Healthy Buildings

Download Healthy Buildings PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 0674278364
Total Pages : 337 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (742 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Healthy Buildings by : JOSEPH G. ALLEN

Download or read book Healthy Buildings written by JOSEPH G. ALLEN and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2022-10-18 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Buildings can make us sick or keep us well. Diseases and toxins course through indoor spaces, making us ill. Meanwhile, better air quality and light levels improve productivity. At a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has us focused more than ever on indoor air quality, Healthy Buildings shows how much we have to gain from human-centered design.

The Power of Existing Buildings

Download The Power of Existing Buildings PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Island Press
ISBN 13 : 164283050X
Total Pages : 234 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (428 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Power of Existing Buildings by : Robert Sroufe

Download or read book The Power of Existing Buildings written by Robert Sroufe and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2019-11-12 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Your building has the potential to change the world. Existing buildings consume approximately 40 percent of the energy and emit nearly half of the carbon dioxide in the US each year. In recognition of the significant contribution of buildings to climate change, the idea of building green has become increasingly popular. But is it enough? If an energy-efficient building is new construction, it may take 10 to 80 years to overcome the climate change impacts of the building process. New buildings are sexy, but few realize the value in existing buildings and how easy it is to get to “zero energy” or low-energy consumption through deep energy retrofits. Existing buildings can and should be retrofit to reduce environmental impacts that contribute to climate change, while improving human health and productivity for building occupants. In The Power of Existing Buildings, academic sustainability expert Robert Sroufe, and construction and building experts Craig Stevenson and Beth Eckenrode, explain how to realize the potential of existing buildings and make them perform like new. This step-by-step guide will help readers to: understand where to start a project; develop financial models and realize costs savings; assemble an expert team; and align goals with numerous sustainability programs. The Power of Existing Buildings will challenge you to rethink spaces where people work and play, while determining how existing buildings can save the world. The insights and practical experience of Sroufe, Stevenson, and Eckenrode, along with the project case study examples, provide new insights on investing in existing buildings for building owners, engineers, occupants, architects, and real estate and construction professionals. The Power of Existing Buildings helps decision-makers move beyond incremental changes to holistic, results-oriented solutions.

Creating Healthy and Sustainable Buildings

Download Creating Healthy and Sustainable Buildings PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 9783030194147
Total Pages : 160 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (941 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Creating Healthy and Sustainable Buildings by : Mateja Dovjak

Download or read book Creating Healthy and Sustainable Buildings written by Mateja Dovjak and published by Springer. This book was released on 2020-08-14 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The open access book discusses human health and wellbeing within the context of built environments. It provides a comprehensive overview of relevant sources of literature and user complaints that clearly demonstrate the consequences of lack of attention to health in current building design and planning. Current designing of energy-efficient buildings is mainly focused on looking at energy problems and not on addressing health. Therefore, even green buildings that place environmental aspects above health issues can be uncomfortable and unhealthy, and can lead to public health problems. The authors identify many health risk factors and their parameters, and the interactions among risk factors and building design elements. They point to the need for public health specialists, engineers and planners to come together and review built environments for human wellbeing and environmental sustainability. The authors therefore present a tool for holistic decision-making processes, leading to short- and long-term benefits for people and their environment.

The Healthy Indoor Environment

Download The Healthy Indoor Environment PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1134581440
Total Pages : 794 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (345 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Healthy Indoor Environment by : Philomena M. Bluyssen

Download or read book The Healthy Indoor Environment written by Philomena M. Bluyssen and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-10-30 with total page 794 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite policy directives, standards and guidelines, indoor environmental quality is still poor in many cases. The Healthy Indoor Environment, winner of the 2016 IDEC Book Award, aims to help architects, building engineers and anyone concerned with the wellbeing of building occupants to better understand the effects of spending time in buildings on health and comfort. In three clear parts dedicated to mechanisms, assessment and analysis, the book looks at different indoor stressors and their effects on wellbeing in a variety of scenarios with a range of tools and methods. The book supports a more holistic way of evaluating indoor environments and argues that a clear understanding of how the human body and mind receive, perceive and respond to indoor conditions is needed. At the national, European and worldwide level, it is acknowledged that a healthy and comfortable indoor environment is important both for the quality of life, now and in the future, and for the creation of truly sustainable buildings. Moreover, current methods of risk assessment are no longer adequate: a different view on indoor environment is required. Highly illustrated and full of practical examples, the book makes recommendations for future procedures for investigating indoor environmental quality based on an interdisciplinary understanding of the mechanisms of responses to stressors. It forms the basis for the development of an integrated approach towards assessment of indoor environmental quality.

