{"id":6188,"date":"2022-07-07T10:41:24","date_gmt":"2022-07-07T10:41:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grupo.us.es\/hac\/healthy-architecture-vi-caring-for-the-third-skin\/"},"modified":"2025-04-13T09:43:13","modified_gmt":"2025-04-13T09:43:13","slug":"healthy-architecture-vi-caring-for-the-third-skin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grupo.us.es\/hac\/en\/healthy-architecture-vi-caring-for-the-third-skin\/","title":{"rendered":"HEALTHY ARCHITECTURE (VI). CARING FOR THE THIRD SKIN"},"content":{"rendered":"

SEVILLE \/ 7 July 2022.<\/h4>\n

The recent pandemic caused by COVID-19 has been a catalyst for seeing and thinking about living and working spaces from a different perspective. A clear awareness has been acquired that there are still agglomerations and concentrations of unhealthy uses in the territory, that cities still generate environments and spaces that favour the spread of diseases, and that building materials are used that, in addition to leaving an ecological footprint, are very harmful.<\/p>\n

Interaction with the environment defines what human beings are capable of and how they define themselves. The physical environment is identified as a defined place with a concrete organisational structure, used with precise functions within the social environment where human beings live and interact with each other. This environment is configured by a complex artificial epidermis that envelops the human habitat. This epidermis is referred to in building regulations as the ‘envelope’, a term devoid of attributes, as if it were the wrapper of a sweet. However, this third skin complements and completes that of the human organism itself and the textile leather with which we dress. The third skin<\/strong> is designed and configured from and with architecture<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

A particular spatial configuration can affect, positively or negatively, both physical and mental health aspects of human behaviour. Perception is not only limited to visual elements, but also encompasses interaction with the other senses and mental cognition. The impact of a space is a function of the degree of control, understanding and sense of coherence that a person is able to experience within it. The way space is perceived is determined by memory, culture, education, beliefs or individual preferences. But spatial perception is also conditioned by the physical and environmental characteristics that shape the environment. Environmental factors simultaneously influence sensory and cognitive aspects of the human being.<\/p>\n

Stimulations that affect perception operate both internally and externally, gradually accumulate in bodies and minds, and provide a feedback system of information that leads to the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of people’s basic needs. There are external sensory stimuli such as sound, smell, light, colour, humidity, temperature, etc. and extrasensory stimuli such as air quality, chemical agents, electromagnetic fields, noise, solar radiation, etc. All of them condition, to a large extent, the degree of comfort, quality of life and well-being, and can favour human health; but they can also be the cause of the loss of physical, psychological or cognitive qualities, generating illnesses. Stimulations, physical and mental, can be present in different environments. If they are positive, they should be integrated as health-promoting assets; if they are negative, they should be eliminated because they can produce pathogens.<\/p>\n

There are places and spaces that produce certain cognitive symptoms such as stress, spatial and temporal disorientation, anxiety, fear, etc. These are reactions that, as we have seen in previous issues, are perceived more clearly in people with cognitive deficits such as Alzheimer’s sufferers, autistic people, etc. Recent research, carried out in 2019 by the European Network for Brain Evolution Research<\/em> and the University of Bath, indicates that well-planned environments, in addition to promoting well-being, have a positive effect on decisions and human personality. This work shows that, depending on the experience that the space produces, it can be understood differently, interfering with aspects such as familiarity, the relationship one has with the place or even social relationships. If a particular space can affect the quality of a person’s spatial and social cognition, it implies that living in certain environments can have detrimental or beneficial effects on that person.<\/p>\n

