Wellness by Design

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Adults in industrialized nations spend roughly 90% of their lives indoors. Those environments affect us as individuals — patient recoveries in hospitals, for example — and as societies, such as by impacting productivity and, by extension, economies. 

Altaf Engineer, associate professor in the College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture, is working on several projects to make indoor environments healthier for both crisis response and everyday well- being.

 Research to create “smart buildings” is resulting in networks driven by data in which ventilation and other systems automatically respond to environmental conditions in real time. The lack of systems that simultaneously monitor and improve indoor air quality was highlighted during the coronavirus pandemic as a critical health management gap. 

Another project explores how ambient light and color in an environment can influence perceived temperature — people may feel warmer around reds and oranges, for example. 

Study participants are equipped with various sensors worn on their wrists, head, chest and even in their shoes to monitor light exposure, activity, sleep quality, heart rate variability (an indicator of stress) and more. At the same time, stand-alone sensors monitor aspects of the participants’ environment, such as air quality, temperature and humidity. 

Algorithms analyze the continuously amassing data to reveal how environmental factors drive changes in heart rate, stress response and other physiological responses – knowledge that can inform healthier renovations and shape new principles for evidence-based, healthful building design.