Healthy Building: The Case for Visual Wood

Photo: Prince George Airport

Healthy Building: The Case for Visual Wood

David Fell - FPInnovations

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© FPInnovations 2014!

�The Wood Products Council� is a Registered Provider with The American Institute of Architects Continuing Education Systems (AIA/CES), Provider #G516.

Credit(s) earned on completion of this course will be reported to AIA CES for AIA members. Certificates of Completion for both AIA members and non-AIA members are available upon request.

This course is registered with AIA CES for continuing professional education. As such, it does not include content that may be deemed or construed to be an approval or endorsement by the AIA of any material of construction or any method or manner of handling, using, distributing, or dealing in any material or product. _______________________________________

Questions related to specific materials, methods, and services will be addressed at the conclusion of this presentation.

Course Description

!  Recent studies, along with evidence emerging from Europe and Asia, suggest that the use of wood indoors lowers stress reactivity of the sympathetic nervous system—which is associated with lower blood pressure, lower heart-rate, lower psychological stress, lower susceptibility to illness, and a better ability to focus attention. This is relevant both in the context of evidence-based design, which studies the effects of building design on occupants (among other things), and biopholic design, which considers the general affinity humans have for nature and addresses it through design elements and materials. This presentation will provide an overview of the evidence and mechanisms through which wood can affect human health, and its increasing use in educational, office and other environments.

Learning Objectives

!  Understand the mechanisms by which building design and material selection affects human health on a psychological /physiological level.

!  Understand the effects of wood and non-wood materials on stress reactivity.

!  Explore the differences between cognitive perceptions of health and pre-cognitive physiological indicators of stress. (Does the thinking mind know best?)

!  Discuss the rationale for and potential outcomes of increasing the use of wood in educational, office and other environments.

Healthy Building: The Case for Visual Wood

Photo: Prince George Airport

Why do you like to see wood used in buildings?

Warm

Calming

Healthy Natural

Photo: UBC Forest Sciences

Research Results: Health Effects of Outdoor Nature

! Lower blood pressure Ulrich et al. (1991), Parsons et al. (1998) ,Hartig et al. (2003)

! Lower heart rate Laumann et al. (2003)

! Faster recover from illness Ulrich (1984)

! Lower pain perception Lohr and Pearson-Mimms, 2001

! Better creative task performance Shibata and Suzuki, 2004

! Better concentration task performance Hartig et al. (1991), Cimprich (1992)

! Greater focused attention Tennessen and Cimprich (1995), Hartig et al. (2003)

! Lower aggression Kuo and Sullivan, 2001

Where do Canadians spend their time?

Car6%

Outdoors6%

Indoors88%

Source: Leech et al., 1997

Foundations

Establishing an evolutionary preference for nature

Evolutionary Theories: Complexity theory

!  Kazimir Malevich (1979-1935)

!  White on White, 1918

!  Suprematism, 1916

!  Bureau and Room, 1913

Evolutionary Theories: Prospect-refuge theory

Appleton, 1975

Evolutionary Theories Affective Primacy

Zajonc, 1980

Evolutionary Theories: Savannah theory

Balling and Falk, 1982 Orians and Heerwagen, 1992

Biophilia

" Innate attraction of humans to life and life-like processes

Wilson, 1984 Kellert, 2008

Evolutionary Reponses and Urban Living

" Urban living is very new to humans on an evolutionary scale

" Innate responses to environments are not adapted to urban living

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%

1800 1900 2000

Year

RuralUrban

Source: US Dept. of the Census

Milestone Research

" Ulrich (1984)

" Hospital patients with view of park rather than of buildings: " Shorter hospital recovery (0.74 day) " Lower use of strong analgesics after first

day of recovery

Benefits of Nature Indoors - Plants

" Lower blood pressure "  Lohr et al., 1996

" Lower pain perception "  Lohr and Pearson-Mimms, 2001

" Fewer health conditions "  Fjeld et al., 1998, 2000

" Better task performance " proofreading "  Lohr et al., 1996

"  creativity "  Shibata and Suzuki, 2002

Can wood in the built environment provide some of the health benefits as outdoor

nature?

Photo: Prince George Airport

Wood Visual Response

! Pilot studies in Japan

! Lower blood pressure !  Sakurgawa et al., 2005; 2008

!  Tsunetsuga et al., 2002; 2007

! Lower heart rate

!  Tsunetsuga et al., 2002; 2007

! Austrian wood classrooms

! Lower heart rate (6 bpm)

!  Increased HRV !  Keltz et al., 2011

Wood Tactile Response

!  Contact with wood produced no increase in systolic blood pressure

!  Acrylic surface

!  Raised BP when room cold

!  Aluminum

!  Raised BP at room temperature and when cold

Sakurgawa et al., 2008

Original research 1: Does the application of wood in the built environment reduce stress?

