Designing Green Spaces for Health: Using Plants to Reduce the Spread of Airborne Viruses

This book focuses on using plants in spatial design to reduce the infectiousness of viruses in different working and living spaces. It presents strategies for interior and exterior green designs with plants that are likely effective for flu virus tolerance and reduction of infectiousness. The designs are appealing for interaction and healing, and the Famulari Theory requires examining plants that are likely effective for virus accumulation based on their leaves, stomata, trichomes, and dense leaf growth.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 162 pages
Publication date: 13 December 2021
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This book delves into the captivating realm of utilizing plants in spatial design to mitigate the infectiousness of viruses in diverse working and living environments. It presents comprehensive strategies for creating interior and exterior green designs that are highly effective in tolerating and reducing the spread of flu viruses. These designs not only prioritize the reduction and elimination of virus infectiousness but also foster a sense of interaction and healing.

The Famulari Theory serves as a guiding framework for this research, emphasizing the examination of plants that possess characteristics conducive to the accumulation of airborne viruses. These plants include those with leaves featuring stomata, trichomes, and dense leaf growth, as well as those with a high transpiration rate that aids in the accumulation of airborne viruses. Furthermore, this research necessitates a review of the quantity and specific types of plants required to generate effective humidity for plants, thereby diminishing the infectiousness or transmission of viruses. It also explores the optimal distance between people and plants, as well as the essential requirements for light, water, soil, and temperature to support plant health and virus mitigation.

The book addresses a wide range of greening practices that can be implemented at various sites to reduce the infectiousness of the airborne flu virus, particularly in areas such as train stations, restaurants, rooftops, courtyards, office buildings, work spaces/conference rooms, and home offices. It highlights the ways in which business owners and residents can integrate these practices into their daily lives to create a green solution that effectively reduces air contaminants.

To achieve the most effective and ideal green space design that accumulates, reduces, and removes the infectiousness of viruses, a multifaceted approach is necessary. The six basic approaches encompass:

1. Maintaining a temperature minimum of 70° Fahrenheit to create an environment that is inhospitable to virus growth.
2. Selecting plants with multiple stomata on their leaf surfaces, as these stomata facilitate the exchange of gases and moisture, thereby reducing the likelihood of virus accumulation.
3. Incorporating plants with multiple clumps of dense foliage, as these dense clusters create a physical barrier that prevents the spread of viruses.
4. Choosing plants with a high transpiration rate, as these plants release water vapor into the air, which helps to dilute and disperse viruses.
5. Selecting plants that have natural antiviral properties, such as certain herbs and flowers, which can help to deter the growth and spread of viruses.
6. Designing green spaces that incorporate a variety of plant species and textures, as this diversity promotes a healthy and balanced ecosystem that is less conducive to the growth of viruses.

By incorporating these six basic approaches, designers and architects can create green spaces that not only enhance the aesthetic appeal of a space but also play a crucial role in mitigating the infectiousness of viruses. These spaces can promote a healthier and more sustainable environment for individuals and communities, ultimately contributing to a better quality of life.

Weight: 510g
Dimension: 210 x 278 x 13 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367683139