healthy buildings 101

the what, the why, the stats

what is it and some stats

Healthy buildings are buildings that promote physical, psychological, and social health and well-being of people in buildings, also known as the built environment. According to the The National Human Activity Pattern Survey (NHAPS): A Resource for Assessing Exposure to Environmental Pollutants study, Americans spend “on average 87% of their time in enclosed buildings and about 6% of their time in enclosed vehicles.”

Is it us, or is THAT IS A LOT OF TIME INDOORS?! I’m sure you’re starting to hear this statistic more and more and if you think about it, most of us do spend all this time inside (especially now with COVID). Considering this data that was also taken in 2001, this is great resource that many researchers, building designers and professionals use to help create better building designs for we, humans.

what makes a building healthy

According to Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, there are nine foundations for a making a building healthy. The nine foundations for healthy buildings are as follows:

Ventilation, Air Quality, Thermal Health, Moisture, Dust & Pests, Safety & Security, Water Quality, Noise, Lighting & Views

By using these 9 foundations, you can figure out how to better optimize buildings for human health, well-being and productivity of the occupants within the buildings (building occupants). These identified factors are assessed by using on HPIs, Health Performance Indicators. Taken from the business term KPIs, Key Performance Indicators. They intentionally provide insight into how a building is actually performing.

why is this important

Yes, we’ll go for the daily walks, read a book on the terrace, take the kids out to play, perhaps a picnic or hike, however majority of your time is truly spent in a building. Which is why it’s more important than ever to really think about what is in these buildings and how they are impacting your health. Fast Company posted a good article on this, check them out: We spend 90% of our time inside—why don’t we care that indoor air is so polluted? Maybe we should actually be wearing masks inside.

For more statistics & Information from our sources, please see:

Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health, ForHealth.org, EPA Healthy Buildings Healthy People, National Institute of Health - Elements That Contribute to Healthy Building Design, NHAPS, Fast Company “ We Spend 90% of Our Time Inside”, Healthy Building Network

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