Healthy Buildings I (Building Construction & Health)

• Leaders in Eco Building Education -teaching environmental health and sustainable building through this and other courses since the early 1990's
• Personal tuition from expert environmental scientists and environmental health experts
• Learn to minimize toxic affects caused by chemicals, radiation and even negative psychology found in the design of a building

This unique home study course will help you make the right decisions for building a healthy interior environment.

USING TOXIC MATERIALS OR ILL ADVISED CONSTRUCTION METHODS CAN BE VERY HAZARDOUS

• Perfect for the modern age of home improvement
• Explore ways of making a home, office, or any other building; healthier for its occupants.

A building should provide a pleasant, efficient and healthy environment for its occupants. Its primary purpose should be to protect from adverse conditions found outside; but in doing so, not loose the beneficial conditions found outside. If a building is properly planned and built well with properly selected materials these aims can be achieved.

Lesson Structure

There are 10 lessons in this course:

1. Introduction To Building Biology
   • Scope and Nature of Building Biology
   • Building Diseases -Chemical, Electrical, Cage, Location
   • Environmental Law
   • Biological Damage to Buildings
   • Environmental Considerations
   • Clean Interiors
2. Building Materials
   • Introduction
   • Dangerous Building Materials
   • Chemical Effects on the Human Body
   • Timber
   • Formaldehyde Adhesives
   • Plastics
   • Masonry and Concrete
   • Insulation Materials
   • Soft Furnishings
   • Paints
   • Timber Treatments, stains, polishes, etc
3. Construction
   • Roofing Materials
   • Roof Gardens
   • Roof Construction
   • Floors
   • Reasons to Choose Different Floors or Floor Coverings
   • Pests in Buildings
   • Dust Mites
   • Fleas
   • Ants
   • Termites, Flies, Mosquitos, Wasps, Cockroaches, etc
   • Spiders
   • Rodents, Birds, Snakes, etc
4. Services
   • Electricity
   • Electrical Fields
   • Circuits
   • Measuring Electricity and Exposure limits
   • Terminology
   • Power Supply Systems
   • General Waste Disposal
   • Waste Water
5. Temperature
   • Introduction to Heating and Cooling
   • Principles of Temperature Control
   • Heat Loss
   • Types of Heaters
   • Cooling Effects
   • Air Cleaners, Filtration, Circulation, Air Conditioning
   • Energy Conservation
   • Solar House Design
   • Active and Passive Solar Heating Systems
6. The Internal Environment: Ventilation
   • Scope and Nature
   • Natural Ventilation
   • Mechanical Ventilation
   • Air Conditioning
   • Humidity Management
7. Light
   • Internal Light in Buildings
   • Natural Light
   • Artificial Light
   • Electric Light
8. Acoustics
   • Internal Acoustic Control
   • Improving Internal acoustics
   • Noise Insulation
9. Ergonomic Considerations
   • Scope and Nature of Ergonomics
   • Form, Shape and Spatial Dimensions
   • Furniture Design
   • Interior Layout
10. Psychological Considerations
    • Scope and Nature
    • Physical and Psychological Affects of Colour
    • Stressful or Calming Environments
    • General Principles for Interior Design

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

Aims

• Explain the concept of healthy buildings including its relevance to human health.
• Select building materials which are safe to human health.
• Evaluate the health impact of different building techniques, including construction and design.
• Explain how the way in which services are installed, can impact upon the health of people using a building.
• Explain how building design can impact upon the quality of the physical environment inside.
• Explain ergonomic considerations in building design.
• Explain psychological considerations in building design.

