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Abstract
Studies indicate that climate change impacts will dramatically increase vulnerabilities in rural communities where those living off the land are at increasing risk from extreme weather events such as heat waves, famine and drought. Additionally, more than 80% of the world is at risk from at least one vector-borne disease, and Malaria is a leading cause of death in the developing world. However, most research in this field addresses this public health crisis in the form of pesticides, chemical interventions, and genetic modification, with little consideration for the role of the built environment, particularly in limited resource settings.
Recent efforts to make housing more protective, however, often lead to dwellings that have reduced air transmission and poor indoor environmental quality. Additionally, modern, sustainable buildings can be technologically complex and prohibitively ex-pensive.
The brick, however, is the most commonly used building material in the world. By studying the material aspects of this humble material in tandem with the synergistic relationships of energy, comfort, and disease, this humble material has the potential to become a greater part of the urban resiliency and public health strategy. Working collaboratively with engineers, entomologists, social scientists, and regional experts, student researchers explored the capability of masonry construction materials made from accessible, low-impact resources to control the transfer of heat, moisture, and mosquitoes in housing in rural Tanzania. By challenging conventional norms of construction and global health, these prototypes explore the intersection between design, disease and a rapidly changing climate.
