Healthier indoor environments through better air quality
Indoor air quality is one of the fundamental components of a healthy building, yet it is also one of the least visible. Ventilation, filtration, material emissions, pollutants, humidity and the way a building is occupied can all influence the quality of the air people breathe indoors.
Biofilico provides indoor air quality consultancy and healthy-building advisory for residential, workplace, hospitality and university environments, helping clients establish clear performance objectives and integrate air quality considerations into the design, specification and operation of their buildings.
Our role can extend from early-stage strategy and design review through to testing, monitoring and post-occupancy performance.
OUR APPROACH
Indoor air quality as part of a healthier building
Indoor air quality should not be considered in isolation. It sits within a broader relationship between the building fabric, mechanical systems, materials, furnishings, cleaning protocols, occupant behaviour and external environmental conditions.
Our approach therefore begins by looking at the building as a whole.
Depending on the project and its stage of development, this may involve reviewing design proposals, identifying potential pollutant sources, establishing air-quality targets, assessing material specifications, considering ventilation and filtration strategies, and defining an appropriate approach to testing and ongoing monitoring.
Biofilico acts as a strategic adviser and coordinator, helping the client and wider project team translate healthy-building objectives into a practical brief and measurable outcomes.
WHAT INFLUENCES INDOOR AIR QUALITY?
A combination of design, specification and operation
Indoor air quality is rarely determined by a single factor. Performance depends on the interaction between building systems, materials, external conditions and how a space is occupied and operated.
Ventilation
Fresh-air provision helps dilute internally generated pollutants and maintain healthier occupied environments. Ventilation should respond to occupancy, building use and spatial conditions rather than simply meeting minimum requirements.
Filtration
Appropriate filtration can reduce particulate matter and other airborne contaminants entering or circulating through a building. The right strategy depends on the HVAC system, external air conditions and performance objectives.
Materials and finishes
Paints, adhesives, sealants, composite timber, furniture and other interior products can introduce volatile organic compounds and other pollutants. Material health therefore forms an important part of an integrated IAQ strategy.
Particulate matter and external pollution
Traffic, combustion, construction and dust can all affect indoor conditions, particularly in urban environments. External air quality, the building envelope and filtration strategy therefore need to be considered together.
Humidity and thermal conditions
Excessively humid or dry conditions can affect both comfort and indoor environmental quality, making humidity an important consideration alongside ventilation and temperature.
Occupancy and operations
Cleaning products, cooking, furnishings, maintenance and occupant density can all influence air quality after handover. A successful IAQ strategy therefore needs to extend beyond design into the operational life of the building.
INDOOR AIR QUALITY CONSULTANCY SERVICES
Biofilico’s involvement can be adapted to the scale, complexity and stage of each project, from early strategy and design review through to testing and post-occupancy performance.
IAQ Strategy & Target Setting
We establish indoor air quality objectives early, identifying key priorities, performance targets and relevant certification requirements to create a clear brief for the wider project team.
Design & Specification Review
We review architectural, interior and technical proposals through a healthy-building lens, considering ventilation and filtration strategy, material specifications, pollutant sources and coordination between interiors and building systems.
Healthy Materials Review
We review materials, finishes and furniture with particular attention to VOC emissions, chemical content and other material-health considerations, helping project teams develop healthier specifications.
Testing Strategy & Coordination
We define an appropriate IAQ testing brief and coordinate with qualified local testing professionals or laboratories, before reviewing the results and identifying areas requiring further investigation or remedial action.
Continuous Monitoring
Where ongoing performance is important, we advise on monitoring strategy, relevant parameters and how air-quality data can support the wider healthy-building approach.
Post-Occupancy Review
We combine testing or monitoring results with an assessment of building operation, occupancy patterns and potential pollutant sources to identify opportunities for further optimisation.
RESET AIR
RESET Air & performance-led healthy buildings
Where appropriate, indoor air quality can also be approached through recognised performance standards such as RESET Air, which places particular emphasis on continuous monitoring and measured indoor environmental performance.
Biofilico can advise clients on whether a performance-led framework is appropriate for the project and help translate certification or monitoring objectives into the wider design brief.
This can be particularly relevant where clients want to move beyond design intentions and demonstrate how the occupied building performs over time.
