About this episode
Why do we design indoor spaces the way we do? What are the unseen socio-cultural impacts involved and how do they impact other aspects of the indoor environment that we can not see? Today, we're unpacking the idea that our indoor environments are not just passive shelters - they are complex, multifaceted situations with competing goals and perspectives. As our guest, Dr. Liz McCormick shares, our relationship with indoor space is a rich, interdependent web of circumstances that stretches well beyond the boundaries of any single discipline. We'll be bringing together insights from architecture, anthropology, and ecology to explore the substantial footprint of our built environments—physically, on a scale equivalent to global grasslands and tropical forests; psychologically, as we experience thermal blandness and a disconnect from nature; and ecologically, as we grapple with a misplaced sense of separation from the "dirt" and the world outside our carefully conditioned spaces. This conversation will challenge us to rethink outdated ideas and address why the air we live in—this "material" we are in constant contact with—matters so much for our health. We'll be looking at a comprehensive model for indoor air quality, considering the crucial interactions between pollutants, their pathways, and our exposure. Buckle up for another thoughtful adventure on the Building Science Podcast!Links from the Episode:Buildings don’t use energy: people doEntomological HappeningsThe Architecture of Vector ControlLiz McCormickMcCormick is a licensed architect, educator, and researcher whose work explores healthy, climatically sensitive, and contextually appropriate building design strategies that connect occupants to the outdoors while also reducing the dependence on mechanical conditioning technologies. Her recent book,
