The well-known phrase “man is what he eats” (Der Mensch ist, was er isst), by Ludwig Feuerbach, asserts that the bodily, psychological, and even ethical structure of human beings is instantly linked to what they devour. Immediately, this concept is broadly internalized, with rising consciousness round meals, diet, and the affect of what we ingest on our our bodies. But, this identical degree of consciousness does not lengthen to the environments we inhabit, the place supplies proceed to be handled as technical selections slightly than lively brokers within the relationship between physique and area. Contemplating that a big portion of the worldwide inhabitants spends round 90% of their time indoors, it’s not often mentioned what really composes these areas at their most basic degree: supplies. Partitions, flooring, and finishes are sometimes approached as technical or aesthetic selections, when in actuality they’ll perform as steady sources of publicity to doubtlessly dangerous substances.
It’s inside this context that the Wholesome Supplies Lab (HML), based in 2015 at Parsons Faculty of Design, proposes a shift in perspective. Based mostly on the popularity that the design and development business, particularly inside the reasonably priced housing sector, performs a essential position within the declining well being of each folks and ecosystems, the lab argues that materials specification needs to be understood as a central public well being concern. We spoke with Jonsara Ruth and Alison Mears, architects and founders of the lab, who shared how this initiative has been developed over the previous decade and why materials choice could also be some of the essential selections in up to date architectural follow. The lab emerged supported by a three-year grant from the JPB Basis, enabling the event of analysis on materials impacts and the formulation of methods aimed toward architectural follow.
