Healthy Homes
Homes need to be healthy. we all spend so much time in our homes, and so making them healthy and joyful places to be is important. This is a major part of our commitment to designing good, fit for purpose, buildings.
Building healthy homes also tends to make them more environmentally sound. The principals set out below overlap with our information pages on materials and how to find ways to build, and finish interior spaces.
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MATERIALS / ENERGY / HEALTH
SPACE
Our sense of well-being is influenced by the physical environment we inhabit. Better space, not necessarily more space, which is not always possible. Well designed living areas that promote a variety of size and character are important to how our homes feel.
Prospect and Refuge theory, we often associate with humans in outdoor environments, but it can just as well be applied in the context of our homes, the interior layout and design. For example the feeling of refuge one might have sitting in a small study area on a half landing, with a view down and across a larger living area, or the arrangement of seating that faces the entry points to the room.
In order to give the impression that the entire house is larger, it is often necessary to be generous with one important feature, such as the location of the main windows or an open stairwell, which makes the house feel spacious despite it not being so large. We often illustrate the spaces in section (side views) as well as in plans, which helps visualise the volumes and how they relate to each other.
One of the methods we use to create more space is with taller ceilings and windows. This is why we so often place the lintel or beam above a window in the void space between the ceiling and the floor above so the frame of the window is at celling height. This also of course allows more light to penetrate deeper into the building.
It is often not necessary for the entire ceiling to be taller. Occasionally, volume can be created in unexpected areas, for example by making a new roof window protrude higher than the ceiling or by carving out a portion of a loft storage space above to increase the impact of larger, airier rooms. Its good to have a contrast of room/space areas, some more expansive other more compact and cozy.
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LIGHT
Light illuminates space (This is one of the fundamental aspect of architecture) and is one of the most fundamental of human needs. The importance of the way light enters the building is key to making the space work well and providing a level of natural light that is functional, varies in intensity and generally adds to our sense of well-being.
Exposure to natural light connects us to our Circadian Rhythms and makes us aware of the natural passage of time. There are proven links between low light exposure and diminished health.
When we look at how we place windows and roof lights we consider that a horizontal rooflight will let in 3 times the amount of light into the space as the same sized window in a vertical wall. How light falls on internal surfaces can really make a difference to the ambience of rooms. Take for example when windows are placed close to the corner of rooms, as in many of the interiors painted by the Dutch artist Vermeer. The effect highlights the wall texture and creates reflected light from the wall colour as well as direct light to the room.
When we extend existing buildings it can sometimes create deep poorly lit space in the original house. We consider the best ways to bring light into the depth of a house. The Victorian terrace is renowned for this dark area in the middle of the house. When we designed our Semi-Encase project, we designed the first-floor landing open to a vaulted roof to bring light down from above to light the darker area of the ground floor hall.
Rooflights in single story buildings can be placed right up against the existing building as this is the darkest part of the house. See our project Matching Lane. We also try and place utility space, such as the laundry and plant rooms, in the areas that are more difficult to bring natural light to. We look more at windows under the below heading ‘Views’
A key element is shading and control of natural light, especially as direct sunlight from south facing aspects will soon overheat a building if the design of the openings and overhangs are not considered.
AIR
Air, fresh air, is vital for our physical and mental health. Having windows to open so that sensory nature, the smells of grass and rain and breezes can drift in and calm us is vital and reduces stress. To improve natural ventilation a cross vented space is best with windows to two sides. There are guidelines as to the depth of space to be cross vented.
Another ventilation method is to have stack ventilation where a high level opening draws air up through the building with the advantage of the warmer air rising to escape pulling in cooler air to the lower levels.
Poor air quality can be improved by house plants and air filters. Although we are moving, not fast enough, to having cleaner city air by reducing pollutants, it can help to keep air healthy by being aware of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and other toxic materials that are used to make products we have in the home. Cross reference to our pages on materials.
The ultimate system for fresh air, which is also heated if required, is a MVHR system (Mechanical ventilation and heat recovery) see our energy pages. But this is still expensive equipment, and the work required to install such systems can also be costly.
We focus on providing good user-friendly openable windows and vents that can be adjusted easily to provide air flow throughout the home. Combined with a good level of airtightness, the home can be effectively heated and cooled.
NATURE
Being in contact with nature has been unequivocally shown to be beneficial to our health and well-being. There are many ways to incorporate natural elements into residential projects from simply having indoor plants to planters being part of the design, to how the building is designed to give access and views of the external garden areas surrounding the house.
Research has shown that viewing natural scenes, such as greenery and water features, can enhance recovery from stress by positively affecting autonomic function. Roger Ulrich’s Study (1984) demonstrated that patients recovering from surgery who had views of nature, had shorter hospital stays compared to those with views of a brick wall.
Many of our projects consider the adjoining landscape by the use of glazed sliding doors. Just replacing old windows with new narrower framed ones can have a significant increase on the width of view. Oriel windows are a lovely way of making a window seat. Even small external spaces can be planted close-up to the building to bring plants just a few feet from the internal room.
In our Stourdale Close project we placed the new kitchen/dining building and a glazed walkway to form a courtyard, an inner sanctum, where views of the external area were always present as one moved through the house. Our Glass House Project went further than most to immerse the occupants in the natural landscape setting. Glass is not the most efficient form of insulation and so we suggest a balance between solid and glazed walls that will still provide views out but will be environmentally more forgiving.