Healthy Buildings as a Foundational Tool for Health Promotion

On Wednesday, December 4th, from 1-1:50 PM in FXB G12 or online, please join us for the second installment in our Environments for Health and Happiness Seminar Series: “Healthy Buildings as a Foundational Tool for Health Promotion“. This event will feature Dr. Joe Allen, Associate Professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Department of Environmental Health.

Event Description

Buildings can make us sick – or keep us well. For the past 40 years the way we design, operate, and maintain our buildings has not had public health goals as the driving force, and, as a result, we have been in the ‘Sick Building Era’. However, there is positive change on the horizon, with growing recognition that buildings are a powerful tool that can support cognitive performance and mental well-being, and offer protection from respiratory pathogens and outdoor air pollution.

The WHO has declared clean indoor air a fundamental human right. There are fundamental shifts happening that place buildings as a cornerstone of public health, ushering in a new Healthy Buildings era for all.

Speaker Bio

Dr. Allen is also director of Harvard’s Healthy Buildings Program, and coauthor of Healthy Buildings: How Indoor Spaces Can Make You Sick—or Keep You Well. He serves on Harvard’s Presidential Committee on Sustainability, he keynoted the White House’s first ever Indoor Air Quality Summit, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, served as Commissioner of The Lancet COVID-19 Commission and Chair of its Safe Work, Safe Schools, and Safe Travel Task Force. In 2023, Dr. Allen was featured on the 60 Minutes episode, The Air We Breathe, spotlighting the value of healthy indoor air quality for virus mitigation. He has authored over 100 peer-reviewed scientific papers, and is a frequent contributor to the New York Times, Washington Post, and Harvard Business Review.