Study Setup

! Office environment context

! Wood and plant manipulations

! Physiological measurements

! Introduced stressor

! Undergraduate student sample

! n = 119

Office Design

! Same office used for all setups

! Identical furniture

! Birch wood veneer

! White melamine and white painted

! Blocked design

Wood White Total

Plants 30 30 60

Artifacts 30 29 59

Total 60 59 119

Operationalizing Stress

! Autonomic Nervous System

! Sympathetic Nervous System ! prepares the body to react to stress ! �fight or flight� response

! Parasympathetic Nervous System ! relaxes the body and promotes

maintenance and recovery functions ! �rest and digest� response

ECG - Sample Waveforms

!  HRV based on inter beat interval

Skin Conductivity - Sample Waveform

Test Baseline Recovery

Analysis and Results

Wood and Plant Effects - SCL

Baseline Test Recovery Baseline Test Recovery

Wood Effects Plant Effects

Skin Conductance Level Wood / Non-wood

! Largest difference in baseline period during apprehension stress

! High stress makes environment irrelevant (test)

! Rooms diverge as recovery progresses

Baseline Test Recovery

Skin Conductance Responses Wood / Non-wood

! Normal rate is 2 per minute

! High level of apprehension stress in non-wood room in baseline period

! Note the responses in recovery when apprehension is alleviated

Baseline Recovery Te

st

Does the application of wood in the built environment reduce stress?

Wood Effects

Nervous System Measure Baseline Test Recovery

Sympathetic SCL p< 0.05 p< 0.10

SCR p< 0.05 p< 0.05 p< 0.05

Parasympathetic HRV

Answer: Yes

What does all this mean?

! Wood visual surfaces reduce sympathetic nervous system activation in occupants of built environments.

…..WOOD REDUCES STRESS

Actually, wood reduces the added stress load of being in a built

environment.

! New attribute for wood = Health ! Wood as a biophilic material

! Wood is a tool for practitioners of evidence-based design

Wood without context

Pilot Study

Measures

Affective

!  Sympathetic activation

!  Skin conductance level

! Mixed Autonomic

!  Interbeat interval

Cognitive

!  1-5 agreement scale

!  Artificial

!  Distracting

!  Happy

!  Healthy

! Natural

!  Simple

! Warm

Method

Recruitment

!  Age: 25-35

! Male / Female quota: 15 /15

! N=29

Data collection

!  Curtain closed 30s

!  Curtain open 120s

!  Questions 45-60s

!  Curtain closed

!  Change sample (and order)

!  Repeat x 7

Sample Diversity

!  Light and dark

! Wood vs. bamboo

! Wood vs. faux wood

! Wood vs. solid colour

!  Presence of knots and grain

Pine (knotty, flat grain)

Douglas fir (vertical grain)

Walnut (mixed grain)

Maple (flat grain)

Maple Faux (flat grain)

Bamboo

Cherry (flat grain)

White

Pre-cognitive Response

to Wood

Skin Conductance Level

Self-report / Cognitive Response

to wood

Healthy

Natural

Warm

Limitations

!  Low sample size

!  Short exposure (2 minutes vs. 10)

!  Response conditioning after multiple samples

Colour in Wood

Lightness/Darkness (L*)

0 +100

Wes

tern

larc

h

red

alde

r

Asp

en

Dou

glas

fir

broa

dlea

f map

le

red

oak

Wes

tern

hem

lock

W

hite

birc

h

amab

ilis

fir

lodg

epol

e pi

ne

tam

arac

k

suba

lpin

e fir

suga

r map

le

Mean = 67.3 Range=26.7 Low= 57.0 High=83.7

Redness/Greenness (a*)

Whi

te b

irch

-100 +100 0

Mean = 11.6 Range=16.4 Low= 2.9 High= 19.3

Asp

en

red

alde

r

Doug

las

fir

broa

dlea

f map

le

red

oak

Wes

tern

hem

lock

amab

ilis fi

r

lodg

epol

e pi

ne

tam

arac

k

suba

lpin

e fir

suga

r map

le

Wes

tern

larc

h

Yellowness/Blueness (b*)

Architectural Psychology �Materials� Toolkit

" Colour

" Plants

" Light "  Natural "  Planned

" Water

" Fabrics

" Wood

" Biomimicry

" Views

Photo: Mount Pleasant Community Centre

Applying environmental psychology in architecture

Are these properties desirable for your clients?

" Lower blood pressure

" Lower heart rate

" Fewer colds

" Faster recover from illness

" Lower pain perception

" Better creative task performance

" Better concentration task performance

" Greater focused attention

" Lower aggression

Applying wood in public buildings

3 Durability strategies

1. Durability by nature

2. Durability by treatment

3. Durability by design

Durability by nature

Durability by treatment

Durability by design

Photo: UBC Life Scineces Photo: UBC Computer Engineering

Durability by design

Photo: UBC Forest Sciences

Durability by design

Photo: Hillcrest Pool

Questions? This concludes The American Institute of Architects Continuing Education

Systems Course

David Fell FPInnovations david.fell@fpinnovations.ca

This presentation was developed by a third party and is not funded by WoodWorks or the softwood lumber check-off.

Acknowledgements

! Dr. Robert Kozak

! Dr. David Cohen

! Dr. Russ Parsons

! Dr. Mike Meitner

! University of British Columbia

! FPInnovations

! International Environmental Institute, Hokkaido, Japan

! Natural Resources Canada

Questions? David Fell

david.fell@fpinnovations.ca