Made At Uni unveiled its Lifesavers campaign today, Thursday 16 May 2019. Highlighting the remarkable work done in Britain’s universities, this latest campaign focuses on examples of ground-breaking projects in healthcare. The Glasgow School of Art is a world-leader in research in the area of ventilation and health.
The impact of Indoor Air Quality on residents health and the need for good ventilation to maintain it are increasingly important. Having proper ventilation in the home helps minimise the growth of mould spores and reduce exposure to indoor pollutants, both of which are known causes of asthma and contribute to risks of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
The GSA’s Mackintosh Environmental Architecture Research Unit (MEARU) is in the forefront of researching the impact of poor ventilation and communicating the issues in a way that householders can easily understand, and housebuilders / policymakers take on board.
Over the last 10 years MEARU has undertaken major projects including looking at laundry habits and lack of ventilation in modern, air-tight homes, and is currently working on one of three AHRC-funded projects led by the GSA all of which are looking at combatting Anti-Microbial Resistance.
Project 1: Think before you hang your washing round the radiator!
In a major research project led by Professor Colin Porteous and Rosalie Menon, MEARU looked at laundry habits across a wide demographic mix of residents in the West of Scotland, and undertook detailed analysis of air quality and energy consumption relating to domestic laundry habits. It highlighted three key areas in which our current habits of indoor laundry drying cause problems: environmental, economic and health.
The research was shared in a user-friendly way and the story went viral. Coverage ranged from across the BBC networks to UK and international broadcast (180 radio outlets in the USA alone) print and online, all raising awareness of the issue and provoking significant public debate. It also demonstrated how house builders can help address the issue through a successful exemplar: Queen’s Cross Housing association which had incorporated a communal laundry area underneath their 1960s tower blocks (a modern day “steamie”). Findings of the research in terms of recommendations on provision of external drying areas, covered balconies and communal facilities in new build housing were communicated to house builders and policy makers.
Project 2: Ventilate right
Since 2010 MEARU has also been undertaking research with residents in hundreds of households based in properties built to modern airtight standards that examines how buildings actually perform in use. The research, which was funded by the Innovate UK Building Performance Evaluation programme, is undertaken by Professor Tim Sharpe and Janice Foster. It has revealed widespread evidence of poor ventilation, with bedrooms being a particular problem, and there was little awareness of poor indoor air quality and its potential consequences. This led to research done on behalf of the Scottish Building Standards Directorate looking at occupant interactions with ventilation and has led to changes in the building standards. Further work which looked at mechanical ventilation found that while it can deliver good results, houses are entirely reliant on it and when it goes wrong there is extremely poor ventilation.
Working closely with residents in a Hanover Housing Association development, experts from MEARU created a user-friendly approach to communicating the benefits of proper ventilation. An easily understandable film, hosted on the GSA website and shared widely with Hanover Housing residents, communicated the benefits of proper ventilation in preventing the build-up of the spores that can cause COPDs. The project was again launched with a major media campaign spreading the word about how health issues can be avoided by using correct ventilation.
Subsequent to this Professor Sharpe, was selected to participate as a topic expert in a National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Public Health Committee in Indoor Air Quality; and is currently participating in a Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) and the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) working group The Effects of Indoor Air on Children’s Health Across the Lifecourse.
The knowledge has also been used to inform a number of new design projects, including proviidng advice for the Gannochy Trust which has utilised this knowledge to improve the design of a new housing scheme due for completion this spring.
Project Three: Anti-Microbial Resistance in the home
Led by Prof Tim Sharpe and Grainne McGill, this study emerged from MEARU’s earlier work communicating the importance of proper ventilation to residents of new build housing (in order to help minimise the build-up of bacteria). In recent years commercial interests and building legislation have largely dictated design issues, and the ways that buildings have been designed and constructed has changed significantly, mainly as a response to issues of climate change. It is becoming increasingly clear that levels of ventilation, and consequent standards of indoor air quality (IAQ) are reducing, and there is emerging evidence that this might have negative health impacts. People – especially vulnerable groups such as the old and very young – spend a great deal of time in the home, and so any change to the indoor biome may significantly affect occupants’ health. This study is assessing contemporary housing to determine the ventilation characteristics and relating this to the presence and nature of micro-organisms in the home. It specifically aims to identify factors that would impact on the presence and proliferation of anti-microbial resistant microorganisms. It anticipated that the outcomes could lead to change in the way that we design buildings.
For further information contact:
Lesley Booth
07799414474
press@gsa.ac.uk
@GSofAMedia