Damp Indoor Spaces and Health

Download Damp Indoor Spaces and Health PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : National Academies Press
ISBN 13 : 0309091934
Total Pages : 369 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (9 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Damp Indoor Spaces and Health by : Institute of Medicine

Download or read book Damp Indoor Spaces and Health written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2004-10-01 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Almost all homes, apartments, and commercial buildings will experience leaks, flooding, or other forms of excessive indoor dampness at some point. Not only is excessive dampness a health problem by itself, it also contributes to several other potentially problematic types of situations. Molds and other microbial agents favor damp indoor environments, and excess moisture may initiate the release of chemical emissions from damaged building materials and furnishings. This new book from the Institute of Medicine examines the health impact of exposures resulting from damp indoor environments and offers recommendations for public health interventions. Damp Indoor Spaces and Health covers a broad range of topics. The book not only examines the relationship between damp or moldy indoor environments and adverse health outcomes but also discusses how and where buildings get wet, how dampness influences microbial growth and chemical emissions, ways to prevent and remediate dampness, and elements of a public health response to the issues. A comprehensive literature review finds sufficient evidence of an association between damp indoor environments and some upper respiratory tract symptoms, coughing, wheezing, and asthma symptoms in sensitized persons. This important book will be of interest to a wide-ranging audience of science, health, engineering, and building professionals, government officials, and members of the public.

Green Healthcare Institutions

Download Green Healthcare Institutions PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : National Academies Press
ISBN 13 : 0309179432
Total Pages : 128 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Green Healthcare Institutions by : Institute of Medicine

Download or read book Green Healthcare Institutions written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2007-06-14 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Green Healthcare Institutions : Health, Environment, and Economics, Workshop Summary is based on the ninth workshop in a series of workshops sponsored by the Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine since the roundtable began meeting in 1998. When choosing workshops and activities, the roundtable looks for areas of mutual concern and also areas that need further research to develop a strong environmental science background. This workshop focused on the environmental and health impacts related to the design, construction, and operations of healthcare facilities, which are part of one of the largest service industries in the United States. Healthcare institutions are major employers with a considerable role in the community, and it is important to analyze this significant industry. The environment of healthcare facilities is unique; it has multiple stakeholders on both sides, as the givers and the receivers of care. In order to provide optimal care, more research is needed to determine the impacts of the built environment on human health. The scientific evidence for embarking on a green building agenda is not complete, and at present, scientists have limited information. Green Healthcare Institutions : Health, Environment, and Economics, Workshop Summary captures the discussions and presentations by the speakers and participants; they identified the areas in which additional research is needed, the processes by which change can occur, and the gaps in knowledge.

The Whole Building Handbook

Download The Whole Building Handbook PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1136543279
Total Pages : 1938 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (365 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Whole Building Handbook by : Maria Block

Download or read book The Whole Building Handbook written by Maria Block and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2010-02-09 with total page 1938 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Whole Building Handbook is a compendium of all the issues and strategies that architects need to understand to design and construct sustainable buildings for a sustainable society. The authors move beyond the current definition of sustainability in architecture, which tends to focus on energy-efficiency, to include guidance for architecture that promotes social cohesion, personal health, renewable energy sources, water and waste recycling systems, permaculture, energy conservation - and crucially, buildings in relation to their place. The authors offer a holistic approach to sustainable architecture and authoritative technical advice, on: * How to design and construct healthy buildings, through choosing suitable materials, healthy service systems, and designing a healthy and comfortable indoor climate, including solutions for avoiding problems with moisture, radon and noise as well as how to facilitate cleaning and maintenance. * How to design and construct buildings that use resources efficiently, where heating and cooling needs and electricity use is minimized and water-saving technologies and garbage recycling technologies are used. * How to 'close' organic waste, sewage, heat and energy cycles. For example, how to design a sewage system that recycles nutrients. * Includes a section on adaptation of buildings to local conditions, looking at how a site must be studied with respect to nature, climate and community structure as well as human activities. The result is a comprehensive, thoroughly illustrated and carefully structured textbook and reference.

