In 1929 Richard Neutra built the Lovell Health House, which was really a manifesto about how to design a healthy house, key elements being lots of sunlight and fresh air. But Neutra was also influenced by Freud and believed that his houses could cure neuroses, that houses could affect the occupants’ psyches.

Today, a lot of people are thinking about how to build healthy houses once again, as we learn about the dangers from chemicals within the home and pollution without. And once again, architects people are realizing that our houses and workspaces have to do more than just provide shelter, and health is more than just physical.

© UKGBC

A great summary of this thinking is the new report by the UK Green Building Council, Health and Wellbeing in Homes. It’s a significant document because it looks at both the home itself and the community it is part of:

They also stress that there is more to it than just the physical stuff that’s in our building codes:

Light

A great example of how sophisticated the thinking has become is a look at lighting. In Neutra’s day (and in the California climate) you couldn’t have enough natural light. But we have learned that with windows, you can have too much of a good thing; houses can overheat in summer, freeze in winter without lots of mechanical heating and cooling. Windows are not just glazing, but more complex:

Internal Air Quality

This is much more complicated than it was in Neutra’s day (and California’s climate) where you opened windows for fresh air. In fact, it is much more complicated than it was when we started writing about it on TreeHugger, when we stressed tuning windows, cross ventilation and living without air conditioning. We are also living more closely together and have learned more about the dangers of particulates and other air pollutants outside our doors. To save energy we have tightened up our homes, and many of us are living in smaller spaces.

In many parts of many cities, mechanical ventilation and air purification is becoming a necessity because of air pollution. All the more reason to get rid of diesels and electrify our transport systems as soon as possible.

Thermal Comfort

© UKGBC This is perhaps where the biggest changes have to happen, and soon. For years, the worry in northern climes was keeping warm; more and more, over-heating is becoming a problem.

But even this UKGBC report does not get into detail about what comfort actually is, and how it is much more than just an issue of regulating temperature.

Moisture

It used to be that the biggest problem related to moisture was having too little of it; many leaky old homes actually had humidifiers to raise the level. Now, as homes are more tightly sealed, we have the opposite problem. We also keep building with materials that actually promote mould growth, and even our building codes get it wrong when it comes to dealing with moisture in our walls.

Noise

As we live more closely together, noise isolation becomes more important. And again, we are just beginning to really learn about how much of an effect it has on us.

This is an issue that can be addressed relatively easily in new construction, but that so often is a problem because of quality issues; the architect can specify a wall with a terrific STC rating but just a little gap, a little bit of missing caulk can ruin it.

Design

This is such a hard one. People need a kitchen that promotes healthy eating and family interaction:

Space should be designed for accessibility as residents age; bedrooms should be quiet and promote healthy sleep; they should be big enough to avoid overcrowding.

Striking the Perfect Balance

Much has changed since Neutra in terms of what we call a healthy home. Today we need different approaches:

  • Careful placement of high quality windows that maximize view and light without risking overheating;High levels of insulation to keep warm or cool with a minimum of mechanical intervention;Mechanical heat exchange and ventilation system that provides controlled, filtered fresh air;Healthy materials that are easy to clean and do not emit VOCs;Resilient designs that can survive the increasingly common disruptions and changes in climate;Simple systems that occupants can actually understand and operate themselves:

While this document has been written in the UK, most of its content is universal. One message that certainly travels well: A home is more than just a box to be bought and sold; it, and the community that it is part of, seriously affect our health, happiness and wellbeing.