The Health Petal

The Health Petal: Maximizing physical and psychological health and well being.

According to the Living Building Challenge 2.0:

"The intent of the Health Petal is to focus on the major conditions that must be present to create robust, healthy spaces, rather than to address all of the potential ways that an interior environment could be compromised. Most buildings provide substandard conditions for health and productivity. There is a direct correlation between decreased comfort and increased environmental impacts, since solutions in the physical environment to improve well-being are often energy-intensive and wasteful."

I know... sounds a little "new age-y" right?  I try to think of it as the Challenge architects want us to live comfortably and to breathe fresh air. How many of us, in an effort to save a little bit of money, turn down the heat just a little too far? Or how many times have you entered someone's house and all you smell is the fresh carpet that they just had installed?  That's formaldehyde (form·al·de·hyde) folks and a host of other nasty chemicals off-gassing from your brand new carpeting. That new paint smell?  Same thing.  Chemicals.

Big deal right?  Hey, I'm all about chemicals. When I was in the Job Corps, we used to paint every day. Every day we would clean our brushes with our bare hands in that vat of paint thinner that was half saturated with that "donated" paint [read: lead based paint].  Do I have cancer? Not yet.  But, even then, and even us stupid kids in the Job Corps would joke about how we were all going to get cancer someday. Nowadays there are some people that are so sensitive to chemicals that they can't even be around certain things in new houses or they get sick.  Chemicals have their place but it's pretty silly to go around thinking that you can breathe them and nothing will ever happen.So, we have the Health Petal and it's three Imperatives.

The Health Petal:

• Civilized Environment = Every occupiable space must have operable windows that provide access to fresh air and daylight.
  
  
• Healthy Air = To promote good indoor air quality, Renovations, Buildings, and buildings completed as part of Neighborhood projects must meet the following criteria:
   
• Entryways must have an external dirt track-in system and an internal dirt track-in system contained within a separate entry space.
• All kitchens, bathrooms, copy rooms, janitorial closets and chemical storage spaces must be separately ventilated and exhaust directly to outside air.
• Ventilation rates must be designed to comply with ASHRAE 62.1-2007 and equipment must be installed to monitor levels of carbon dioxide (CO2), temperature and humidity.
• Smoking must be prohibited within the project boundary.
  
  Conduct air quality testing at pre-occupancy and after nine months of occupancy to measure levels of Respirable Suspended Particulates (RSP) and Total Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOC).
• Biophilia = The project must be designed to include elements that nurture the innate human attraction to natural systems and processes. Each of the six established Biophilic Design Elements must be represented for every 2,000 m2 of the project:
  
  
• Environmental features
• Natural shapes and forms
• Natural patterns and processes 
• Light and space 
• Place-based relationships
• Evolved human-nature relationships

Remember wayyyy back (last week) when I told you it was going to get a little touchy feely? Biophilia is what I meant. Pete Dubois from the county says that this is more of an "intent" thing. We have looked at the Biophilia book referenced and it all looks like pleasant shapes and room design. Like Fung-sheui kind of. We are planning on tackling this part by making some allowances to preserve the view, allow in as much light as possible, make our house blend in as much as possible with color and size [Read: our house is not going to be Southfork on the Washougal River. Please tell me that you got that reference or I am truly too old to be writing a blog.  :) ] .

As far as the "Evolved human-nature relationships"... you've got us there. Seems to me that the Indians when Columbus landed had a pretty good "human-nature" relationship so shouldn't it be "uncivilized human-nature relationships"?  We are planning on going back to the Great Depression sans the killing all of our animals for food. I doubt that PJ and No-Name would appreciate being dinner and the joy that they give us is more valuable than any chicken dinner their bodies would afford us.

I'll let you ponder this latest Petal. The Materials Petal is next. Have a great Labor Day weekend everyone!

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