Category: Built Environment
Responding to Covid19 in Multifamily Buildings
Most of my colleagues in multifamily residential buildings have probably been inundated with advice about responding to Covid19. Corporate leaders and whatever property management association you belong to will have specific protocols for dealing with the pandemic. However, I did get one request for some info, so if there’s one…
Green Features Sell Homes
“Ask anyone if they want to live in a more comfortable home that costs less to operate, and the answer is always yes; 100 percent of the time. What they’re really saying is they want to have the ‘green’ features that make a home more comfortable and more efficient,” says…
Making Good Health in Rental Housing Easy: Five strategies
Expectations for supporting good health in rental housing has come a long way since HUD came up with their eight basic features of a healthy home. They are homes that are dry, clean, safe, well-ventilated, pest-free, contaminant free, well-maintained and thermally controlled. To be fair, those eight are certainly the…
What does LOHAS mean in the built environment?
LOHAS = Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability. Hmm. Is that really a thing? Well, yes. And a significant thing, at that. What the New York Times called “The biggest market you never heard of.” WHAT IS LOHAS? If you truly haven’t ever seen or heard of LOHAS, let’s get a…
How Does Community Design Impact Loneliness?
Loneliness and Social Isolation Loneliness is all the rage these days. [caption id="attachment_233" align="alignright" width="300"] Social isolation and loneliness increase the risk for depression, disability and cognitive decline.[/caption] Not quite so much that President Trump will appoint a Minister of Loneliness, a la the United Kingdom. But it does seem…
EMF. The Next Asbestos?
Negative Health Impacts of EMF. Asbestos. Leaded paint. Formaldehyde. 5G and EMF? Someday, folks in the building industry may look back at electric and magnetic fields (EMFs) as a hazard that we should have done more to prevent. Let's be clear. The verdict is still out on how dangerous EMFs…
Connecting with Nature: Biophilic Design
Phobias or Philias [caption id="attachment_186" align="alignright" width="278"] Quiz: How Connected to Nature Are You?[/caption] Everyone knows that a phobia is an aversion or fear associated with a particular thing or situation. But who knew that the opposite of a phobia is a philia? That’s an attraction or positive feelings towards…
Who Are Your High-Performing Building Partners?
In a word, EVERYONE should be your high-performance building partner! If you have been involved in any aspect of creating or remodeling buildings in a way that improves the health of building occupants, you know that there are a lot of entities involved. And every single one can push a…
Fitwel. Just Another Gold Star?
There are many opportunities to show the world that you care about the impact your building has on the planet and the people who use it. LEED, WEL, Energy-Star, Passive House, Enterprise Communities, and on and on… But you may not have heard of the world’s leading certification system that…