Choosing wisely where we live and work can be decisive for our health. Continuous exposure to pollutant factors at home or in the office has a cumulative effect that is worth understanding and preventing.
Choosing wisely where we live and work can be decisive for our health. We spend the majority of our daily hours in our home or office, and continuous exposure to pollutant factors has a cumulative effect.
The choice of materials used in the construction and finishing of buildings, acoustic, thermal and light comfort, humidity levels, proper ventilation, the type of electrical wiring and its location, water treatment… these are some of the key factors that determine the health of buildings.
Some of the most relevant harmful factors are:
- Excessive presence of wireless devices
- Dirty ventilation or air conditioning ducts
- Poor natural light
- Air fresheners with artificial fragrances
- Lack of air circulation
- Inappropriate lighting
- Excess static electricity caused by carpets
- Intensity of magnetic fields produced by electrical equipment
- Poor acoustics or inadequate acoustic insulation
- Poor heating or cooling of rooms
All these factors can affect our health slowly and sometimes without us noticing.
According to the WHO (World Health Organization), 30% of modern buildings could cause health problems for the people who inhabit or work in them, as they do not take into account a series of basic premises when choosing the type or level of ventilation, for example. We are talking about Sick Building Syndrome, which is characterised by a varied range of symptoms including allergic rhinitis, eye congestion, dryness, headache, mental fatigue and lack of concentration, nausea or dizziness, and other chronic conditions, mainly respiratory. When those affected leave these buildings for a period of time, the symptoms subside and most of them recover their initial health.
In some cases it is possible to use corrective measures to reduce or minimise these problems, but most of the time the remedy would be so costly that carrying out the work is ruled out. That is why it is very important for projects to take the health aspects of buildings into account from the outset. For us, building healthy, sustainable and energy-efficient spaces is the primary objective, and all our projects have health and the well-being of people as their central concern.
Gisell Durán
HAUS Healthy Buildings
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