of diseases of indoor air pollutants in China. In the study, the burden of diseases of all target indoor air pollutants is obtained so that the overall burden of diseases of indoor air pollution can be roughly estimated. It’s a quantitative index to show the importance of indoor air quality problems in China. (2) Determining the corresponding thresholds of the indoor air pollutants based upon the control feasibility and the health benefit. The healthy benefit can be evaluated by the reduction of burden of diseases of the target indoor air pollutants which can also be equivalent as the reduction of economic loss. (3) Developing inverse problem and variation method to identify the optimal control systems and operative strategies. It’s an original novel approach for indoor air quality control. (4) Developing some partial space and/or partial time control approaches for indoor air quality. (5) Developing novel evaluation method for control effect by using biomarker-based techniques. (6) Narrowing or even removing the gaps between the indoor air quality control related industries. The indoor air quality control standards in those industries shouldn’t conflict each other. (7) Applying various newly-developed sensors and big data techniques to understand the links between the indoor air quality and human health response. New on-line monitoring sensors with acceptable precision, together with some new big-data analysis methods are strongly needed. To tackling the above problems which are related to many disciplines, collaboration among multi-disciplinary research and industries is very important.

Healthy building: New mission of building field

Healthy building: New mission of building field

Assessment practice and thinking of healthy building in China

Assessment practice and thinking of healthy building in China

Bacterial and fungal ecology on air conditioning cooling coils is influenced by climate and building factors.

The presence of biofilms on the cooling coils of commercial air conditioning (AC) units can significantly reduce the heat transfer efficiency of the coils and may lead to the aerosolization of microbes into occupied spaces of a building. We investigated how climate and AC operation influence the ecology of microbial communities on AC coils. Forty large-scale commercial ACs were considered with representation from warm-humid and hot-dry climates. Both bacterial and fungal ecologies, including richness and taxa, on the cooling coil surfaces were significantly impacted by outdoor climate, through differences in dew point that result in increased moisture (condensate) on coils, and by the minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV 8 vs MERV 14) of building air filters. Based on targeted qPCR and sequence analysis, low efficiency upstream filters (MERV 8) were associated with a greater abundance of pathogenic bacteria and medically relevant fungi. As the implementation of air conditioning continues to grow worldwide, better understanding of the factors impacting microbial growth and ecology on cooling coils should enable more rational approaches for biofilm control and ultimately result in reduced energy consumption and healthier buildings.

The current situation and trends of healthy building development in China

The development of healthy buildings is an important way to implement the strategy of “Healthy China” in the building industry. It is of great significance to promote the development of healthy buildings. In 2016, China’s first healthy building technical standard Assessment Standard for Healthy Building was released and implemented in January 2017. Since then, the healthy building has achieved rapid development in China, which is embodied in the following aspects. (1) Set technical standards to lead the development of healthy buildings. To realize the fine construction guidelines, in addition to Assessment Standard for Healthy Building , technical standards for healthy buildings have been compiled for major building types, such as healthy hotels and healthy hospitals. In addition, on the basis of single building, assessment standards such as healthy community and healthy town have considered the healthy influencing factors in different scopes and put forward the corresponding technical requirements. (2) Conduct the scientific research to provide theoretical and technical supports for the development of healthy buildings. The researchers carried out special scientific research from the aspects of building ventilation, indoor air quality, emission of pollutants from building materials, healthy lighting and light environment improvement, sports health and so on. (3) Various organizations provide services for the healthy building industry. First, the healthy living professional group of China association for engineering construction standardization (CECS) was established to promote the standardization of healthy buildings. Second, China Healthy Building Alliance plays the role of link, carrier and platform to establish a diversified channel for sharing healthy building resources. Third, the relevant research institutions were established to conduct special research on the theory and technology of healthy buildings. (4) Carry out project evaluation to drive the implementation of healthy building projects. Chinese Society for Urban Studies (CSUS) has carried out the evaluation and certification of healthy building. By September 2019, a total of 50 projects had obtained the certification of healthy building identification, covering 14 provinces and cities with a total building area of nearly 5 million m2. (5) Promote healthy building technology progress through academic exchange and technical cooperation. Taking 2019 (the first) Healthy Building Conference as an example, academicians, experts, executives and other representatives from different fields exchanged views on healthy environment research, standard certification, scheme supply, case demonstration and industrial value, which gave new momentum to the development of healthy buildings. However, the healthy buildings are still in the initial stage in China. In the future, more comprehensive exploration and innovation should be carried out in the following aspects. (1) The identification of factors affecting physical health, mental health and social health related to healthy buildings and the mechanisms of healthy impact need further exploration. (2) It is necessary to promote the interdisciplinary development of healthy buildings, realize the interdisciplinarity and integration, and solve the scientific problem as a whole. (3) In the design stage, comprehensive pre-evaluation is carried out on the factors affecting human health, and the health is integrated into the design of buildings and communities, and healthy design technology is studied and developed. (4) The research on technical standard system of healthy building should be carried out to establish a standard system covering different types of buildings in different stages of the whole life cycle. (5) It is urgent to strengthen the research and development of the related theories, standards, technologies and supporting products of the existing buildings and communities.

