Background: In several countries, it is allowed to live in basements or semi-basements. Starting from their definitions, they are buildings partly below the ground floor with reduced access of natural light, air exchange, etc. Basements’ features and the structural and finishing aspects might pose risks to human health (respiratory, pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases, etc.). Considering the strategic role of the designer for healthy indoor environments, the aim of the paper is to analyze the State of the Art of architectural and engineering databases around the potential health effects of living in basements and the healthier design strategies to be adopted for avoiding biological, chemical and physical risks. Methods: The systematic review investigates several papers from DOAJ, Avery Index and EBSCO databases, through the terms “basement”, “health” and “potential risks”. The analysis identifies and describes the structural and design factors of basements and defines the framework to describe the mechanisms through which these factors impact the physical, mental and social wellbeing of individuals. Results: Although the systematic review highlights a reduced attention to health risks and data analysis, it reports the evidences of design solutions harmful to inhabitants and workers in basements. Starting from biological risks, as well as chemical and physical ones, the paper lists the main design solutions that permit to guarantee healthy environments and that do not endanger the user’s health status. Conclusions: Starting from the knowledge around the sick building syndrome, and because building codes and norms currently permit to design living and working spaces in basements, the paper wants to highlight the role of the designer, who can guarantee healthy living conditions through a technical approach for each climatic and geographical context.

The strategic role of the designer for healthy indoor environments: a systematic review of the literature from databases for architects and engineers on health risks of basements for residential use and the healthier design strategies to be adopted.

Marco Gola;Andrea Rebecchi;Maddalena Buffoli;Stefano Capolongo
2018-01-01

Abstract

Background: In several countries, it is allowed to live in basements or semi-basements. Starting from their definitions, they are buildings partly below the ground floor with reduced access of natural light, air exchange, etc. Basements’ features and the structural and finishing aspects might pose risks to human health (respiratory, pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases, etc.). Considering the strategic role of the designer for healthy indoor environments, the aim of the paper is to analyze the State of the Art of architectural and engineering databases around the potential health effects of living in basements and the healthier design strategies to be adopted for avoiding biological, chemical and physical risks. Methods: The systematic review investigates several papers from DOAJ, Avery Index and EBSCO databases, through the terms “basement”, “health” and “potential risks”. The analysis identifies and describes the structural and design factors of basements and defines the framework to describe the mechanisms through which these factors impact the physical, mental and social wellbeing of individuals. Results: Although the systematic review highlights a reduced attention to health risks and data analysis, it reports the evidences of design solutions harmful to inhabitants and workers in basements. Starting from biological risks, as well as chemical and physical ones, the paper lists the main design solutions that permit to guarantee healthy environments and that do not endanger the user’s health status. Conclusions: Starting from the knowledge around the sick building syndrome, and because building codes and norms currently permit to design living and working spaces in basements, the paper wants to highlight the role of the designer, who can guarantee healthy living conditions through a technical approach for each climatic and geographical context.
2018
basements; healthy living environments; design strategies
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11311/1061673
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