A
Star Homes / MBD-Free hospital project
Researcher
Jakob Brandtberg Knudsen
Research unit
Cluster for Architecture and Health
The built environment has a great impact on our health.
This realization holds far-reaching potential for how architecture can contribute to human health and well-being, and to sustainable development in a broader sense.
Through the interdisciplinary research projects Star Homes and MBD-Free Hospital, we map the relationship between architecture and health in the warm, tropical climates of sub-Saharan Africa.
In the architectural part of the hospital project, we explore how mosquito-borne diseases in hospital environments can be prevented through adaptations to the buildings and the surrounding landscape.
With the Star Homes project, we look at the link between housing design and children’s health, with a particular focus on preventing malaria, diarrhea, and acute respiratory infections: the three deadliest childhood diseases in sub-Saharan Africa.
Better housing and hospitals can make a significant difference to public health in a region where the population is growing rapidly, while also reducing its climate impact.
Photo: Julien Lanoo
Photo: Julien Lanoo
Photo: Julien Lanoo
Research Motivation
In my research, I examine the interplay between architecture and human health, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.
Drawing on my training in both architecture and medicine, I have developed several interdisciplinary research projects that investigate how housing design affects environmental exposures and health. My work has since moved from a focus on housing to a broader view of the built environment as a whole.
I find it encouraging that relatively simple architectural interventions can help solve large, systemic challenges and thereby dramatically improve living conditions for many people.
Drawing on my training in both architecture and medicine, I have developed several interdisciplinary research projects that investigate how housing design affects environmental exposures and health. My work has since moved from a focus on housing to a broader view of the built environment as a whole.
I find it encouraging that relatively simple architectural interventions can help solve large, systemic challenges and thereby dramatically improve living conditions for many people.
MBD-Free hospital project
.
.
.
Internal partners
Otis Sloan Wood, Thomas Chevalier Bøjstrup, Jakob Brandtberg Knudsen,
External partners
Star Homes: Salum Mshamu (CSK Research Solutions Limited, Tanzania), Arnold Mbando (Ifakara Health Institute, Ifakara, Tanzania), Dr. Fredros Okumu (Ifakara Health Institute, Ifakara, Tanzania), Dr. Ally Olotu (Ifakara Health Institute, Ifakara, Tanzania), professor Lorenz von Seidlein (Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU), Bangkok, Thailand / Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Oxford, Storbritannien), Dr. Bipin Adhikari (Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU), Bangkok, Thailand / Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Oxford, Storbritannien), professor Mavuto Mukaka (Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU), Bangkok, Thailand / Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Oxford, Storbritannien), professor Nicholas P. J. Day (Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU), Bangkok, Thailand / Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Oxford, Storbritannien), Hannah Sloan Wood (Ingvartsen, København, Danmark), professor Steven W. Lindsay (Department of Biosciences, Durham University, Storbritannien), professor John Bradley (MRC International Statistics and Epidemiology Group, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Storbritannien), Judith Meta (University of Amsterdam, Holland), Christopher Pell (University of Amsterdam, Holland), professor Jacqueline L. Deen (University of the Philippines, Manila, Filippinerne)
MBD-Free Hospital-projektet: Karin Schiøler (Københavns Universitet, Danmark), Fatma Saleh (State University of Zanzibar (SUZA)), Mwinyi Msellem (Directorate of Preventive Services and Health Promotion, Ministry of Health Zanzibar), Shaali Ame (Directorate of Preventive Services and Health Promotion, Ministry of Health Zanzibar), Happiness Kumburu (Kilimanjaro Clinical Research Institute (KCRI), Tanzania), Gerald Misinzo (SACIDS Foundation for One Health, University of Agriculture, Tanzania), Debora Kajeguka (Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College, Tanzania), Michael Alifrangis (Københavns Universitet, Danmark), Reginald Kavishe (Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine, KCMC University), Ayubo Kampango (Instituto Nacional de Saúde, Mozambique), Bakari Khatib (Zanzibar Malaria Elimination Programme (ZAMEP)), Danielle Agnello (postdoc, Københavns Universitet), Eliza Lupenza (ph.d.-stipendiat, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College), Gloria Ceasar (ph.d.-stipendiat, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College)
Litteraturliste
Litteraturliste
Open Access
[1]
J. B. Knudsen et al., ‘Measuring ventilation in different typologies of rural Gambian houses: a pilot experimental study’, Malar J, vol. 19, no. 1, p. 273, Jul. 2020, doi: 10.1186/s12936-020-03327-0.
[2]
N. Mossin, T. C. Bøjstrup, P. Hinsby, T. Da Costa Vasconcelos, and J. Zepernick Jensen, ‘5708 P Architecture for Public Health: Insights, design provisions and examples from the built environment in Denmark in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic’, Realdania, 2022. Accessed: Oct. 06, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://cdn.realdania.dk/media/wbpn5btl/architecture-for-public-health.pdf
[3]
N. Mossin, T. C. Bøjstrup, P. Hinsby, T. Da Costa Vasconcelos, and J. Zepernick Jensen, ‘Architecture of the Pandemic: A compendium of COVID-19 responses in the built environment’, Realdania, 2022. Accessed: Oct. 06, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://realdania.dk/viden-og-laering/vidensbibliotek/publikationer/faglige-publikationer/architecture-of-the-pandemic
[4]
J. Mottelson et al., ‘Informal housing adaptation to sociocultural and environmental conditions: Peri-urban dwelling practices under rapid urbanization in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’, Cities, vol. 174, p. 107053, Jul. 2026, doi: 10.1016/j.cities.2026.107053.
[5]
S. Mshamu et al., ‘A sustainable house design to improve child health in rural Africa: a cluster-randomized controlled trial’, Nat Med, vol. 32, no. 6, pp. 2294–2301, Jun. 2026, doi: 10.1038/s41591-026-04367-w.
[6]
O. Sloan Wood, J. B. Knudsen, K. L. Schiøler, E. Lupenza, M. Msellem, and F. Saleh, ‘Thermal comfort, ventilation and mosquito-borne disease risk in Zanzibar hospitals’, Buildings & Cities, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 909–931, 2026, doi: 10.5334/bc.657.
[7]
O. Sloan Wood et al., ‘Co-creating interventions to prevent mosquito-borne disease transmission in hospitals’, Buildings & Cities, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 819–840, Nov. 2025, doi: 10.5334/bc.636.
[8]
O. S. Wood and M. Farooq, ‘Integrating Vector Control: A Large Language Model Chatbot for Interdisciplinary Design Processes’, EAAE Joint Publishings, 2024, doi: 10.51588/cye9wr48.