Research progress on the acoustic environments of healthy buildings

Research progress on the acoustic environments of healthy buildings

Health and wellness in commercial buildings: Systematic review of sustainable building rating systems and alignment with contemporary research

While sustainability rating systems for buildings have been established for nearly 20 years, systems to specifically recognize healthy buildings are much more recent arrivals to the global scene. Building upon the health-related credits in sustainability rating systems, these new systems leverage academic research to prescribe interventions designed to create workspaces that enable wellness and productivity of their occupants. This paper presents a systematic review of these requirements in the global systems currently available in today's market– WELL, FITWEL, Living Building Challenge – and leading green building rating tools (BEAM Plus, BREEAM, DGNB, Green Globes, Green Mark, Green Star, HQE, and LEED) and aligns them with eight key topics related to health and productivity and recurrent in the academic literature: indoor air quality, thermal comfort, visual comfort, acoustic comfort, ergonomics & movement, diet & clean water, social well-being, and psychological well-being. In the discussion, this research presents regional trends, points of commonality, and discrepancies, both within this set of standards as well as with the broader academic literature and industry guidance on developing healthy workplaces. The purpose and contribution of this paper is to situate the system approaches within the context of contemporaneous academic literature, thus providing new system developers and their users with insight from current research and to identify and address gaps in existing systems from a health and wellness perspective.

The “Health of Buildings” Movement. [Rev.] Allen J.G., Macomber J.D. Healthy Buildings: How Indoor Spaces Drive Performance and Productivity. Cambridge, MS: Harvard University Press, 2020

The authors of this peer-reviewed monograph written in an autobiographical manner try to find optimal solutions for shaping the urban environment and redefining conventional building codes. They develop new directions in urban studies such as “green building”, “buildingnomics” and cognitive features of housing while adhering to the modern concept of healthy housing as the basis of well-being. The book focuses on two main research questions: (1) which buildings can we consider healthy? and (2) how can we create healthy buildings? The authors describe the main characteristics and examine the properties of both residential and industrial buildings while giving pragmatic recommendations for improving their internal space. Based on the results of forty years of research, they point out the nine most important components of healthy buildings such as: ventilation, air quality, optimal temperature conditions, water quality, humidity, cleanliness, insect control, light and view from the window, sound insulation, safety and security. The authors discuss in detail the basic principles and norms of the green building certification system recognized as “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design” (LEED) and describe the mechanisms for obtaining and maintaining the status of a leader in energy and environmental design.

Identifying the Need for Healthy Community Building for a Football Club with Respect to Indian Football Scenario

Identifying the Need for Healthy Community Building for a Football Club with Respect to Indian Football Scenario

Moving to Productivity: The Benefits of Healthy Buildings

Health is a critical factor for the generation of value by workers. Companies bear substantial costs associated with absenteeism and presenteeism among their employees. This study investigates the impact of the environmental conditions in the workplace on the health and job satisfaction of employees, as core factors of productivity. We provide evidence based on a natural experiment, in which 70% of the workforce of a municipality in the Netherlands was relocated to a building with a design focused on sustainability and health and well-being. We construct a longitudinal dataset based on individual surveys of the entire municipality workforce and include measures before and after the move. The estimation results show a significant improvement in the perceived environmental conditions, as well as in the health and well-being of the relocated workers, measured by the drop in incidence of sick building syndrome symptoms. Results are heterogeneous based on age: older groups of employees enjoy larger health impacts. The relocation effects remain persistent in the medium term (two years after the moving date). Importantly, a mediation analysis suggests that the achieved improvements in health and well-being lead to significantly enhanced job satisfaction and a 2% reduction in the prevalence of sick leave.

Building performance evaluation: Balancing energy and indoor environmental quality in a UK school building

There is a policy-driven focus, at present, on improving the energy performance of buildings. However, energy-related issues alone do not capture the full impact of buildings on occupants and the wider environment. The performance of a building also includes occupant wellbeing and indoor environmental quality. Specifically, in schools, indoor environmental quality (thermal comfort, indoor air quality, lighting and acoustics) is an important aspect. Additionally, the issue of the ‘performance gap’, generally focused on energy, also affects indoor environmental quality parameters and needs to be addressed holistically. This paper reports on a holistic building performance evaluation covering aspects of energy, thermal comfort, indoor air quality, lighting and acoustics. It assesses the performance issues and inter-relationships between energy and indoor environmental quality in a recently built school campus in London. Based on the evidence collated from this case study and supplementary literature, the endemic issues and constraints within the construction industry are explored, such as inappropriate design calculations and resistance to new low-carbon technologies. Further, lessons for improved performance in the design, operation and maintenance of schools are highlighted such as factoring in the changing building use trends during design and the significance of optimal operations and maintenance of building systems for better energy and indoor environmental quality performance. This study shows that if the building design focus primarily remains on energy, unintended consequence of indoor environmental quality underperformance may occur where there are conflicts between energy and indoor environmental quality objectives. An integrated approach to building performance can help address this issue. Practical application: There are often conflicts between energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality (IEQ) objectives in building design and operation. Most building performance evaluations are primarily focused on one set of these performance criteria. This building performance evaluation was done with an integrated energy and IEQ perspective. The study identifies the causes of underperformance in energy and IEQ in a recently built school in London. Some of the findings from this study provide lessons that are relevant across the industry for the delivery of low-carbon and healthy buildings. These lessons include methods to further strengthen the policy frameworks and design protocols along with overall improvements in the processes followed during design, construction and operation of schools and other non-domestic buildings. The paper can also inform building designers, contractors and facility managers about the ways to reduce the performance gap and achieve energy targets without unintended consequences for indoor environment.