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Title details for The Great Indoors by Emily Anthes - Available

The Great Indoors

The Surprising Science of How Buildings Shape Our Behavior, Health, and Happiness

by Emily Anthes
Suzie Althens
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
Modern humans are an indoor species. We spend ninety percent of our time inside, shuttling between homes and offices, schools and stores, restaurants and gyms. And yet, in many ways, the indoor world remains unexplored territory. For all the time we spend inside buildings, we rarely stop to consider: How do these spaces affect our mental and physical well-being? Our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors? Our productivity, performance, and relationships? In this wide-ranging, character-driven book, science-journalist Emily Anthes takes us on an adventure into the buildings in which we spend our days, exploring the profound and sometimes unexpected ways that they shape our lives. Drawing on cutting-edge research, she probes the pain-killing power of a well-placed window and examines how the right office layout can expand our social networks. She investigates how room temperature regulates our cognitive performance, how the microbes hiding in our homes influence our immune systems, and how cafeteria design affects what―and how much―we eat. Along the way, Anthes takes listeners into an operating room designed to minimize medical errors, a school designed to boost students' physical fitness, and a prison designed to support inmates' psychological needs. And she previews homes of the future, from the high-tech houses that could monitor our health to the 3D-printed structures that might allow us to live on the Moon.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    June 23, 2020

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781666552157
      • File size: 233776 KB
      • Duration: 08:07:01

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Narrator Suzie Althens's bright tone and pacing prove to be a buoyant guide through this fascinating examination of the spaces in which we live and work. The audiobook covers the spectrum of the "built environment," the constructed world that impacts our lives. Listeners are given details that range from the microorganisms living among us in our homes to the social impact of hospital and prison architecture. Each chapter focuses on individuals and how their lives are impacted by their environments; in one passage, a prisoner recounts his experience of solitary confinement: "They keep you alive while killing you." Althens smoothly delivers the various perspectives, capturing both the emotional and scientific frameworks of the topic. This is the perfect audiobook for our days of eternal lockdown. S.P.C. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      March 23, 2020
      Journalist Anthes (Frankenstein’s Cat) explores cutting-edge innovations in architecture and interior design in her enjoyable and educational work of pop science. Most chapters focus on a particular type of indoor space and recent efforts to improve it—for example, hospitals being designed with more green space, or offices planned with both worker productivity and comfort in mind. Some of the most intriguing chapters pertain to improving the lives of vulnerable or marginalized individuals, as with housing developments built specifically for adults with autism, who often have certain sensory or socialization issues, or just need extra help to live on their own. Elsewhere, Anthes discusses the harshness of prisons designed to “control, shame and stigmatize,” and contrasts that with a California facility where a more open plan resulted in a considerable improvement in inmate behavior. Ending on a fun note, Anthes outlines the work of “space architects” designing structures for habitation on Mars. Though far from a rigorous scientific study, this thoughtful work will prompt readers to more carefully consider the spaces they commonly inhabit but may rarely think about.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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