Health, Sustainability, and the Built Environment

Health, Sustainability, and the Built Environment examines the concept of sustainability as it pertains to sustaining human health. By analyzing the many ways that humans interact with the built environment, the text teaches students how to identify both the positive and negative effects that their designs can have on the health of the occupants.

With the emergence of sick building syndrome in the 1970s and the emphasis on LEED standards today, many interior designers are becoming interested in the topics of health and sustainability. Health, Sustainability, and the Built Environment examines the concept of sustainability as it pertains to sustaining human health. By analyzing the many ways that humans interact with the built environment, the text teaches students how to identify both the positive and negative effects that their designs can have on the health of the occupants.

David Alan "DAK" Kopec is an associate professor at the New School of Architecture & Design in San Diego, California. He has a Ph.D. in Environmental Psychology with a concentration in perception and design, and master's degree in both Architecture and Community Psychology. He has a private practice and provides consulting services and educational lectures at events and conferences. A member of the Interior Design Educators Council and certified by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, his publications include two monographs, the book Environmental Psychology for Design, winner of the 2006 ASID Foundation, Inc. / Joel Polsky Prize, and a forthcoming title on health, sustainability and design.