Stephen Collette is a building biologist; what’s building biology, you wonder? It’s a German school of thought that considers built environments and how they interact with and impact occupant and environment health. The field arose post-World War II, when as a result of widespread destruction from the war, the Germans found themselves having to build a lot of homes in a short period of time. This led to the creation of neighborhoods of poorly constructed homes that eventually became associated with a number of illnesses in the 1960s.

Today, this problem still exists, and according to Stephen Collette, some of the biggest concerns are found in the homeowner market. When on the market to purchase a home, most people are focused on details such as the colors of the walls, the carpets, and updated appliances, but not nearly as many consider the fundamental aspects of the building itself, such as whether there is the potential for water to leak into the basement, whether there are new chemicals off-gassing through the space, or whether there are phone towers nearby. “We don’t really take into consideration the fact that although our homes are our castles, they can in fact also make us really sick,” says Collette.

He joins the podcast today to discuss what he does as a building biologist, building scientist, and environmental consultant focusing primarily on residential buildings. He also discusses how buildings work and how they catastrophically fail, indoor air quality concerns, mechanical ventilation in modern homes, and how he leads clients to develop greater understandings of their homes and their health. Learn more by visiting http://www.yourhealthyhouse.ca/.