Wooden buildings have a good reputation. They are considered pleasant in appearance and their indoor air does not have quality problems and can even promote well-being. Studies carried out under controlled conditions with a short stay in wooden environment also support these assumptions. Instead, studies on how long-term housing or working in a wooden building affects people has, as far as we know, been carried out only using resident satisfaction surveys, and then in Austria in the early 2010’s two groups of schoolchildren with 20 pupils each were monitored for various stress indicators. At the end of the school year, the group that studied in the wooden classroom had a lower stress than the control group had, their heart rate was lower, and interacting with the teacher was less stressful for them.
Keywords: wood construction, wellbeing, stress
Authors
Pekka Kilpeläinen
University of Oulu, Kajaani University Consortium, Kajaani, Finland
Veijo Sutinen
University of Oulu, Kajaani University Consortium, Kajaani, Finland
Elina Jokinen
University of Oulu, Kajaani University Consortium, Kajaani, Finland
Vesa Virtanen
University of Oulu, Kajaani University Consortium, Kajaani, Finland
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