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Integrated Building Design and Infection Control: Past, Present and Future

29 January 2021, 1:00 pm–2:00 pm

Greyscale hospital building with green shapes

This is the third event in our 'Integrated Building Design' seminar series that will run throughout the 2020/21 academic year. The guest speaker for this webinar is independent researcher and author, Dr Richard Hobday.

This event is free.

Event Information

Open to

All

Availability

Yes

Cost

Free

Organiser

UCL Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering

About the event

The last 12 months has seen a resurgence in interest in the control of infections in buildings. Within the scientific community, the modes of transmission of respiratory disease have been the subject of much discussion and debate. During the 19th and into the 20th century, the same competing theories were being aired: some experts believed respiratory infections, such as influenza, spread through the air. Others argued droplets were the primary route of transmission. In this presentation, Dr Richard Hobday will explain how medical thinking on the indoor transmission of infection - and the science informing it - has influenced building design. He will also look at new research, which is now revisiting some of the older ideas about infection indoors.

The event will feature a presentation followed by an interactive Q&A session.


About the speaker

Dr Richard Hobday: Dr Richard Hobday is an independent researcher and author. He has a PhD in engineering from Cranfield University. His research work bridges gaps between several disciplines. These include space-based manufacturing, sustainable building design, urban planning, infection control, and public health. His academic publications include a study of the 1918-19 influenza pandemic; a review of sunlight and natural ventilation in hospitals, and a study of daylight in schools and myopia in children. The focus of Dr Hobday’s recent research has been global health threats. He is an invited speaker at international conferences and on university courses.