On Thursday 27 October, the autumn conference 'Architecture and Health' will take place, organised by the Construction Department, in collaboration with KIVI Department of Industrial Design, KIVI-Chair Architecture in Health, Arnhem University of Applied Sciences and MaterialDesign Foundation.
Now, does a building make you sick or does it make you feel better?
On the one hand, increasing environmental measures threaten to make the indoor climate of buildings increasingly unhealthy; on the other hand, architecture can, in consultation with modern techniques and insights, contribute more and more to well-being. It seems contradictory, but is this really the case?
During this symposium, we will take a closer look at the creation of healthy buildings from the perspective of commissioning, materials, technology (domotics) and human behaviour.
Area of tension between environmentally friendly and people-friendly building
Most people spend more time inside buildings than outside. Not infrequently, the indoor climate is unhealthier than the outdoor climate.
One consequence of the introduction of the energy performance standard is that the indoor climate in homes may deteriorate. A third of all homes already struggle with an unhealthy living environment. And this will only get worse if the air permeability of buildings decreases even further. On the positive side, not only can architecture adversely affect health, but the reverse is also true. In various ways, architecture can contribute to people's physical and mental health. Architecture is even capable of promoting healing processes and in completely different ways.
Physical and virtual architecture
In the context of this topic, it is necessary to distinguish between the physical and the virtual building. A building facilitates human behaviour and this takes place partly through physical solutions, but increasingly also through virtual solutions. Not infrequently, virtual solutions can replace physical solutions. One example is signage where fixed signs can be replaced by displays and colour-changing materials. Another example is the application of various techniques with which glass can be made opaque to replace physical blinds or curtains.
On the occasion of this congress, the explicit point of departure is that modern architecture is an integration of physical and virtual design.
Would you also like to attend the autumn congress 'Architecture and health'? Then register here