Matt Aspiotis Morley is a RESET Accredited Professional (r0594).
SECTORS
Indoor air quality across different building types
The principles remain broadly consistent, but the priorities change according to the building and its users.
Residential
Healthy-home strategies can address air filtration, material emissions, cooking pollutants, humidity, sleep environments and ongoing monitoring, particularly in premium residences where clients are seeking a more comprehensive approach to health and wellbeing.
Workplace
Office environments combine relatively high occupancy with long periods spent indoors. IAQ strategy can therefore form part of a wider healthy-workplace approach encompassing ventilation, materials, comfort and occupant wellbeing.
Hotels & Hospitality
Hotels present a particular combination of guestrooms, public areas, restaurants, fitness and wellness environments. Air-quality considerations need to respond to these different uses while supporting the overall guest experience.
Universities & Education
Teaching, study, staff and social environments can have very different occupancy patterns throughout the day. Indoor air quality should therefore be considered alongside the wider objective of creating healthier spaces for concentration, learning and staff wellbeing.
EXPERIENCE
Applying healthy-building principles in practice
Our approach to indoor air quality has developed through healthy-building and wellness-interior projects in different sectors and climates.
Al Wajba Private Residence, Doha
For a private residential project in Qatar, Biofilico developed a broader healthy-home strategy addressing indoor environmental quality alongside other aspects of residential wellbeing.
The work demonstrated the importance of considering air quality not as an isolated technology package, but as one component within a more integrated healthy-home strategy encompassing materials, environmental conditions and the everyday experience of the residence.
Bolton Offices, Milan
Our workplace experience in Milan applied healthy-interior principles within a commercial office context, where indoor environmental quality forms part of a wider relationship between occupant wellbeing, materials, biophilic design and workplace experience.
These projects reflect the wider Biofilico approach: air quality works best when considered as part of the overall health performance of an interior rather than as a standalone engineering issue.
OUR ROLE
Strategic advice backed by specialist technical expertise
Indoor air quality crosses several professional disciplines. It is important to distinguish between strategic healthy-building consultancy and specialist engineering or laboratory services.
Biofilico’s role is typically to establish the brief, set targets, review design proposals, coordinate specialist inputs and interpret results through the wider healthy-building strategy.
Detailed HVAC engineering remains the responsibility of the project’s qualified MEP engineers.
Physical air-quality testing is undertaken by appropriate testing professionals or accredited laboratories, while specialist commissioning should be undertaken by the relevant technical consultants.
This structure allows Biofilico to remain focused on the client’s overall health and wellness objectives while ensuring that technical work is undertaken by appropriately qualified specialists.
Creating healthier indoor environments
Indoor air quality is most effectively addressed early, when ventilation, filtration, materials and performance objectives can still influence the wider design.
For existing buildings, testing and monitoring can also provide valuable evidence of current conditions and identify opportunities for improvement.
Biofilico works with developers, private clients, employers, universities, hotel owners and design teams to integrate indoor air quality into a broader healthy-building and wellness-design strategy.
Planning a new project or reviewing the performance of an existing building?
Frequently Asked Questions
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Indoor air quality consultancy helps clients identify, manage and measure the factors that influence the quality of air inside buildings. Depending on the project, this can include target-setting, design review, materials, ventilation and filtration strategy, testing, monitoring and post-occupancy performance.
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Ideally, IAQ should be considered during the early design stages, when decisions around ventilation, filtration, materials and building systems can still be influenced. Existing buildings can also benefit from testing, monitoring and performance review.
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Biofilico can develop the testing strategy and coordinate the process, while physical sampling and laboratory analysis are undertaken by appropriately qualified local testing professionals. We can then review the results with the project team and recommend appropriate next steps.
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No. Ventilation is important, but indoor air quality is also influenced by filtration, external pollution, materials and finishes, particulate matter, humidity, cleaning products, occupancy and building operation.
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Yes. Continuous monitoring can provide useful information about how indoor environmental conditions change over time and how the building performs under real occupancy conditions. The appropriate monitoring strategy depends on the project and its objectives.
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Air quality is one component of a broader healthy-building strategy. Biofilico considers it alongside factors such as light, acoustics, thermal comfort, materials, water, sleep and biophilic design to create healthier indoor environments.