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Healthy Interior Design: Lessons Learned from a Pandemic

TIME: 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Session Abstract:
The interior was the primary location of transmission during the pandemic, resulting in a global shut-down. Breathing, talking, singing, sneezing and coughing became the focus of attention as pathways of viral transmission in the interior.  Procedures and protocols were implemented in order to decrease the spread of infection, most relevant in indoor spaces where personal spheres intersected more frequently with one another. The pandemic revealed an overdue need to be proactive in reconfiguring interiors for yearly flu viruses, cold seasons and unexpected health risks in order to reduce transmission between co-workers, household members and society as a whole. This presentation provides content from a two-day seminar and one-day workshop that brought together interior designers, architects, scientists, engineers, epidemiologists, visualization designers, and public health experts whose work investigates infectious disease transmission made more imminent when confined indoors. Topics covered include understanding how infectious respiratory particles are transmitted from the body, particle aerosolization, pathways into respiratory systems, infectious surfaces known as fomites, how to protect the individual and community, and what steps can be taken to mitigate transmission. Case studies will be provided where content from the symposium was integrated into design problems to produce strategies that reimagine healthier interiors.

Learning Outcomes:
•  Viewing the interior through the lens of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and indoor air quality (IAQ) in the context of viral transmission.
•  Using interior case studies and program types as a tool for preventing the spread of infectious particles.
•  Describing the transmission of viruses through fomites and respiratory particles, and preventative hygiene strategies.
•  Characterizing individual risks, human behaviour, air and fomite exposure, and viral tracking to inform steps that can be taken to help mitigate viral transmission.

About the speakers:
Lois Weinthal, Professor at Toronto Metropolitan University
Lois Weinthal is Professor and Graduate Program Director in the School of Interior Design at Toronto Metropolitan University. Her research and practice investigate the relationship between architecture, interiors, clothing and objects. She is editor of Toward a New Interior: An Anthology of Interior Design Theory, co-editor of After Taste: Expanded Practice in Interior Design, and co-editor of Digital Fabrication in Interior Design: Body, Object, Enclosure. She studied architecture at Cranbrook Academy of Art and the Rhode Island School of Design. She has held positions of Honorary Professor at Middlesex University and the Glasgow School of Art.

Jeffrey Siegel, Ph.D., Professor
Jeffrey Siegel, Ph.D., is Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Toronto and a member of the university’s Building Engineering Research Group. He holds joint appointments at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and the Department of Physical & Environmental Sciences.  He holds an M.S. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley as well as a B.Sc. from Swarthmore College.  He is fellow of ASHRAE and a member of the Academy of Fellows of ISIAQ.  His research interests including healthy and sustainable buildings, ventilation and indoor air quality in residential and commercial buildings, control of indoor particulate matter, the indoor microbiome, and moisture interactions with indoor chemistry and biology.  Dr. Siegel is an active member of ISIAQ and ASHRAE and was an associate editor for the journal Building and Environment from 2014-2018.  He teaches courses in indoor air quality, sustainable buildings, and sustainable energy systems. Prior to his position at the University of Toronto, Dr. Siegel was an Associate Professor at the University of Texas.

Registration Fee:

Licensed OAA Member: $39 + HST
OAA Interns: $29 + HST
Non-Members: $59 + HST

To register, click here

NOTE:
1. An automatically generated confirmation will be emailed to you (once your registration goes through).
2. Please mark the time and date in your calendar.
3. The OAA will email the Zoom Access Link to you one-day prior.
4. OAA webinars are delivered via Zoom: Please check this Zoom Test Link or speak with your IT Consultant ahead of time, to ensure your device is compatible with Zoom. For technical concerns, please see the Zoom links for Technical Requirements and also their Download Centre.

For more information on the OAA Webinar Series click here.

If you have any questions or concerns, contact
OAA Continuing Education
e: OAAContinuingEducation@oaa.on.ca
t: 416.449.6898 Ext: 232

Attendance Policy: Members are required to attend at least 80% of a webinar in order to qualify for Continuing Education learning hours.

Cancellation Policy: Cancellations must be made at least 48 hours prior to the webinar in order to receive a refund. Webinar fees are not refunded if the cancellation is received after the deadline or if you are unable to attend.

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