Our built environment and the likely effects on people - a case for a new order of engineering/medical professional teamwork

Our built environment has an immense effect on the daily lives of all people. The benefits afforded by our buildings in providing us with shelter, warmth, safety and security are obvious. Yet, there are some aspects of the buildings in which we live and work which may not be good for our health and well-being. Solutions to these problems require professional engineers and medical professionals coming together and working as a team, with an increased synergy which does not presently exist. This is needed in order to revive the importance of people within the products of engineering and our built environment generally. Every day most of us wake up with an alarm clock, turn on the tap and boil some water, cook some food, walk out to the pavement, drive a car, or take a bus, and head into an office or other place of work. These items are so much engrossed in our daily lives that we seldom consider how they originated. Society has developed over the ages, thanks to a dedicated, largely invisible, group of professional engineers and technologists. Professional engineers and technologists are the creators who designed and developed the alarm clock, designed and were responsible for the dam which supplied the electricity to boil the water and to cook the food, designed and were responsible for the construction of the pavement and road, designed the car and bus, supplied professional expertise to ensure that the office or place of work is strong enough to stand up against earthquake and wind forces, and to ensure an adequate supply of fresh indoor air. Much of our built environment goes a long way to providing an enhanced standard of living for most people. However, there are negative impacts created from engineering solutions, which often go unrecognised by society. There needs to be a greater role on the part of medical professionals in providing input into much of the built environment provided by engineers and technologists. There are several examples where this enhanced teamwork is needed. The one area of potential concern which should be given first priority is that of buildings. There is considerable documentation and evidence to indicate that sick building syndrome in commercial buildings and mould incidence in houses is relatively common. Further research by teams combining medical and engineering professionals is required, in order to reduce the causes and determine more clearly what the detrimental effects on occupants are. Such a starting point should provide maximum gains, as the issue of buildings is the area which most probably has an effect on the largest number of people, being the places where they live and/or work.