ABSTRACT
The human relationship with the outdoors and outdoor air has shifted drastically throughout history, and cultural notions of health and hygiene have had a dramatic impact on how we shape the indoor environment. Culturally, conceptions of hygiene and cleanliness have driven this relationship with indoor space, which are often isolated from the nuances of scientific reasoning and technological development. However, the human relationship with germs and cleanliness is actually a relatively new construct that stems from social theories of health and hygiene. To understand why modern buildings are routinely sealed in the first place, this chapter explores the social constructs associated with germs and hygiene, as well as the sociocultural associations with outdoor air in Western cultures, highlighting three primary human behaviors: control, fear, and technocratic utopianism.
