Planting a Healthy Home

A one-day seminar on the approach to healthy buildings known as Bau-Biologie will be presented Jan. 24 by Bosco Bueler, a Swiss architect and engineer who has been working for more than 22 years in healthy building design.

“He is one of Europe’s premier green architects,” said Mary Cordara, a Los Angeles environmental consultant who is trained in the specialty and sponsoring the workshop.

Bau-Biologie, an architectural discipline developed in West Germany, means the study of home and working environments and how they affect human health.

“It’s more complex than any environmental building discipline we have in this country,” Cordara said. “With this approach, you get both the energy savings of an environmental home and also the most stringent health requirements.”

Bueler, who founded the Swiss Institute for Bau-Biologie in 1977, is designing new natural buildings for the U.S. National Park Service. His seminar here will present case studies on various residential buildings, including discussions of materials, heating and cooling systems and electromagnetic fields. The seminar, aimed at beginners, is also applicable to a more experienced audience, Cordara said.

The event is from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Waldorf School in Santa Monica. The fee is $150. To register, call (818) 766-1787.