Breath of Formosa: Designing for Respiratory Health in Taiwan

Climate change and environmental pollution have led to an alarming increase in respiratory diseases, particularly in urban populations and especially for children. The effects of air pollution are significantly detrimental to children because they are far more susceptible to air pollutants. This is due to their developing lungs and immune system, higher breathing rate, and their proximity to ground level pollutants. Respiratory diseases caused by air pollution can have long term effects on children such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), pneumonia, or asthma. Struggles with these respiratory diseases will lead to absenteeism in schools, further damaging children’s development. Additionally, according to the Lung Diseases Journal, respiratory diseases have claimed the lives of over one million children annually, with 60% of these deaths linked to environmental pollutants. This includes degraded ecosystems, air pollution, and climate change. Without intervention, these numbers will continue to rise, impacting both the environment and the health of future generations. This project is located in Tainan, Taiwan, an urban city significantly affected by air pollution. Tainan is a densely populated city that struggles with combatting fossil fuel consumption, vehicle emissions, and pollution from nearby countries. Its concentration of pollutants is also due to the geography of Taiwan, causing poor dispersal and trapping pollutants. According to IQAir, Tainan has the highest air pollution levels in Taiwan. The particulate matter concentration averages 20.9µg/m³ - over four times the World Health Organization’s recommended limit. Many may seek refuge indoors from ambient pollution and assume sterile environments such as hospitals would be ideal for clean air. This is not always the case as there are numerous pollutants that can be more dangerous in healthcare facilities such as exposure to volatile organic compounds(VOCs), antiseptic solutions, and cleaning agents. The goal of this thesis is to design a community health center in Tainan that actively reduces local air pollution and improves indoor air quality. This thesis will create an urban filtered zone for children and the public to safely explore outdoors. The community health center will use strategies such as cross ventilation and natural filtration to improve indoor air quality. The combination of these strategies will create a healthier environment for the community, encourage actions to combat air pollution, and protect public health.