Building Biology is the holistic study of the interrelationships between humans and their man-made environment. It is the science of creating healthy, life enhancing buildings.
Buildings today often contain inherent chemical, physiological and biological risks as a result of materials and processes employed by the construction industry in a drive to minimise costs and build times. The UK currently falls behind European and International standards of best practice concerning the use of many materials.
On average we spend about 90% of our time indoors and 30% in bedrooms. With these exposure times even low concentrations of harmful agents could affect our health in the long term and cause chronic diseases.
At the heart of Building Biology lies the notion that nature is the golden principle to which we should be designing our buildings, so that for instance, electromagnetic radiation levels and air and water quality should match nature as closely as possible.
Homes or dwellings can be seen as organisms. The term third skin accurately describes the intimate relationship between humans and our living space, vividly illustrating how closely we are interrelated with our living environment, and in how many ways we are dependent on it.