Journal

Buildings can harm your health

They can:

• Crush
• Burn
• Asphyxiate
• Poison
• Stress
• Depress
• Isolate

It has to be the the most basic, fundamental function of a home that it provides shelter, safety and protection to its occupants, yet barely a week goes by, when I don’t see or read about condensation, toxic mould or fire causing misery, injury, illness or death. People - vulnerable people, the elderly, children - harmed in their own homes, BY their own homes.

When the government provides a grant to insulate homes results in condensation and mould that requires repairs to tens of thousands of homes, when residents in a brand new 250-home apartment block in Croydon have to be moved out for two years to address mould, leaks and fire safety problems - the list goes on and on - I ask myself who ultimately ensures quality.

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Is it:

• The developer (often more focussed on speed and price)
• the contractor/sub-contractors (often appointed on the basis of price, not quality)
• The architect (not always present, or excluded from the construction process)
• The Building Safety Regulator (nope)
• The employer’s agent (nope)
• The project manager (nope)?

Architects are often excluded from the design and construction process because they’re perceived to add cost and time. This cost and time is there for a reason. It’s because architects have the complete understanding of the design, construction and technical requirements and know how to do it right.

This mentally of deregulating and cutting corners continues to cause incalculable harm and the lessons aren’t being learned.

So for me the debate about protection of function isn’t about architects levelling up the financial playing field or trying to carve out a monopoly for themselves, it’s about ensuring that there’s someone at the heart of the design and construction process who has the knowledge and skills to ensure that buildings are being built correctly.

Buildings can harm you but if you get them right, with the right team and a good architect, they can also:

• Delight
• Inspire
• Enhance
• Uplift
• Enliven
• Enrich

Isn’t that what we want?