Key concepts in wellness real estate & healthy buildings

Heidis Garden Shop with biophilic design - check the moss wall installation!

What is a healthy building concept?

Healthy buildings refer to a structure that is designed, constructed, and maintained with the well-being of its occupants in mind. It is a space that promotes the physical, mental, and emotional health of the people who live or work in it.

Such examples of wellness real estate are designed to provide clean and fresh air, access to natural light, and comfortable temperature and humidity levels.

They also prioritize the use of non-toxic materials and incorporate features that enhance indoor air quality, such as proper ventilation systems and air filtration.

Additionally, well buildings often incorporate elements that support physical activity and wellbeing, such as designated spaces for exercise or access to outdoor areas.

Overall, a health-oriented building is one that supports the health and well-being of its occupants through thoughtful design and maintenance practices.

International well building institute ("WELL")

The concept of a well building has gained significant attention in recent years as people have become more aware of the impact of their built environment on their health.

The International WELL Building Institute has developed the WELL Building Standard, which provides guidelines and certifications for buildings that prioritize occupant health and well-being.

This standard focuses on several key aspects, including air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort, and mind. By following these guidelines, building owners and developers can create spaces that not only meet the needs of their occupants but also contribute to their overall health and well-being.

Typeform offices - an example of biophilic offices

What is 'salutogenesis'?

Salutogenesis is a concept that focuses on promoting health and well-being rather than solely focusing on the prevention and treatment of diseases. It emphasizes the factors that contribute to a person's overall health and their ability to adapt and cope with stressors.

In the context of the built environment, salutogenesis is closely related to the concept of healthy buildings or well buildings.

These elements of green buildings are believed to have a significant impact on the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of individuals.

By creating a conducive environment that supports health and wellness, healthy buildings aim to promote productivity, reduce absenteeism, and improve overall satisfaction among occupants.

The concept of salutogenesis aligns with the principles of healthy buildings by recognizing the importance of creating spaces that contribute to the well-being of individuals.

It acknowledges that the built environment plays a crucial role in shaping our health outcomes and believes that by providing healthy and supportive environments, we can enhance people's ability to live a healthy lifestyle.

Salutogenesis emphasizes the proactive approach of promoting health rather than simply addressing disease, and this aligns with the goals of healthy buildings.

By incorporating salutogenic principles in the design and operation of buildings, we can create spaces that prioritize the health and well-being of its occupants.

What is Sick Building Syndrome ('SBS')?

Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) refers to a condition in which occupants of a building experience a range of health issues that are believed to be caused by the building itself. This can include symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, eye irritation, and respiratory problems.

The term "sick building syndrome" was coined in the 1980s when an increasing number of people were reporting these symptoms in relation to their workplace or other indoor environments.

In recent years, there has been a growing focus on creating healthy buildings that prioritize the well-being of occupants.

These healthy buildings are designed with features such as good ventilation, natural lighting, and low levels of pollutants to minimize the risk of sick building syndrome and promote a healthier indoor environment.

The concept of a "well building" has gained traction, emphasizing the importance of designing and maintaining buildings that support the physical and mental well-being of its occupants.

What is the Harvard Healthy Buildings Program led by Joseph Allen at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health?

The Harvard Healthy Buildings Program, led by Joseph Allen at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, is a groundbreaking initiative that aims to improve the quality of indoor environments in buildings.

This program recognizes the significant impact that buildings have on our health and well-being, and seeks to create healthier spaces for occupants. By conducting research and providing evidence-based guidance, the program aims to transform the way buildings are designed, operated, and maintained.

Through the implementation of strategies such as improved ventilation, filtration, and lighting, the program aims to create healthier buildings that promote productivity, comfort, and overall well-being.

The Harvard Healthy Buildings Program is at the forefront of promoting healthy building practices and is making significant contributions to the field of public health.

What are the Foundations of a Healthy Building?

Inspired by the Joseph Allen model from the Harvard Healthy Buildings Program, here are a selection of foundations that contribute to creating a healthy building environment targeting enhancements to human health markers for the occupants.

These foundations include air quality, water quality, thermal comfort, lighting, acoustics, materials, ergonomics, biophilia, and health amenities.

Indoor air quality

Firstly, ensuring good air quality is essential for a healthy building. This involves proper ventilation and air purification systems to remove pollutants and improve indoor air quality.

Water quality

Secondly, maintaining clean and safe water is crucial for the health of the occupants. Regular testing and treatment of water sources are necessary to prevent the spread of waterborne diseases.

