Housing & Health - depts.washington.edu
Transcript of Housing & Health - depts.washington.edu
Lesson 8: Housing January 23, 2006
ENVIR 202: Population & Health 1
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ENVIR 202: Lesson No. 8
Housing& Health
Christina SmithChristina SmithUniversity of WashingtonUniversity of WashingtonEnvironmental AnthropologyEnvironmental Anthropology
January 23, 2006January 23, 2006
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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
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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
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Many animals build homes:Paper wasps
Prairie dog towns
Chimpanzee leaf-and-stick shelters
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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.”
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Emilio Ambasz…
“Architecture is not the answer to thepragmatic needs of man but theanswer to his passions andimagination.”
Ambasz Planetario
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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
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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
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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
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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)
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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
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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
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Traditional style housing:(pre-industrial)
Built from mostlylocally availablematerials
Earth, stone,wood, grasses,animal bones…
Mostly built by theowners/residents
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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
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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.
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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)
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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
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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
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More traditional vernacular housing:
The NW longhouse:
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Longhouse characteristics:
Cedar
Multi family
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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
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Modern Homes: Advantages“Better living withchemicals”—sterilesurfaces, fewer pests
More temperaturecontrol
Electricity for heat,cooking, refrigeration
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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
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Suburban-style Western Homes:
“A house on themoon”
Unrelated tolocalenvironments
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“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.
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“Sick Houses”
Mold
Dampness/rot
Rodent/insect feces/viruses
VOCs
Never enough ventilation?
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Sick house example: MOLD
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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
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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
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“Slums”:
Hong Kong Columbia
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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.
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Some Solutions
to highcosts andresourcedepletion:
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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
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Sustainable housing movement
LEEDs designation
“Green Building”
Sustainable Communities
Health benefits of the new“sustainable” houses
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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.
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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.”
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Case Studies 1: Katrina
Hurricane Katrina’s effects onhousing and health:
Mold
Heat
Mass destruction
Severe damage = dangerous conditions
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Case Studies 2: Traditional Housing
Bantu House
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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
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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
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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)
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Questions