Page 54 - Green Builder July-August 2018 Issue

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SMART CITIES

CREDIT: RICK GUIDACENASA

Healthy Homes, Healthy Buildings

What we can’t see and don’t know can hurt us—and our clients.

This is the fifth in a series of articles about the increasing interest WHAT IS SICK BUILDING SYNDROME?
in—and necessity for—smart homes, villages, cities and communities
globally, and how they relate to green building in the U.S.

BY TERRY BEAUBOIS
T HE TOPIC OF HEALTHY HOMES AND BUILDINGS has
been around for a while, but the awareness of the problem
and what to do about it is being raised to a higher level
with recent ndings.
Having a healthy home environment is a core element
for every member of the building industry—architects designing
homes for people; builders building homes; and family members
concerned about their family’s health. This is an area that has been a
career-long interest of mine. In the past, it was more of a background
issue, but over time, research shows this to be increasingly important
as we gain a better understanding and additional knowledge of the
CREDIT: PAINT INSPECTION LTD.
issues related to air quality.

Unhealthy households. After the World Health Organization
acknowledged the existence of Sick Building Syndrome in the early
1980s, employers and employee associations got the word out about
what to watch for at work and at home.
A healthy home is not an impossible goal to achieve, but it does
not occur by accident. It requires knowledge of what to do and how
to do it. While it may not seem to be the highest priority during the
planning and design of a house, it can turn out to be one of the most
important aspects of that house in the long run. “Healthy” is a term
that should be included in any Green Building or SMART Home.
During the 1970s, the interest and importance of indoor air qual-
ity in buildings accelerated when the challenge of “leaky buildings”
was addressed. We began to seal buildings better—around windows,
doors and wall penetrations (electrical outlets, ducts, etc.) —to reduce
the air leaking in and out of buildings, and reduce wasting of energy.
CREDIT: TIYASISTOCK was sealed tight, we learned that internal components such as
But when a new government building in Sacramento, Calif.,

carpet and plywood were “outgassing” formaldehyde, a gas that
Home sick home. Indoor air quality may not seem to be a key point to is detrimental to human health when allowed to remain in the
consider when designing a house, but it can be a crucial aspect for building. If that building is “leaky,” the gas could slowly escape.
builders and home occupants—especially if they consider working with But because this structure was “sealed,” there was an unintended
you again years later. consequence: Everyone was going home “sick.” This later became

52 GREEN BUILDER July/August 2018 www.greenbuildermedia.com

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