Office Buildings

Download Office Buildings PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 9811325774
Total Pages : 536 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (113 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Office Buildings by : Pranab Kumar Nag

Download or read book Office Buildings written by Pranab Kumar Nag and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-12-31 with total page 536 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book brings together concepts from the building, environmental, behavioural and health sciences to provide an interdisciplinary understanding of office and workplace design. Today, with changes in the world of work and the relentless surge in technology, offices have emerged as the repositories of organizational symbolism, denoted by the spatial design of offices, physical settings and the built environment (architecture, urban locale). Drawing on Euclidian geometry that quantifies space as the distance between two or more points, a body of knowledge on office buildings, the concept of office and office space, and the interrelationships of spatial and behavioural attributes in office design are elucidated. Building and office work-related illnesses, namely sick building syndrome and ailments arising from the indoor environment, and the menace of musculoskeletal disorders are the alarming manifestations that critically affect employee satisfaction, morale and work outcomes. With a focus on office ergonomics, the book brings the discussion on the fundamentals of work design, with emphasis on computer workstation users. Strategic guidance of lighting systems and visual performance in workplaces are directed for better application of ergonomics and improvement in office indoor environment. It discusses the profiles of bioclimatic, indoor air quality, ventilation intervention, lighting and acoustic characteristics in office buildings. Emphasis has been given to the energy performance of buildings, and contemporary perspectives of building sustainability, such as green office building assessment schemes, and national and international building-related standards and codes. Intended for students and professionals from ergonomics, architecture, interior design, as well as construction engineers, health care professionals, and office planners, the book brings a unified overview of the health, safety and environment issues associated with the design of office buildings.

The Architecture of Health

Download The Architecture of Health PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Cooper Hewitt
ISBN 13 : 9781942303312
Total Pages : 272 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (33 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Architecture of Health by : Michael P. Murphy

Download or read book The Architecture of Health written by Michael P. Murphy and published by Cooper Hewitt. This book was released on 2021-11-14 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Architecture of Health is a story about the design and life of hospitals-about how they are born and evolve, about the forces that give them shape, and the shifts that conspire to render them inadequate. Reading architecture through the history of hospitals is a deciphering tool for unlocking the elemental principles of architecture and the intractable laws of human and social conditions that architecture serves in each of our lives.This book encounters brilliant and visionary designers who were hospital architects but also systems designers, driven by the aim of social change. They faced the contradictions of health care in their time and found innovative ways to solve for specific medical dilemmas. Less-known designers like Filarete, Lluís Domènech i Montaner, Albert Schweitzer, Max Fry and Jane Drew, John Dawe Tetlow, Gordon Friesen, Thomas Wheeler, and Eberhard Zeidler are studied here, while the medical spaces of more widely-known architects like Isambard Brunel, Aalvar Aalto, Le Corbusier, Louis Kahn, and Paul Rudolph also help inform this history. All these characters were polymaths and provocateurs, but none quite summarizes this history more succinctly than Florence Nightingale, who in laying out her guidelines for ward design in 1859, shows how the design of a medical facility can influence an entire political and social order.Architecture of Health, richly illustrated with images and never before published renderings and drawings from the MASS Design Group, charts historical epidemics alongside modern and contemporary architectural transformations in service of medicine, health, and habitation; it explores how infrastructure facilitates healing and architecture's greater role in constructing our societies.

Living with Buildings

Download Living with Buildings PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Profile Books
ISBN 13 : 178283446X
Total Pages : 202 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (828 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Living with Buildings by : Iain Sinclair

Download or read book Living with Buildings written by Iain Sinclair and published by Profile Books. This book was released on 2018-09-20 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'A remarkable book; surprisingly gripping and often very moving ... at once disorientating and illuminating.' - Robert Macfarlane We shape ourselves, and are shaped in return, by the walls that contain us. Buildings affect how we sleep, work, socialise and even breathe. They can isolate and endanger us but they can also heal us. We project our hopes and fears onto buildings, while they absorb our histories. In Living With Buildings, Iain Sinclair embarks on a series of expeditions - through London, Marseille, Mexico and the Outer Hebrides. A father and his daughter, who has a rare syndrome, visit the estate where they once lived. Developers clink champagne glasses as residents are 'decanted' from their homes. A box sculpted from whalebone, thought to contain healing properties, is returned to its origins with unexpected consequences. Part investigation, part travelogue, Living With Buildings brings the spaces we inhabit to life as never before.

Building Mycology

Download Building Mycology PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 1135824614
Total Pages : 386 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (358 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Building Mycology by : Dr Jagjit Singh

Download or read book Building Mycology written by Dr Jagjit Singh and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2006-01-16 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Biodeterioration is the most common problem of mankind and its record can be traced back to biblical times or probably earlier. Building Mycology deals with the study of fungi in and around the building environment, having direct and indirect effect on the health of the building, its materials, structures and occupants.