What You Will Do

• Explain the concept of building biology, in accordance with the international building biology institute.
• Explain the history of building biology institutes, in Germany, America, and New Zealand; with relevance to Australia.
• Explain the current status of bio-harmonic architectural practices in Australia.
  • Assess problems with different dangerous building materials including:
  • Asbestos
  • Plastics
  • Insulation materials
  • Treated pine.
• Compare characteristics of different commonly used building materials, including:
  • Rate of deterioration
  • Thermal qualities
  • Chemical properties
  • Acoustic qualities
  • Dust collection/repellence
  • Light reflection.
• Develop a checklist, for evaluating the health impact of different building materials.
• Evaluate the impact of different building materials on health, in a building inspected by you.
• Develop a checklist of building design factors, to assess the affect of design on human health.
• Develop a checklist of building construction factors (other than materials) which may impact upon human health.
• Explain how design can impact upon different aspects of the internal environment, including:
  • Thermal comfort
  • Light intensity
  • Humidity
  • Condensation
  • Acoustics
  • Control of pests
  • Noise insulation.
• Study two specific buildings and compare the impact of building techniques, including construction and design, upon human health.
• Explain the impact of electric fields on human health in a building you inspect.
• Explain how electrical fields can be minimised by the way in which electric wires are laid in a specific house plan.
• Compare differences upon the impact on health from different power supplies including:
  • Mains power
  • Self generated systems
  • Different voltages.
• Compare the potential impact on health, of different waste disposal systems including:
  • Chemical treatments
  • Reed beds
  • Settling ponds
  • Combustion systems
  • Land fill.
• Explain potential impact of different water supply systems on human health, including:
  • Mains water
  • Ground water
  • Different types of rain water tanks.
• Explain possible impacts of gas supply systems on human health including:
  • Mains gas
  • Bottle gas
  • Self generated bio gas.
• Compare the impact of different types of artificial light sources on human health, including:
  • Electric light
  • Combustion systems.
• Compare the impact of different types of heating systems on human health.
• List ways temperature can be controlled inside a building by design.
• Explain health impacts of air conditioning in a building you select and study.
• List ways acoustics can be controlled, by building design.
• List ways light can be controlled, through building design.
• List ways ventilation can be controlled, by building design.
• Explain solar energy applications in a specified building.
• Evaluate the impact of the design of a building you select and study on the interior environment.
• Redesign a building from a specified building plan, to improve the quality of the physical environment inside.
• Evaluate the heights of three different kitchen benches for ergonomic suitability to the people who are primary users of those benches.
• Explain the importance of clear and easy access into and through the building for all users, including the disabled.
• Explain health aspects of the relationship between the human body and the interior of a specific building.
• Explain the affect that four different colours may have on human health.
• Explain the affect of space perceptions may have on human health, in a visited interior workplace.
• Evaluate the psychological impact of the interior environment in two distinctly different offices, upon the people who work in each of those offices.

The term thermal mass refers to the resistance of building materials to temperature change. This property can be used very effectively to help control indoor temperatures. In hot climates thick walls such as mud brick or rammed earth which have high thermal mass are ideal. They heat up slowly during the day and then as they cool overnight they slowly release this heat warming the house. This property has long been used in many traditional building techniques in desert communities.  

Solid rock, for instance has a greater thermal mass than earth walls, but if the earth is compressed, to remove trapped air, it's thermal mass can improve.

Other materials which provide good thermal mass include stone, double brick, concrete, earth mounds, sod/earth roofs.    Note these materials are all heavy with high density; this is what gives them thermal mass. Lightweight materials have low thermal mass.

 The property of thermal mass used incorrectly can magnify changes in temperature causing the building to heat up during the day and cool at night.   Thermal mass must be used in conjunction with passive building design. For example a building with thermal mass is aligned to that in winter the sun hits the wall and heats it up, in summer the alignment is such that the eves shade the wall all day allowing the wall to remain cool.

There are three main characteristics of thermal mass, these are:

• High density – as mentioned above, these materials are very dense.
• High thermal conductivity – heat can flow through the material.
• Low reflectivity – the materials do not reflect heat/light, they are dark and matt textured, thus absorbing more energy

Comparing relative values of different materials (note that water has the highest thermal mass):

AFTER YOUR STUDIES

Everyone who studies this subject is likely to discover things that they were previously oblivious to; that may be impacting on themselves, their family or colleagues. Your heightened knowledge and awareness will at the very least, contribute toward improving the health and safety of those around you.

For many graduates though; this course will improve your ability to perform better in your work or business.

This is a course that has the potential to change the way work is done in many professions, including:

• Health and Safety Officers
• Health Professionals
• Architects and Engineers
• Interior Decorators
• Builders and other construction industry workers