TY - GEN
T1 - Designing biodiverse Façade microbiomes
AU - Herr, Christiane M.
AU - Duan, Yawen
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 and published by the Architectural Science Association (ANZAScA).
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - With improved knowledge of the human microbiome and its interrelationship with biomes of the inhabited environment, architecture is able to address issues of healthy living with new types of design approaches. Previous research in the field has mostly addressed internal building environments, or sought to completely eradicate the growth of microbes such as moulds on building surfaces. Yet recent studies have shown that human health is closely interrelated with the health of various human microbiomes, such as the gut, skin, lungs etc, which in turn depend on exchanges with external microbial communities present in our environments. This study argues that architectural façade design implicitly creates potential reservoirs for microbial biodiversity and determines the likeliness of microbial growth through factors including material selection, sun and humidity exposure and response to local climate. As very little is known about the interplay of these factors in determining the microbiomes of our facades, we present first results of an empirical study on façade biomes, conducted in an urban environment in China. The paper outlines how results can inform façade design, working towards the integration of biology, building science, material science and architectural design to address the challenge of developing dense but healthy urban environments.
AB - With improved knowledge of the human microbiome and its interrelationship with biomes of the inhabited environment, architecture is able to address issues of healthy living with new types of design approaches. Previous research in the field has mostly addressed internal building environments, or sought to completely eradicate the growth of microbes such as moulds on building surfaces. Yet recent studies have shown that human health is closely interrelated with the health of various human microbiomes, such as the gut, skin, lungs etc, which in turn depend on exchanges with external microbial communities present in our environments. This study argues that architectural façade design implicitly creates potential reservoirs for microbial biodiversity and determines the likeliness of microbial growth through factors including material selection, sun and humidity exposure and response to local climate. As very little is known about the interplay of these factors in determining the microbiomes of our facades, we present first results of an empirical study on façade biomes, conducted in an urban environment in China. The paper outlines how results can inform façade design, working towards the integration of biology, building science, material science and architectural design to address the challenge of developing dense but healthy urban environments.
KW - China
KW - Façade design
KW - Health
KW - Materials
KW - Microbial community
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85103648277&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Conference Proceeding
AN - SCOPUS:85103648277
T3 - Proceedings of the International Conference of Architectural Science Association
SP - 365
EP - 374
BT - ANZAScA 2020 - 54th International Conference of the Architectural Science Association
A2 - Ghaffarianhoseini, Ali
A2 - Ghaffarianhoseini, Amirhosein
A2 - Naismith, Nicola
A2 - Purushothaman, Mahesh Babu
A2 - Doan, Dat
A2 - Aigwi, Esther
A2 - Rotimi, Funmi
A2 - Ghodrati, Nariman
PB - Architectural Science Association
T2 - 54th International Conference of the Architectural Science Association, ANZAScA 2020
Y2 - 26 November 2020 through 27 November 2020
ER -