Urban Designer: Building Materials Support Lifestyle and Health

Jakarta — Healthy living is not only related to diet and physical activity, but is also influenced by environmental factors, including housing, learning, and working spaces.

Architect and urban designer Adjie Negara states that residential or working environments can be a source of exposure to various substances that could potentially affect long-term health and the wellbeing of residents.

With the development of technology and industry, many household products, building materials, and daily equipment use various chemicals to enhance function, durability, and product quality. However, according to him, understanding the types and potential impacts of these chemicals is important so that people can use products more wisely and safely.

To achieve this, buildings must be constructed with careful attention to multiple factors, including window placement to allow more sunlight to enter, proper ventilation, cross-circulation, and placement of green elements.

According to Negara, the selection of building materials is very important and must avoid what he calls “threat hazard”—barriers or obstacles that can be dangerous due to poor material selection. Building material selection must be considered from roof to walls to flooring.

Material selection is a very important element, particularly materials that will come into direct contact with residents who will be active within the space, whether through skin contact, inhalation through breathing, or through water pipes that will affect water quality.

“For residential homes, if inhabited by people with special needs or sensitivities, such as asthma for example, they must certainly avoid certain chemicals,” he said.

One potential source of chemical exposure, according to Adjie, comes from building materials containing lead. Lead is a metal element naturally found in the environment and in practice can be found in various products and materials used in daily life.

Lead exposure can originate from building materials, for example in water pipes or paints using lead-based pigments. Essentially, paint is not dangerous, but paint containing high levels of lead can increase the risk of long-term exposure.

Dr. Reza Fahlevi, a paediatric specialist, added that a healthy environment is an important factor that cannot be separated from family health, particularly in efforts to prevent health risks for vulnerable groups such as children.

This is especially relevant when considering child development during the first 1,000 days of life, which is influenced not only by nutrition and stimulation, but also by environment.

“Children often explore by playing, and this is important in their developmental stage, so the environment where they explore, whether at home, on a playground, or at school must be safe,” he said.

During this exploration phase, children can be exposed to harmful materials from the home that enter the body through the mouth via hand contact or inhalation.

Both Adjie Negara and Dr. Reza Fahlevi agree that a home is a long-term investment; therefore, constructing a home that is safe for children to grow and develop is highly recommended.