Housing & Health - depts.washington.edu

Lesson 8: Housing January 23, 2006

ENVIR 202: Population & Health 1

ENVIR 202: Lesson 8 1

ENVIR 202: Lesson No. 8

Housing& Health

Christina SmithChristina SmithUniversity of WashingtonUniversity of WashingtonEnvironmental AnthropologyEnvironmental Anthropology

January 23, 2006January 23, 2006


Lecture outline:1. Why is housing important to health?

2. Traditional/vernacular housing

3. Modern housing

4. Sick houses and houses on life support

5. Home/environment interactions

6. CASE STUDIESHousing health and Katrina

The sustainable housing movement

Traditional housing examples


Definitions of “Shelter”

House as a “third skin”

A shielding or screening structure,especially against weather

A place of refuge, retreat, ortemporary lodging in distress

Asylum

Protection




Many animals build homes:Paper wasps

Prairie dog towns

Chimpanzee leaf-and-stick shelters


Frank Lloyd Wright …“What is architecture, anyway? Is it the vastcollection of the various buildings which havebeen built to please the varying tastes of thevarious lords of mankind? I think not. No, Iknow that architecture is life, or at least it islife itself taking form and therefore it is thetruest record of life as it was lived in the worldyesterday, as it is lived today or ever will belived. So architecture I know to be a GreatSpirit. It can never be something which consistsof the buildings which have been built by man onearth…Architecture is that great living creativespirit which from generation to generation, fromage to age, proceeds, persists, creates,according to the nature of man, and hiscircumstances as they change. That is reallyarchitecture.”


Emilio Ambasz…

“Architecture is not the answer to thepragmatic needs of man but theanswer to his passions andimagination.”

Ambasz Planetario




Nietzsche…

“In architecture the pride ofman, his triumph overgravitation, his will to power,assume a visible form.Architecture is a sort of oratoryof power by means of forms.”(1888)

F. Nietzsche, philosopher


Healthy HousingHealthy housing must address at least 3kinds of wellbeing:

1. MentalStressful environments can disruptphysical health

2. PhysicalReactions to mold, toxic chemicals, heat,cold…

3. SocialSupports cultural traditions, mores, familyinteraction


What is a “healthy”house?Various cultures may have differentinterpretations

Homes may be energy intensive or lowenergy, but all seek to accomplish thesame health goals:

Regulate temperature

Keep out insects, rodents, other pests

Protect from rain/sun/snow/etc

Protect occupants from predators/hostile outsiders

Provide a haven for beneficial social interaction




House Problems:All houses, traditional ormodern/technical have somepotential for the following problems:

Rodents, insects, etc.

Degeneration—leaks, structural damage overtime

Dust

Mold/other allergens

Too hot/cold

Catastrophic instantaneous collapse (infloods, fires, hurricanes)


Leaky roof Fumes from chimney

Cold in winterDamp, mildew

Rats and

mice, roaches

Crumbling

foundation

Electrical/gas heating

and cooling =

expensive and hard on

the environment

Example: An Edwardian House:

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS


Other housing problems:Crowding—how much space does anindividual need?

Inadequate toilet facilities

Lack of light—depression, vitamindeficiencies

Fragile materials, or those inappropriatefor the climate




Traditional style housing:(pre-industrial)

Built from mostlylocally availablematerials

Earth, stone,wood, grasses,animal bones…

Mostly built by theowners/residents


What is “traditional”?Necessarily “vernacular”—built to suit thelocal environment and individual needs

Unique local architectural styles tended toevolve slowly over many generations,becoming increasingly suited to specificlocal needs and opportunities.

“Form follows function” ideology. Housestyle is based on climate, geology,available materials and social/culturalneeds


Living with NatureHomes were traditionally acompromise betweenenvironmental constraintsand cultural values.

Use what materials arelocally available

Comfort/ease ofmaintenance may besacrificed to statusdisplays

Must build to climateconstraints—the Palace ofVersailles couldn’t haveexisted in the arctic.




Ndebele painted house,

South Africa

Vernacular Housing“The vernacular is a communal art, not produced bya few intelligences or specialists, but by thespontaneous and continuing activity of a wholepeople with a common heritage, acting under acommunity of experience.”

(Pietro Belluschi)


Indonesian traditional housing, Sarawak

Traditional vs. “Modern”Advantages of traditional housing and localmaterials as compared to modern industrialmaterials.

Usually cheaper to build

Low energy costs

Small environmental“footprint” (impacts)

Usually abundant materials

Few toxic volatile organiccompounds (VOC’s)

Very well adapted to specific environments

Some natural materials last longer


Disadvantages to traditional housing

Can be more pest-ridden than modern houses(Modern houses have chemicals, sealants, easyaccess to hot water, and other amenities to keepout bugs and rodents.)

