In order to wholly enhance health and wellbeing, the architecture and design of buildings should focus beyond optimising single parameters such as temperature and humidity. Taking a more holistic approach from cues in the past, designers and specifiers should consider different needs for diverse target groups in order to promote sustainable, healthier living environments. On average 90% of Australian’s spend their time indoors, increasing the demand within the residential sector to provide ‘healthy’ interiors. A number of products can aid in meeting this demand, however, faster and more benefits have been noted with the appropriate flooring systems.
The design of the built environment affects health and wellbeing, and can also have long-term implications on the quality of life. A whitepaper recently released by Dunlop; Specifying flooring for healthy, happy homes, discusses health concerns in a residential context. It also takes a closer look at how specifying carpets can reduce the risk of significant health problems.
The whitepaper begins by underlining risks that occur when there has been little to no consideration to long-term affects on health and wellbeing. Specifically looking at allergies, asthma, and volatile organic compounds emphasises the growing concern for the lack of residential interiors. The whitepaper then goes on to suggest ways of minimising these risks by identifying different characteristics in various flooring systems that are flawed. It concludes with a reminder to choose the right manufacturer based on the certification they provide.
With 40 years of experience backing them, Dunlop is Australia’s largest provider of foam underlay – which extends life of the product, control allergy and dust with antimicrobial treatment and is environmentally friendly with a maximum Green Star rating. The Heartridge flooring range by Dunlop offers realistic and durable alternatives coupled with an antimicrobial agent that has been proven to not impact health.
To discover more about health concerns within a residential environment and what flooring types to avoid, download Specifying flooring for healthy, happy homes.
