Your Building Might Be Making You Sick: Why Nature Is Non-Negotiable – Ep 104 with Helena van Vliet
This week on Better Buildings for Humans, Joe Menchefski is joined by biophilic design expert and architect Helena van Vliet for an eye-opening conversation that redefines what it means to design for well-being. Helena shares her deeply personal path from Bauhaus boxes to “buildings as habitat,” and explains how chronic stress, poor air, and flat architecture are failing our health. You’ll learn why edge conditions matter, how buildings impact your immune system, and how evolutionary biology proves we need daily awe to thrive. From her pioneering teaching methods to her new book Towards a Nature Positive Built Environment, Helena makes a compelling case for buildings that bloom—and why public health depends on them. If you think natural light and green walls are just nice-to-haves… think again.
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More About Helena van Vliet
Born and raised in Aachen, Germany, in a family of architects and builders, Helena made her way to the US at the age of 20 and eventually found her home in Pennsylvania. She holds a Master of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Science (Vordiplom) in Architecture from the RWTH Aachen, Germany. Helena is the mother of two precious young adults and a licensed architect in the U.S. as well as in Germany.
CONTACT:
https://www.helenavanvliet.com/
http://www.biophilly.org
https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenavanvliet/
https://link.springer.com/book/9783031952913
https://www.design.upenn.edu/people/helena-van-vliet
www.biophiliccities.org
https://www.facebook.com/HelenaVanVlietArchitectLLC/
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