There are also physical reactions to certain environments that are better known than cognitive or psychological reactions. These are symptoms that manifest themselves in certain people when they remain continuously inside certain buildings. It is the so-called Sick Building Syndrome (SBS)<\/strong><\/em>, which consists of a set of complaints whose symptoms are headaches, eye, nasal, oropharyngeal, headaches, lethargy, allergies, etc. It is a syndrome that first came to light in the mid-1970s in offices and schools. Its causes are of varied origin and range from the formal design of the building itself – in many cases hermetic in nature and\/or with large glass surfaces – to the implementation of artificial climates, supposedly efficient, or the use of unhealthy materials such as lead, asbestos or fibrillar-type insulation. This discomfort is also caused by products and installations that release carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, ozone and even carbon dioxide released by people themselves indoors. In general, they are the consequence of a way of building that has generated and continues to generate pollutant emissions of an environmental, electrical, magnetic or chemical nature.<\/p>\n

To combat the symptoms of the sick building, as well as to stimulate the design and construction of assets that favour health in buildings, the Healthy Architecture & City<\/strong> research group of the University of Seville presented, in February 2020, a Decalogue of Healthy Architecture<\/strong>, a compendium of aspects that must be controlled in the design and construction of buildings so that they reach a minimum healthy level. A Decalogue that we will present in the next two instalments when, restarting the next academic year, we will finalise this series dedicated to Healthy Architecture that is having such a great acceptance among the dear public that still reads us.<\/p>\n

______<\/strong><\/p>\n

Santiago Quesada-Garc\u00eda
\n<\/strong>Dr. Architect, University Professor, Head Researcher of the Healthy Architecture & City group (TEP-965) and Principal Investigator of the projects ALZARQ of the Ministry of Science and Innovation and DETER of the Andalusian Regional Government.<\/p>\n

Post published in the IUACC Bulletin n\u00ba 143<\/a> of 7 July 2022<\/p>\n

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Image of the post: <\/strong>Sketch of Simmons Hall-MIT student residence, Cambridge, Massachusetts (USA). Steven Holl architects, 2002<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SEVILLE \/ 7 July 2022. The recent pandemic caused by COVID-19 has been a catalyst for seeing and thinking about living and working spaces from a different perspective. A clear awareness has been acquired that there are still agglomerations and concentrations of unhealthy uses in the territory, that cities still generate environments and spaces that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3805,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"

