9 Foundations of Healthy Buildings

I came across this program at the Harvard School of Public health in a recent Washington Post article on how to safely return students to school. The article follows a SMART outline with a set of critical steps that can be leveraged for interior spaces. The dramatic new challenges of occupying buildings for education, work, entertainment, and more are driving essential best practices for public health and novel ideas for the future.

We spend as much as 90% of our time indoors, the Healthy Buildings program offers a sound model with 9 areas to consider in detail for home, school, and work. A downloadable report expands on each area and offers more information to help evaluate and plan for healthy buildings.

There have been studies in the past considering the impact on poor interior air quality with elevated CO2 levels on cogitative performance. On the Healthy Buildings site you will find a new study recording significant improvements with increased ventilation.

A more comprehensive study can be found in the recently released book, Healthy Buildings, How Indoor Spaces Drive Performance and Productivity.