No electricity = no modern refrigerator or t.v.

Not as much temperature control ability

Some natural materials may decay quickly(grasses)

“Status” concerns. Many cultures now think of amodern western style house with all amenities asa sign of prosperity




More traditional vernacular housing:

The NW longhouse:


Longhouse characteristics:

Cedar

Multi family


Industrialization3 changes to housing brought by theIndustrial Revolution:

1. Specialization—new materials, technology, anddesign require specialized training andequipment

2. Standardization—factory pieces allow for a highdegree of sameness—end of the locally-adaptedtradition

3. Commodification—houses rarely built solely byowner. Homes and parts frequently boughtand sold




Modern Homes: Advantages“Better living withchemicals”—sterilesurfaces, fewer pests

More temperaturecontrol

Electricity for heat,cooking, refrigeration


Modern homes: disadvantagesCostly (average cost in U-district =$500,000

Energy intensive

Larger environmental impact—uses morenatural resources, more waste output.

Not well-adapted to localenvironment—too hot/cold, moldy, dry,etc. without high-tech help

Not necessarily well-adapted to individualsocial needs


Suburban-style Western Homes:

“A house on themoon”

Unrelated tolocalenvironments




“Houses on Life Support”Require electrical input to maintainhealthy atmosphere

Electric (or gas) heat, cooling, light,ventilation

Very energy-intensive, uses a lot ofresources

Quickly become damp, moldy, hot, coldwithout “life support” systems.

Inside showers and cooking facilities put astrain on these systems, adding moistureto impermeable walls.


“Sick Houses”

Mold

Dampness/rot

Rodent/insect feces/viruses

VOCs

Never enough ventilation?


Sick house example: MOLD




House-Environment-Social Interactions

“One cannot over-emphasize the fact thateverything-meaning andvalue as well as appro-priateness of individualhuman conduct or theenergy state of an atom,depends upon the inter-action of the thing itselfand its environment.”

-- Cyril Stanley SmithDelhi squatter housing


Poverty and Housing

Inadequate materials = inadequatehouses

Inadequate heat, cooling, ventilation

The poor are more likely to live in“sick houses” and be unable toafford to fix them.

Hence, it is more likely that the poorwill contract house-related illnesses


“Slums”:

Hong Kong Columbia




Slums continued…“Warehouses” of the poor andmarginalized

Not usually government sanctioned

Lack of adequate sanitationfacilities—open sewers, no waste disposal

Crowding

Inadequate materials

No or little electricity

No local materials adaptation—people haveto take what they can get.


Some Solutions

to highcosts andresourcedepletion:


Modern “Sustainable Housing”

“Architecture, unlike other arts, is notan escape from, but an acceptance of,the human condition, including itsmany frailties as well as the technicaladvances of its scientists andengineers.”

-- Pietro Belluschi




Sustainable housing movement

LEEDs designation

“Green Building”

Sustainable Communities

Health benefits of the new“sustainable” houses


Adobe house, New Mexico

New sustainable housingthe adobe house . . .

Built on an ancientpattern

Requires little lumber

Thick walls insulatefrom heat and coldextremes

Clay is cheap, locallyavailable, and durable

But don’t get it wet!This kind of house willmelt and mildew--itonly works in thedesert.


Pietro Belluschi…

“Architecture, unlike other arts, isnot an escape from, but anacceptance of, the human condition,including its many frailties as well asthe technical advances of itsscientists and engineers.”




Case Studies 1: Katrina

Hurricane Katrina’s effects onhousing and health:

Mold

Heat

Mass destruction

Severe damage = dangerous conditions


Case Studies 2: Traditional Housing

Bantu House


Different ideals:“While Western civilization withits enormous technicalachievements in building longago succeeded in making thehouse independent of climatechanges, in the Buddhist worldnature has never beenconsidered as something to befought against, conquered, andmastered.”

-- Heinrich EngelThe Japanese House, 1964




The Japanese House(Previous quote might be a little idealistic)

Nature is mastered, but in different ways

Movable paper screens allow airventilation

Raised platform foundation minimizesdampness, rodent access

Gardens promote mental wellbeing

Local materials


Final quote: Calvino says…“Where is the plan you are following, the

blueprint?”

“We will show it to you as soon as theworking day is over, we cannot interruptour work now”, they answer.

Work stops at sunset. Darkness falls over thebuilding site. The sky is filled with stars.

“There is the blueprint”, they say.-- Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities (1974)


Questions




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