Greening Our Built World

Download Greening Our Built World PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Island Press
ISBN 13 : 1610910796
Total Pages : 281 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (19 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Greening Our Built World by : Greg Kats

Download or read book Greening Our Built World written by Greg Kats and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2013-03-05 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Green” buildings—buildings that use fewer resources to build and to sustain—are commonly thought to be too expensive to attract builders and buyers. But are they? The answer to this question has enormous consequences, since residential and commercial buildings together account for nearly 50% of American energy consumption—including at least 75% of electricity usage—according to recent government statistics. This eye-opening book reports the results of a large-scale study based on extensive financial and technical analyses of more than 150 green buildings in the U.S. and ten other countries. It provides detailed findings on the costs and financial benefits of building green. According to the study, green buildings cost roughly 2% more to build than conventional buildings—far less than previously assumed—and provide a wide range of financial, health and social benefits. In addition, green buildings reduce energy use by an average of 33%, resulting in significant cost savings. Greening Our Built World also evaluates the cost effectiveness of “green community development” and presents the results of the first-ever survey of green buildings constructed by faith-based organizations. Throughout the book, leading practitioners in green design—including architects, developers, and property owners—share their own experiences in building green. A compelling combination of rock-solid facts and specific examples, this book proves that green design is both cost-effective and earth-friendly.

The Great Indoors

Download The Great Indoors PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Scientific American / Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ISBN 13 : 0374716684
Total Pages : 304 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (747 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Great Indoors by : Emily Anthes

Download or read book The Great Indoors written by Emily Anthes and published by Scientific American / Farrar, Straus and Giroux. This book was released on 2020-06-23 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An Architectural Record Notable Book A fascinating, thought-provoking journey into our built environment Modern humans are an indoor species. We spend 90 percent of our time inside, shuttling between homes and offices, schools and stores, restaurants and gyms. And yet, in many ways, the indoor world remains unexplored territory. For all the time we spend inside buildings, we rarely stop to consider: How do these spaces affect our mental and physical well-being? Our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors? Our productivity, performance, and relationships? In this wide-ranging, character-driven book, science journalist Emily Anthes takes us on an adventure into the buildings in which we spend our days, exploring the profound, and sometimes unexpected, ways that they shape our lives. Drawing on cutting-edge research, she probes the pain-killing power of a well-placed window and examines how the right office layout can expand our social networks. She investigates how room temperature regulates our cognitive performance, how the microbes hiding in our homes influence our immune systems, and how cafeteria design affects what—and how much—we eat. Along the way, Anthes takes readers into an operating room designed to minimize medical errors, a school designed to boost students’ physical fitness, and a prison designed to support inmates’ psychological needs. And she previews the homes of the future, from the high-tech houses that could monitor our health to the 3D-printed structures that might allow us to live on the Moon. The Great Indoors provides a fresh perspective on our most familiar surroundings and a new understanding of the power of architecture and design. It's an argument for thoughtful interventions into the built environment and a story about how to build a better world—one room at a time.

The Architecture and Landscape of Health

Download The Architecture and Landscape of Health PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 0429862342
Total Pages : 326 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (298 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Architecture and Landscape of Health by : Julie Collins

Download or read book The Architecture and Landscape of Health written by Julie Collins and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-03-24 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Architecture and Landscape of Health explores buildings and landscapes that were designed to treat or prevent disease in the era before pharmaceuticals and biomedicine emerged as first line treatments. Written from an architectural perspective, it examines the historical relationship between health and place through the emergence of dedicated therapeutic building types from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth century, a time when the environment was viewed as integral to the health of both the individual and the population. This book provides an overview of ideas surrounding health and place and their impact on architecture and designed landscapes. Different therapeutic buildings and places are examined, including public parks, asylums, sanatoria, leprosaria, quarantine stations, public baths and healthy homes. Each chapter outlines the medical context, common therapies, a history of buildings designed in response to these, and an examination of how such places were perceived to have functioned. Illustrated using geographically and temporally diverse examples, the book includes designs drawn from locations across the world including Europe, the Americas, Africa, Australia and Asia. The Architecture and Landscape of Health identifies and examines moments in the conversation between health and design, and is a timely look back on the resultant buildings and places, offering insights which could inform the design of therapeutic places of the future. An ideal read for researchers, academics and upper-level postgraduate students interested in architecture, and architectural history, particularly relating to healthcare design and medical history.

