A pioneering research project imagines the ultimate healthful home.
Home is where the heart is. During a pandemic, it’s also where the office and the school are. The EPA estimates Americans spend 90 percent of their time indoors, so having a healthful home is more important than ever.
The Well Living Lab Healthy Home Program, a collaboration between Mayo Clinic, KB Home and researchers Delos, hopes to provide some answers about the most salubrious home environments. Based in Phoenix, the multiyear, three-phase research project aims to educate the public on the impact of the home environment on health, stress and productivity.
Phase 1 began in February, with a model house by KB Home near Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, where the public can learn about current healthy home technologies. “KB Home has been a leader for many years in constructing healthier homes. We deliver one of the most comprehensive sets of healthier home benefits on the market,” says KB Home spokesman Craig LeMessurier, citing features like high-performance ventilation systems for improved indoor air quality, anti-microbial door handles for reduced spread of germs and comprehensive air sealing for enhanced moisture control.
Well Living Lab executive director Barbara Spurrier says studies focus on how to improve human health through homes, offices and communities. “Through this program, we can accelerate the application of research interventions and discoveries, thereby creating a healthier home, with a healthier home office, resulting in a healthier community,” Spurrier explains.
Phase 2 of the project consists of a “test laboratory” home and Phase 3 includes pilot studies with homeowners throughout the Phoenix metro area. Spurrier says Phoenix was chosen as the project site because it’s home to Mayo and KB Home. And, she adds, “it offers an idyllic scenario in which to conduct forward-thinking research and advance the lab’s mission to transform human health and wellbeing.”