SEVILLA \/ 7 de julio de 2022.<\/h4>\r\n\u00a0\r\n\r\nLa reciente pandemia producida por el COVID-19 ha sido un catalizador para ver y pensar los espacios habitacionales y laborales desde otra perspectiva. Se ha adquirido una conciencia n\u00edtida que a\u00fan existen aglomeraciones y concentraciones de usos insalubres en el territorio, que en las ciudades todav\u00eda se generan ambientes y espacios que favorecen la propagaci\u00f3n de enfermedades y que en la edificaci\u00f3n se emplean materiales que, adem\u00e1s de dejar huella ecol\u00f3gica, son muy nocivos.\r\n\r\nLa interacci\u00f3n con el entorno define de qu\u00e9 es capaz el ser humano y c\u00f3mo se define a s\u00ed mismo. El entorno f\u00edsico se identifica c\u00f3mo un lugar definido con una estructura organizativa concreta, usada con funciones precisas dentro del \u00e1mbito social donde los seres humanos habitan e interact\u00faan entre s\u00ed. Este medio est\u00e1 configurado por una compleja epidermis artificial que envuelve al h\u00e1bitat del ser humano. Esta epidermis es denominada en la normativa edificatoria como \u2018envolvente\u2019, un t\u00e9rmino desprovisto de atributos, como si fuera el envoltorio de un caramelo. Sin embargo, esta tercera piel complementa y completa a la del propio organismo humano y al cuero textil con el que nos vestimos. La tercera piel<\/strong> se dise\u00f1a y configura desde y con la arquitectura<\/strong>.\r\n\r\nUna determinada configuraci\u00f3n espacial puede afectar, positiva o negativamente, tanto a aspectos de la salud f\u00edsica como mental de la conducta humana. La percepci\u00f3n no se limita solo a elementos de car\u00e1cter visual, sino que abarca tambi\u00e9n la interacci\u00f3n con el resto de los sentidos y con la cognici\u00f3n mental. La repercusi\u00f3n de un espacio est\u00e1 en funci\u00f3n del grado de control, comprensi\u00f3n y sentido de coherencia que la persona sea capaz de experimentar dentro del mismo. La forma de percibir el espacio est\u00e1 determinada por la memoria, la cultura, la formaci\u00f3n, las creencias o las preferencias individuales. Pero la percepci\u00f3n espacial tambi\u00e9n est\u00e1 condicionada por las caracter\u00edsticas f\u00edsicas y medioambientales que conforman el entorno. Los factores ambientales influyen simult\u00e1neamente en los aspectos sensoriales y cognitivos del ser humano.\r\n\r\nLas estimulaciones que afectan a la percepci\u00f3n operan tanto interna como externamente, se acumulan poco a poco en cuerpos y mentes, y proporcionan un sistema de retroalimentaci\u00f3n de informaci\u00f3n que conduce a la satisfacci\u00f3n o insatisfacci\u00f3n de las necesidades b\u00e1sicas de las personas. Hay est\u00edmulos sensoriales externos como el sonido, el olor, la luz, el color, la humedad, la temperatura, etc., y extrasensoriales como la calidad del aire, los agentes qu\u00edmicos, los campos electromagn\u00e9ticos, el ruido, la radiaci\u00f3n solar, etc. Todos ellos condicionan, en gran manera, el grado de confort, la calidad de vida y el bienestar, y pueden favorecer la salud humana; pero tambi\u00e9n pueden ser la causa de p\u00e9rdida de cualidades, f\u00edsicas, ps\u00edquicas o cognitivas, generando enfermedades. Las estimulaciones, f\u00edsicas y mentales, pueden estar presentes en diferentes ambientes. Si son positivas deben ser integradas como activos favorecedores de la salud y si son negativas hay que eliminarlas porque pueden producir agentes pat\u00f3genos.\r\n\r\nExisten lugares y espacios que producen determinados s\u00edntomas de tipo cognitivo como pueden ser estr\u00e9s, desorientaci\u00f3n espacial y temporal, ansiedad, miedo, etc. Son reacciones que, como hemos visto en entregas anteriores, se perciben con m\u00e1s claridad en las personas con d\u00e9ficits cognitivos como pueden ser enfermos de alzh\u00e9imer, autistas, etc. Una reciente investigaci\u00f3n, realizada en 2019 por el European Network for Brain Evolution Research<\/em> y la Universidad de Bath, indica que los entornos bien planificados, adem\u00e1s de promover el bienestar, tienen efecto positivo sobre las decisiones y la personalidad humana. Ese trabajo pone de manifiesto que, dependiendo de la experiencia que el espacio produzca, \u00e9ste se puede entender de manera diferente, interfiriendo en aspectos como la familiaridad, la relaci\u00f3n que se tiene con el lugar o incluso en las relaciones sociales. Si un determinado espacio puede afectar a la calidad de la cognici\u00f3n espacial y social de una persona, implica que habitar en determinados entornos puede tener efectos perjudiciales o beneficiosos sobre la misma.