The Glasgow School of Art Mackintosh Environmental Research Unit (MEARU) has conducted research into the health and wellbeing of building occupants in new homes, and issued a film designed to help people appreciate the effects of poor ventilation in overly airtight places.
MEARU writes:
Make sure you ventilate your home is a key message that people need to grasp if we are to help reduce exposure to indoor pollutants and chemicals that contribute to risks of ill health such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). This was emphasised today 26 April 2016 with the launch of an awareness-raising film created by experts in health and wellbeing in buildings in the Mackintosh Environmental Architecture Research Unit(MEARU) at The Glasgow School of Art. The film aims to help more people become aware of the impact of poor ventilation on health and general living environments.
‘Poor indoor air quality, particularly in bedrooms, is hard for people to detect,’ says Professor Tim Sharpe, Head MEARU which has undertaken detailed research in this area in partnership with Innovate UK. ’There are clear links between poor ventilation and ill-health so people need to be aware of the build up of CO2 and other pollutants in their homes and their potential impact on health.’
‘Modern homes are increasingly airtight and can also contain a great number of pollutants and chemicals, many of which can have serious health effects. It is clear from this research that buildings are simply not well ventilated and this could seriously impact on occupants health, especially vunerable people such as those with COPD and asthma,’ he adds.
Based at the Mackintosh School of Architecture ?at the GSA MEARU has a 15-year track record of high quality research into environmental architecture. ?It operates at a unique interface between architectural design, science based research and building occupants. ?The ventilation research complements work undertaken by MEARU into other impacts on air quality in buildings including the widely reported domestic laundry research
View the GSA press release
View the BBC article ‘Pollutant warning over ‘airtight’ modern homes’
View the MEARU video on home ventilation