To Err Is Human

Download To Err Is Human PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : National Academies Press
ISBN 13 : 0309068371
Total Pages : 312 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (9 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis To Err Is Human by : Institute of Medicine

Download or read book To Err Is Human written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2000-03-01 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Experts estimate that as many as 98,000 people die in any given year from medical errors that occur in hospitals. That's more than die from motor vehicle accidents, breast cancer, or AIDSâ€"three causes that receive far more public attention. Indeed, more people die annually from medication errors than from workplace injuries. Add the financial cost to the human tragedy, and medical error easily rises to the top ranks of urgent, widespread public problems. To Err Is Human breaks the silence that has surrounded medical errors and their consequenceâ€"but not by pointing fingers at caring health care professionals who make honest mistakes. After all, to err is human. Instead, this book sets forth a national agendaâ€"with state and local implicationsâ€"for reducing medical errors and improving patient safety through the design of a safer health system. This volume reveals the often startling statistics of medical error and the disparity between the incidence of error and public perception of it, given many patients' expectations that the medical profession always performs perfectly. A careful examination is made of how the surrounding forces of legislation, regulation, and market activity influence the quality of care provided by health care organizations and then looks at their handling of medical mistakes. Using a detailed case study, the book reviews the current understanding of why these mistakes happen. A key theme is that legitimate liability concerns discourage reporting of errorsâ€"which begs the question, "How can we learn from our mistakes?" Balancing regulatory versus market-based initiatives and public versus private efforts, the Institute of Medicine presents wide-ranging recommendations for improving patient safety, in the areas of leadership, improved data collection and analysis, and development of effective systems at the level of direct patient care. To Err Is Human asserts that the problem is not bad people in health careâ€"it is that good people are working in bad systems that need to be made safer. Comprehensive and straightforward, this book offers a clear prescription for raising the level of patient safety in American health care. It also explains how patients themselves can influence the quality of care that they receive once they check into the hospital. This book will be vitally important to federal, state, and local health policy makers and regulators, health professional licensing officials, hospital administrators, medical educators and students, health caregivers, health journalists, patient advocatesâ€"as well as patients themselves. First in a series of publications from the Quality of Health Care in America, a project initiated by the Institute of Medicine

Designing Future Cities for Wellbeing

Download Designing Future Cities for Wellbeing PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 0429894465
Total Pages : 246 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (298 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Designing Future Cities for Wellbeing by : Christopher T. Boyko

Download or read book Designing Future Cities for Wellbeing written by Christopher T. Boyko and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-09-17 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Designing Future Cities for Wellbeing draws on original research that brings together dimensions of cities we know have a bearing on our health and wellbeing – including transportation, housing, energy, and foodways – and illustrates the role of design in delivering cities in the future that can enhance our health and wellbeing. It aims to demonstrate that cities are a complex interplay of these various dimensions that both shape and are shaped by existing and emerging city structures, governance, design, and planning. Explaining how to consider these interconnecting dimensions in the way in which professionals and citizens think about and design the city for future generations’ health and wellbeing, therefore, is key. The chapters draw on UK case and research examples and make comparison to international cities and examples. This book will be of great interest to researchers and students in planning, public policy, public health, and design.

Microbiomes of the Built Environment

Download Microbiomes of the Built Environment PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : National Academies Press
ISBN 13 : 0309449839
Total Pages : 318 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (94 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Microbiomes of the Built Environment by : National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Download or read book Microbiomes of the Built Environment written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2017-10-06 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: People's desire to understand the environments in which they live is a natural one. People spend most of their time in spaces and structures designed, built, and managed by humans, and it is estimated that people in developed countries now spend 90 percent of their lives indoors. As people move from homes to workplaces, traveling in cars and on transit systems, microorganisms are continually with and around them. The human-associated microbes that are shed, along with the human behaviors that affect their transport and removal, make significant contributions to the diversity of the indoor microbiome. The characteristics of "healthy" indoor environments cannot yet be defined, nor do microbial, clinical, and building researchers yet understand how to modify features of indoor environmentsâ€"such as building ventilation systems and the chemistry of building materialsâ€"in ways that would have predictable impacts on microbial communities to promote health and prevent disease. The factors that affect the environments within buildings, the ways in which building characteristics influence the composition and function of indoor microbial communities, and the ways in which these microbial communities relate to human health and well-being are extraordinarily complex and can be explored only as a dynamic, interconnected ecosystem by engaging the fields of microbial biology and ecology, chemistry, building science, and human physiology. This report reviews what is known about the intersection of these disciplines, and how new tools may facilitate advances in understanding the ecosystem of built environments, indoor microbiomes, and effects on human health and well-being. It offers a research agenda to generate the information needed so that stakeholders with an interest in understanding the impacts of built environments will be able to make more informed decisions.