The following list of twenty-five principles were developed by Anton Schneider, Ph.D., founder of the Institute fűr Baubiologie and Oekologie. These principals can be used while planning the construction of a natural and ecologically friendly home, or while remodeling an existing one.
- Make sure the building site is geologically undisturbed.
- Place dwellings away from industrial centers and major traffic roads.
- Place dwellings well apart from each other in spaciously planned developments amidst green areas
- Plan homes and developments individually taking into consideration the human aspect and the needs of family life and nature.
- Use natural and unadulterated building materials
- Use wall, floor and ceiling materials, which allow the diffusion of moisture.
- Allow natural self-regulation of indoor air humidity using hygroscopic materials.
- Consider sorption of building materials and plants (in and outside), which allow filtration and neutralization of toxic airborne substances.
- Design for balance between heat storage and thermal insulation in living spaces.
- Plan for optimal surface and air temperature
- Use thermal radiation for heating buildings employing solar energy as much as possible.
- Promote low humidity and rapid desiccation in new buildings.
- Utilize building materials, which have neutral or pleasant natural scents and which do not emit toxic vapors.
- Provide for natural light and use illumination and color in accordance with nature.
- Provide adequate protection from noise and infrasonic vibration or sound conducted through solids.
- Use building materials that do not have elevated radioactivity levels.
- Preserve the natural (DC) air electrical field and physiologically beneficial ion balance in space.
- Preserve the natural (DC) magnetic field
- Minimize technical (AC) electric and (AC) magnetic fields.
- Minimize the alteration of vital cosmic and terrestrial radiation.
- Utilize physiological knowledge in furniture and space design.
- Consider proportion, harmonic orders, and shapes in design.
- Use building materials that do not contribute to environmental problems and high energy cost in production process.
- Do not support products or building materials that over-use limited and irreplaceable raw materials
- Support building activities and production of materials which do not have adverse side-effects of any kind and which promote health and social well-being.