Based on 15 years of wide ranging study, THE LIVING ELEMENTS OF HEALTHY BUILDING DESIGN is the first in a series of guidebooks that accompany workshops of the same name to educate and clarify the impact of current building practices and materials on the indoor environment and human health in a form accessible to laypersons and professionals alike-from homeowner to non technical designer. To simplify and substantiate this wealth of information, the author organizes the material through the lens of the Living Elements: Earth, Metal, Water, Wood, Air, and Fire-emphasizing the interrelationship between human life, the earth, and the cosmos. This reference and its companion volumes (soon to be published) supports the concept of "Conscious Architecture", an innovative and integrated model of architecture and design that inspires harmonious structures, where natural elements purposefully intermingle with form, color, light, and sound to create holistic and healthy buildings that contain and reflect the wholeness of nature and its expression in the human spirit.

Based on 15 years of wide ranging study, THE LIVING ELEMENTS OF HEALTHY BUILDING DESIGN is the first in a series of guidebooks that accompany workshops of the same name to educate and clarify the impact of current building practices and materials on the indoor environment and human health in a form accessible to laypersons and professionals alike-from homeowner to non technical designer. To simplify and substantiate this wealth of information, the author organizes the material through the lens of the Living Elements: Earth, Metal, Water, Wood, Air, and Fire-emphasizing the interrelationship between human life, the earth, and the cosmos. This reference and its companion volumes (soon to be published) supports the concept of "Conscious Architecture", an innovative and integrated model of architecture and design that inspires harmonious structures, where natural elements purposefully intermingle with form, color, light, and sound to create holistic and healthy buildings that contain and reflect the wholeness of nature and its expression in the human spirit.

Based on worldwide public health data, this report lays out the premise for building healthy places and illuminates the role of the real estate and development community in addressing public health issues. This is an essential resource for public officials, real estate developers, engineers, consultants, and students of urban planning.

'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.

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.

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.

Distilling lessons learned from three health-focused Urban Land Institute advisory services panels in Colorado, as well as other findings on public health gleaned from a workshop with leading experts, this publication includes up-to-the-minute thinking on how to design and build healthy communities. It serves as a tool for public officials, development professionals, and others to help lay out the key elements that make a community more conducive to activity and that encourage better eating and healthier living.