Subscribe to Read

Sign up today to enjoy a complimentary trial and begin exploring the world of books! You have the freedom to cancel at your convenience.

Healthy Buildings: How Indoor Spaces Can Make You Sick―or Keep You Well


Title Healthy Buildings: How Indoor Spaces Can Make You Sick―or Keep You Well
Writer Joseph G. Allen (Author),
Date 2025-05-08 14:11:57
Type pdf epub mobi doc fb2 audiobook kindle djvu ibooks
Link Listen Read

Desciption

A revised and updated edition of the landmark work the New York Times hailed as “a call to action for every developer, building owner, shareholder, chief executive, manager, teacher, worker and parent to start demanding healthy buildings with cleaner indoor air.”For too long we’ve designed buildings that haven’t focused on the people inside―their health, their ability to work effectively, and what that means for the bottom line. An authoritative introduction to a movement whose vital importance is now all too clear, Healthy Buildings breaks down the science and makes a compelling business case for creating healthier offices, schools, and homes.As the COVID-19 crisis brought into sharp focus, indoor spaces can make you sick―or keep you healthy. Fortunately, we now have the know-how and technology to keep people safe indoors. But there is more to securing your office, school, or home than wiping down surfaces. Levels of carbon dioxide, particulates, humidity, pollution, and a toxic soup of volatile organic compounds from everyday products can influence our health in ways people aren’t always aware of.This landmark book, revised and updated with the latest research since the COVID-19 pandemic, lays out a compelling case for more environmentally friendly and less toxic offices, schools, and homes. It features a concise explanation of disease transmission indoors, and provides tips for making buildings the first line of defense. Joe Allen and John Macomber dispel the myth that we can’t have both energy-efficient buildings and good indoor air quality. We can―and must―have both. At the center of the great convergence of green, smart, and safe buildings, healthy buildings are vital to the push for more sustainable urbanization that will shape our future. Read more


Review

A pivotal text, if not someday referenced as the foundational text, which gives definition and traction to the healthy building movement. Allen and Macomber eloquently outline nine foundations of healthy buildings, why barriers and split-incentives have prevented adoption of healthy buildings, why we should invest in them, and what the tangible results of healthy building are.The book is laden throughout with facts and sources, which is absolutely refreshing from the perspective of this MEP consulting engineer. The text allows the reader to develop an independent opinion on healthy buildings and the recommended strategies based upon sound research. While it’s got a heavy dose of facts and sources (20 pages of sources at the end), it is an easy read and flows from the first page to the last.My perspective on chemicals, and the process used to approve these products for public use has forever been changed.The authors defines and introduce key strategies for healthy buildings. Some, if not most, strategies introduced within the book will need further development and definition by experts within each field, but it lays a clear foundation and gives a much needed “heading” for the building (and health) industry as we embark into this movement.For individuals, not in the building industry, wondering if this book is worth the read, I’ll reference one sentence from the book: “...the person who manages your building has a bigger impact on your health than your doctor.”-Sam, engineer at a national MEP consulting firm

Latest books