When Buildings Don’t Work: The Role of Architecture in Human Health

We spend upwards of 90% of our lives within buildings, yet we know much more about the effects of ambient environmental conditions on human health than we do about how buildings affect our health. This article employs the heuristic of psychological stress to generate a taxonomy of architectural dimensions that may affect human health. Specific interior design elements illustrating each of these architectural dimensions are provided. There is little existing evidence that specific design features directly impact human health. The aim of this article is to provoke further thinking and research on this possibility.@ 1998 Academic Press