Building design can have a signficant impact on your health. According to the landmark National Human Activity Pattern Survey (NHAPS), conducted between 1992 and 1994, people spend an average of 87 percent of their lives in enclosed buildings, where pollutants like tobacco smoke, volatile organic chemicals (VOCs), asbestos, pesticides and carbon monoxide can prolilferate and, with long-term exposure, cause health problems.
Moreover, poor building design can contribute to feelings of depression and lethargy, sapping your happiness and productivity.
Fortunately, more businesses are looking for ways to ensure their employees, clients and customers stay healthy and comfortable in their space with healthy building design.
Healthy Building Design Starts with Construction
Building demolition and construction can create pollution and health hazards. Working with your architect and contractors to create a waste- and pollution-reduction plan can mitigate these problems using strategies like deconstruction rather than demolition and using recycled and reclaimed materials.
Sealing off doors and windows of active work areas can reduce dust and other particulate matter, and providing mats at entry and exit pathways helps prevent the transfer of pollutants to the surrounding environment on workers’ shoes.
Proper storage of materials waiting for installation, like carpeting, insulation and indoor furnishings, protects them from dust and from moisture that can contribute to mold development.
Design for Healthy Air
Adequate ventilation is essential for maintaining healthy air quality in your building. Not only does it help keep the air free of pollutants, it can help prevent the development of mold that can be detrimental to human health.
Heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems promote air circulation, removing polluted air from inside a building and bringing in fresh air from the outside.
HVAC systems can provide natural or mechanical ventilation, or a combination of both. The type of system you need will depend on several factors, including the size of the building, the number of people who will occupy it and the type of equipment they use. The National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH) has information and resources on HVAC management that can help guide you and your architect in selecting a system that works for your building design.
Using materials, such as low-VOC products, that reduce unhealthy emissions can enhance indoor air quality.
Let the Light In
If you’ve ever worked in an environment with little to no natural light, you probably understand how light contributes to well-being and productivity.
Adequate light exposure – neither too little nor too much – helps humans regulate their internal clocks. This regulation is important because disrupting the body’s delicate circadian balance can contribute to poor sleep and depression and has been associated with diseases like diabetes and obesity.
Healthy building design requires a thoughtful approach to planning light exposure, considering climate, the building’s structural and business needs, and the schedules and activities of workers. Maximizing natural light with windows, skylights or solar tubes can contribute to health, but it’s also important to provide adequate shading to prevent glare and excess heat.
While placing workstations to allow for natural light exposure is ideal, if it’s impractical, consider including a common space in your building design where workers can enjoy natural light during breaks, meetings or other times during the workday.
Make sure your artificial light promotes worker well-being. The color temperature of light is important, as is minimizing the flicker that can plague some LED lighting.
Depending on your business, some or all of your workers may have specific needs for the lighting environment; close work, heavy reading or machine work all have particular requirements, for example. Make sure you consider these when talking with your architect.
Building Acoustics
Building design can have an impact on your acoustical comfort. Excess noise can hinder productivity and contribute to poor concentration and mood in workers. Plan for different acoustic zones if possible: loud for areas with noisy equipment; quiet for privacy, focused work and rest; and mixed for collaborative work.
To help achieve this, consider incorporating sound barriers, including full or partition walls and doors, where necessary, and using sound-absorbing materials for ceilings, floors and barriers.
Building Design for Circulation and Movement
Circulation and movement are complex areas of design, but there are some fundamental elements to consider when planning your building project:
- Space layout should allow for adequate movement without crowding;
- Ergonomics – elements like desk height, seating and adjustable workstations can reduce strain and prevent injury;
- Accessibility – your building design must comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), but you should also consider your workers’ and customers’ specific needs for restroom proximity, seating and other design aspects that can improve the comfort of those with special needs;
- Where possible, promote physical activity by providing dedicated space, with or without equipment, and including amenities that allow commuters to walk or bike to work, such as bicycle racks or storage space, lockers and shower facilities.
Climate Control
The comfort of your workers and clients depends on good thermal regulation in your building. Natural ventilation and proper shading can help keep workspaces cool, while adequate insulation can help retain heat in cooler climates.
You can increase comfort in your building by planning for different thermal zones with thermostats that allow workers to control the climate of different areas of the building according to need.
Consider Certification
If you’re ready to commit to creating a “well” building that promotes health and well-being for your workers and customers or clients, talk to your architect about WELL certification.
The International WELL Building Institute has created a graduated series of standards and provides information and resources on healthy building design and provides third-party certification for buildings that meet the standards.
Certification isn’t just for big companies with large buildings; smaller organizations can benefit too. For example, the five-room Inn at Moonlight Beach in Encinitas, California, recently became the first hotel in the world to receive WELL Platinum certification for building performance in air, water, light and other measures of building wellness.
Talk to your architect during the design phase of your project to find out what steps you can take enhance your building’s wellness quotient and enhance the health and well-being of the people that use it.
This post first ran in 2019.