Poisonous Atmospheres: Ventilation and the late Nineteenth Century Building

The desire for healthy buildings and inhabitants in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century was of prime concern for hygienists, sanitary engineers, architects and regulatory officials alike. To protect inhabitants a range of technological and operational strategies were employed to prevent...

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Main Author: Stephens, John
Format: Journal Article
Published: Department of Architectural Design Science, University of Sydney 2003
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/24903
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author Stephens, John
author_facet Stephens, John
author_sort Stephens, John
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The desire for healthy buildings and inhabitants in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century was of prime concern for hygienists, sanitary engineers, architects and regulatory officials alike. To protect inhabitants a range of technological and operational strategies were employed to prevent the air in rooms becoming foul and contaminated. At the root of this concern and resulting technology were particular concepts and theories regarding the mechanisms by which disease spread. Foul air, whether from dangerous decomposing organic matter or from the fetid breath of ordinary individuals needed dilution and deodorisation – best managed with good ventilation. Using the situation in late nineteenth century Britain and its colony in Western Australia as a case study this paper explores the way that ventilation technology at its simplest level was informed by concepts of health and disease.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-249032017-01-30T12:45:39Z Poisonous Atmospheres: Ventilation and the late Nineteenth Century Building Stephens, John The desire for healthy buildings and inhabitants in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century was of prime concern for hygienists, sanitary engineers, architects and regulatory officials alike. To protect inhabitants a range of technological and operational strategies were employed to prevent the air in rooms becoming foul and contaminated. At the root of this concern and resulting technology were particular concepts and theories regarding the mechanisms by which disease spread. Foul air, whether from dangerous decomposing organic matter or from the fetid breath of ordinary individuals needed dilution and deodorisation – best managed with good ventilation. Using the situation in late nineteenth century Britain and its colony in Western Australia as a case study this paper explores the way that ventilation technology at its simplest level was informed by concepts of health and disease. 2003 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/24903 Department of Architectural Design Science, University of Sydney fulltext
spellingShingle Stephens, John
Poisonous Atmospheres: Ventilation and the late Nineteenth Century Building
title Poisonous Atmospheres: Ventilation and the late Nineteenth Century Building
title_full Poisonous Atmospheres: Ventilation and the late Nineteenth Century Building
title_fullStr Poisonous Atmospheres: Ventilation and the late Nineteenth Century Building
title_full_unstemmed Poisonous Atmospheres: Ventilation and the late Nineteenth Century Building
title_short Poisonous Atmospheres: Ventilation and the late Nineteenth Century Building
title_sort poisonous atmospheres: ventilation and the late nineteenth century building
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/24903