אדריכלות ישראלית - גיליון 121

The Impact of Corona on Architecture אדריכלותישראלית Architecture of Israel # 121 | May 2020 | 34 In order to understand the correlation between quality of air, humidity and temperature, it is necessary to clarify the distinction between two basic concepts: absolute humidity (AH), and relative humidity (RH). Both of them refer to a water mass in a certain quantity of air. However, while relative humidity is temperature dependent, absolute humidity is not. This is due to the fact that water molecules’ bearing capacity increases according to the temperature, and any attempt to add water to saturated air will increase evaporation. Various studies have found a direct correlation between cold weather and the spreading rate of viruses related to respiratory infections. Thus, for instance, the recent outbreak of corona in the northern cities of China, Iran, Italy and the United States occurred at the same time along the same latitude. A study carried out in Finland found that the prevalence of respiratory infections rises when the temperature drops and humidity rises. In contrast, studies dealing with the impact of humidity conditions on increasing influenza in the United States indicates the absence of a clear correlation between low or high absolute humidity. However, the appearance of the virus in winter increases the survival ability of the virus in the weeks prior to the appearance of influenza. Hence, it was suggested that in order to prevent the virus from spreading one must pay attention to the weather conditions in the weeks prior to its appearance, and not necessarily to the time of occurrence. In any case, these conditions are typical of transition periods when air conditioners are used less (both for cooling or for heating) - a sign that the key lies in the difference between natural and conditioned air. An air-conditioned room is indicative of an environment characterized by a low temperature and relatively low humidity (whether hot or cold), while natural air may contain high or low absolute humidity irrespective of the temperature. Since cold air constitutes a higher potential for surviving the virus, while a high temperature diminishes survival; and since high humidity encourages infection while low humidity diminishes it, the optimal solution seems to lie in controlling the quality of air. In this respect, it is worth paying attention to three conflicts: the first is that conditioned air is colder and as such could increase virus survival. However it is less humid and therefore likely to diminish infection. The second conflict is that air-conditioning is captured in a closed circuit, which might encourage infection factors, mainly in closed rooms. Hence, one of the key problems in hospital planning is neutralizing the air of infection agents.And this brings us to the third conflict. The solution adopted in public buildings, and especially in hospitals, is based on controlled air changing through negative pressure; a method that actually negates the conventional principle of air-conditioning whereby re-cycling the air constitutes energy saving. However, in light of the fact that hospitals are the most intense arenas for interaction, they may shed light on the architectural inability to provide proper conditions for managing the battle against a viral pandemic, where the crucial principle is isolation, contrary to its embedded traditional principle of encouraging social interaction. It is worth noting that what saved the situation was the great progress made in developing electronic sensors and monitoring devices that enable virtual interaction through cameras and imaging devices, facilitating remote monitoring and treatment, as well as successful, complex surgery. Since critical situations like the Corona pandemic concerns an invisible adversary, the struggle is mainly against its symptoms. In such cases, virtual interaction should be taken into consideration as a built-in alternative in every plan from now on. Thus, when necessary, social interaction innate to architecture in conventional situations, may enable proper isolation without neutralizing billions, as Covid-19 has done without any effort at all. However, as in many other cases, until the coming of the Messiah, salvation might come from the lowest-tech aspect of architecture – that of the sewer system. Based on a hierarchical structure, it allows for a relatively simple detection of the virus spread at the level of the building, neighborhood, city, and state. This is not a new method, and as known, it has been in use in various ways for centuries, such as for detecting Bilharzia and Cholera in South Africa, Egypt, Italy (Venice) India or even Holland, where sewage and drainage systems frequently intersect, constituting a risk of spreading disease through bathing or drinking water. And a word in conclusion: The complacency of the architectural milieu, its recent failure exposed in the total paralysis of the health system, long documented in the Ministry of Health’s Guidelines for hospital planning. There, clearly written, is a directive to provide one isolation room (with the possibility of an extra bed…) in each emergency ward based on 50 beds. Since the emergency rooms in Israel included about 700 beds at the outbreak of Corona, the number of isolation rooms were nil, and the most progressive hospitals proven to be worthless in the face of the need to isolate hundreds or thousands of people. Instead, it was necessary to erect field isolation tents, or temporarily occupy existing buildings not intended for this. In this light, the flagship of architecture in terms of spatial relations must shift from “social interaction” to isolation provision when necessary. Florence Nightingale's hospital emphasize natural light as an important therapeutic architectural factor. בית החולים של פלורנס נייטינגייל מדגים את חשיבות האור כמרכיב אדריכלי חשוב בתהליך הריפוי.