\r\n\r\nTambi\u00e9n hay reacciones de tipo f\u00edsico a determinados ambientes que son m\u00e1s conocidas que las de tipo cognitivo o ps\u00edquico. Son s\u00edntomas que se manifiestan en ciertas personas cuando permanecen de forma continuada dentro de algunos edificios. Es el denominado S\u00edndrome del Edificio Enfermo<\/strong>, tambi\u00e9n denominado en ingl\u00e9s Sick Building Synthoms<\/em> (SBS)<\/strong>, que consiste en un conjunto de molestias cuya sintomatolog\u00eda son dolores de cabeza, molestias de tipo ocular, nasal, bucofar\u00edngeas, cefaleas, aletargamiento, alergias, etc. Es un s\u00edndrome que se puso en evidencia por vez primera a mediados de los a\u00f1os setenta en oficinas y colegios. Sus causas son de origen variado y van desde el propio dise\u00f1o formal del edificio \u2013en muchos casos de car\u00e1cter herm\u00e9tico y\/o con grandes superficies de vidrio\u2013 a la implantaci\u00f3n de climas artificiales, pretendidamente eficientes, o al uso de materiales insanos como plomo, amianto o aislamientos de tipo fibrilar. Este malestar tambi\u00e9n est\u00e1 ocasionado por productos e instalaciones que liberan mon\u00f3xido de carbono, anh\u00eddrido sulfuroso, ozono e incluso por el di\u00f3xido de carbono que liberan las propias personas dentro de un recinto cerrado. En general, son consecuencia de una forma de construir que ha generado y genera emisiones contaminantes de car\u00e1cter ambiental, el\u00e9ctrico, magn\u00e9tico o qu\u00edmico.\r\n\r\nPara combatir los s\u00edntomas del edificio enfermo, adem\u00e1s de estimular el dise\u00f1o y construcci\u00f3n de activos que favorezcan la salud en los edificios, el grupo de investigaci\u00f3n Healthy Architecture & City<\/strong> de la Universidad de Sevilla present\u00f3, en febrero de 2020, un Dec\u00e1logo<\/strong> de una<\/strong> Arquitectura Saludable<\/strong>, un compendio de aspectos que deben controlarse en el dise\u00f1o y construcci\u00f3n de edificios para que estos alcancen un m\u00ednimo nivel saludable. Un dec\u00e1logo que expondremos en las dos pr\u00f3ximas entregas cuando, reiniciando el pr\u00f3ximo curso acad\u00e9mico, finalizaremos esta serie dedicada a Arquitectura Saludable que tanta aceptaci\u00f3n est\u00e1 teniendo en el querido p\u00fablico que a\u00fan nos lee.\r\n\r\n\u00a0______<\/strong>\r\n\r\nSantiago Quesada-Garc\u00eda<\/strong>\r\n\r\nDr. Arquitecto, Profesor Titular Universidad, Investigador Responsable del grupo Healthy Architecture & City (TEP-965) e Investigador Principal de los proyectos ALZARQ del Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovaci\u00f3n y DETER de la Junta de Andaluc\u00eda.\r\n
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\r\n\r\nPost publicado en el Bolet\u00edn del IUACC n\u00ba 143<\/a> del 7 julio de 2022\r\n\r\n\u00a0______<\/strong>\r\n\r\nImagen del post:<\/strong>\r\nCroquis residencia de estudiantes <\/span>Simmons Hall-MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts (USA)<\/span>. <\/b><\/span><\/strong>Steven Holl architects, 2002<\/span><\/span>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/article><\/div>","_et_gb_content_width":"","wpupg_custom_link":[],"wpupg_custom_link_behaviour":["default"],"wpupg_custom_link_nofollow":[],"wpupg_custom_image":[],"wpupg_custom_image_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,21,107,107],"tags":[108,108,109,109,110,110,111,111,72,72,66,66,67,67,75,112,112,113,113,114,114,115,115,116,116],"class_list":{"0":"post-6188","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-events-en","8":"category-news-en","9":"category-post-en","11":"tag-architectural-design-en","13":"tag-architecture-health-en","15":"tag-arquitectura-en","17":"tag-arquitectura-fisiologica-en","19":"tag-arquitectura-saludable-en","21":"tag-arquitectura-y-salud-en","23":"tag-health-humanities-en","25":"tag-healthy-architecture","26":"tag-investigacion-en","28":"tag-neuroarchitecture-en","30":"tag-neuroarquitectura-en","32":"tag-physiological-architecture-en","34":"tag-proyectos-arquitectonicos-en"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grupo.us.es\/hac\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grupo.us.es\/hac\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grupo.us.es\/hac\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grupo.us.es\/hac\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grupo.us.es\/hac\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6188"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grupo.us.es\/hac\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6188\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7384,"href":"https:\/\/grupo.us.es\/hac\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6188\/revisions\/7384"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grupo.us.es\/hac\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grupo.us.es\/hac\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grupo.us.es\/hac\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grupo.us.es\/hac\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}