Building biology
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Building biology (or Baubiologie as it was coined in Germany) is a field of building science that investigates the indoor living environment for a variety of irritants. Practitioners consider the living environment as an organism,[dubious ] and believe its functioning can produce a restful or stressful environment. Two of the major areas focused on by practitioners are indoor air quality (IAQ) and electromagnetic fields (EMFs).[citation needed]
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[edit] Effects of poor building
After World War II, new houses were quickly built in Germany to accommodate the growing population. Studies[citation needed] of these new houses found a pattern of illnesses not characteristic of the population, but characteristic to the commonalities of the living environments. The new housing, being quickly built, and unable to properly air out ("outgas", or "offgas") provided for an environment where the occupants were the recipients of every volatile organic compound (VOC) emitted from the construction materials. Along with this, other irritations became manifest due to the electrical systems[citation needed]. The two major irritants set to work simultaneously, and enhanced effects arose.
From these discoveries a study[citation needed] began in earnest among a few individuals to catalog and characterize the offending components. What emerged was a Standard of Baubiologie Method of Testing, with recommended threshold guidelines for sleeping areas (the space where and when one is most susceptible to biological irritation and damage). A small cadre of individuals was formed among whom Dr. Anton Schneider, Wolfgang Maes, and the Institut für Baubiologie und Ökologie Neubeurn (IBN) started a training system to educate those that were willing.
One of the architects, Helmut Ziehe, took the program and its possibilities to the USA. He founded the International Institute of Building Biologie and Ecology (IBE) which presently offers seminars across the USA. Two certification streams are available, the Building Biology and Environmental Consultant (BBEC), and the Building Biology Practioner (BBP).
While building biology has the capability to produce living spaces that are healthy for everyone, it does not have extensive public funding. This has sometimes been linked[citation needed] to peoples health being compromised, and could potentially have been prevented had building environment health hazards been identified.
The three most sensitive individuals that reap the greatest benefits are: infants, the elderly, and the immuno-compromised[citation needed]. Some people become environmentally hypersensitive, and although conventional medicine suggests that the problem(s) may be psychological, there is growning acceptance that there is an environmental cause. See MCS referral service at http://www.mcsrr.org/resources/articles.html <ref: Johnson, Allison, ed.,Causalties of progress, Personal histories from the Chemically sensitive> <Kipen H., W. Hallman, K. Kelly-McNeil, and N. Fiedler. 1995. "Measuring chemical sensitivity prevalence: A questionnaire for population studies." Amer J of Public Health, Vol.85, No.4, 574-577>
[edit] Criticism in USA
Some practices of building biology are contrary to the International Building Code, which is enforced by various government agencies in the USA and elsewhere.
[edit] Responses to Criticism in the USA
Some practitioners of building biology cite the inertia of the insurance industry as a force that has kept unhealthy building practices in legal building codes in the USA.
