In yesterday’s blog we discussed the practice of Building Biology which attempts to research existing housing structures and life practices for how one may be damaged either by building materials or the inability of a temperature controlled home to consistently recirculate with outside air.
Our friend Diana whose company Green and Healthy Homes has these 25 principals of Building Biology on her web site:
- Make sure the building site is geologically undisturbed.
- Place dwellings away from industrial centers and major traffic routes.
- Place dwellings well apart from each other in spaciously planned developments amidst green areas.
- Plan homes and developments individually taking into consideration the human aspect and the needs of family life and nature.
- Use natural and unadulterated building materials.
- Use wall, floor and ceiling materials, which allow the diffusion of moisture.
- Allow natural self-regulation of indoor air humidify using hygroscopic materials.
- Consider sorption of building materials and plants (in- and outside), which allow filtration and neutralization of toxic airborne substances.
- Design for a balance between heat storage and thermal insulation in living spaces.
- Plan for optimal surface and air temperature.
- Use thermal radiation for heating buildings employing solar energy as much as possible.
- Promote low humidity and rapid desiccation in new buildings.
- Utilize building materials, which have neutral or pleasant natural scents and which do not emit toxic vapors.
- Provide for natural light and use illumination and color in accordance with nature.
- Provide adequate protection from noise and infrasonic vibration or sound conducted through solids.
- Use building materials that do not have elevated radioactivity levels.
- Preserve the natural (DC) air electrical field and physiologically beneficial ion balance in space.
- Preserve the natural (DC) magnetic field.
- Minimize technical (AC) electric and (AC) magnetic fields.
- Minimize the alteration of vital cosmic and terrestrial radiation.
- Utilize physiological knowledge in furniture and space design.
- Consider proportion, harmonic orders, and shapes in design.
- Use building materials that do not contribute to environmental problems and high energy cost in the production process.
- Do not support products or building materials that over-use limited and irreplaceable raw materials.
- Support building activities and production of materials which do not have adverse side-effects of any kind and which promote health and social well-being.
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