Indicators of Healthy Architecture-a Systematic Literature Review

Area of Science:

• Built environment and health
• Architectural science
• Public health

Background:

• The built environment significantly influences human health, with over 80% of time spent indoors.
• Architecture Health Indices (AHIs) quantify the health impacts of building design for stakeholders.
• Existing AHIs primarily assess communicable diseases linked to physical health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review the current state of Architecture Health Indices (AHIs).
• To identify knowledge gaps and best practices in AHIs within the scope of architectural design.
• To explore the potential usage and characteristics of existing AHIs.

Main Methods:

• A systematic literature review was conducted.
• Searched three electronic bibliographic databases from January 2008 to January 2019.
• Included 15 studies, analyzing 101 AHIs, with a focus on commonly used indicators.

Main Results:

• Most AHIs measure communicable diseases (e.g., air/water quality) impacting physical health.
• There is a significant lack of AHIs addressing mental and social health factors.
• AHIs currently do not address non-communicable diseases (NCDs), a major global health concern.

Conclusions:

• Current AHIs are insufficient for a holistic assessment of building health impacts.
• There is an urgent need to develop AHIs that incorporate mental, social, and non-communicable disease aspects.
• Future architectural design evaluations require broader health metrics to align with current global health challenges.