Thermal comfort

Thirdly, providing thermal comfort is vital in a healthy building. Proper insulation, temperature control, and access to natural light contribute to creating a comfortable environment for occupants.

Lighting

Fourthly, adequate lighting plays a significant role in promoting productivity and well-being. Natural light and proper artificial lighting should be incorporated into the design of the office building.

Acoustic performance

Moreover, addressing acoustic issues is important for a healthy building. Noise control measures should be implemented to reduce noise pollution and create a peaceful environment.

Healthy materials

Using sustainable and non-toxic materials in construction helps create a healthy indoor environment by minimizing exposure to harmful chemicals.

Ergonomic design & active design

Furthermore, ergonomic design principles should be applied to promote comfort and reduce physical strain. This includes adjustable furniture, proper desk heights, and ergonomic tools.

Biophilia design & nature

Incorporating biophilic design elements such as plants and natural materials can have positive effects on mental health and well-being.

Health facilities and wellness amenities

Lastly, providing health amenities such as fitness areas or wellness programs encourages occupants to prioritize their health and well-being.

wework coworking spaces go big on air purifying indoor plants

The role of Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ)

Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) refers to the overall conditions inside a building that can affect the health, comfort, and productivity of its occupants. It encompasses various factors including indoor air quality (IAQ), thermal comfort, lighting, noise levels, and ergonomics.

IEQ is a broader concept than IAQ as it takes into account all aspects of the indoor environment that can impact the well-being of individuals.

While IAQ specifically focuses on the quality of the air inside a building, IEQ considers a wider range of factors that contribute to a healthy building.

IAQ primarily looks at factors such as the presence of pollutants, ventilation rates, and humidity levels. On the other hand, IEQ includes not just air quality but also factors like temperature control, natural lighting, noise reduction measures, and ergonomic building design.

The distinction between IEQ and IAQ is important because it highlights the need for a comprehensive approach to creating healthy buildings. Simply addressing IAQ alone may not be sufficient to ensure a high-quality indoor environment.

A holistic approach to IEQ considers multiple factors and their interaction to create a comfortable and healthy space for occupants.

While indoor air quality is an important component of IEQ, it is not the only factor to consider. A holistic approach that addresses all aspects of indoor environment is necessary to create truly healthy buildings.

What are 'VOCs' and 'PM' in indoor air quality data?

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are organic chemicals that easily evaporate at room temperature and can be found in indoor air. They are emitted from a variety of sources, including building materials, furniture, cleaning products, and personal care products.

VOCs can have both short-term and long-term health effects. Short-term exposure to high levels of VOCs can cause eye, nose, and throat irritation, headaches, dizziness, and nausea. Long-term exposure to low levels of VOCs has been linked to respiratory problems, allergic reactions, and even cancer.

Particulate Matter (PM) refers to tiny particles suspended in the air that can be inhaled into the lungs. These particles can come from various sources, such as combustion processes, smoking, and outdoor pollution that seeps indoors.

PM can be categorized into different size fractions, with smaller particles being more harmful as they can penetrate deep into the respiratory and nervous system more. Exposure to PM can cause respiratory symptoms such as coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. Long-term exposure to high levels of PM has been associated with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, lung cancer, and premature death.

To maintain a healthy building environment, it is important to minimize the sources of VOCs and PM. This can be achieved by using low-emission building materials, choosing non-toxic cleaning and personal care products, and ensuring proper ventilation to reduce the concentration of indoor pollutants.

Regular maintenance and cleaning practices can also help in reducing the accumulation of dust and particulate matter. Implementing these measures can help create a healthier indoor environment for occupants and reduce the potential health risks associated with VOCs and PM.

What is the COGfx study into the benefits of healthy buildings on cognitive performance?

The COGfx research study is a groundbreaking initiative that investigates the impact of healthy buildings on occupants' cognitive function and productivity. Led by a team of researchers at Harvard University's T.H. Chan School of Public Health, this study aims to provide valuable insights into the relationship between indoor environmental quality and human performance.

By examining various aspects of the built environment, such as ventilation, lighting, and thermal conditions, the researchers seek to identify the factors that contribute to a healthy building. The ultimate goal of medical research is to develop evidence-based guidelines that can be used to design and maintain buildings that promote occupant health and well-being.

The COGfx research study takes a comprehensive approach to understanding the effects of healthy buildings on cognitive function. It involves conducting controlled experiments in office spaces where participants are exposed to different environmental conditions.

These conditions are carefully manipulated to simulate various scenarios commonly encountered in real-world buildings. By measuring cognitive performance using standardized tests, the researchers can assess the impact of different environmental factors on participants' abilities to concentrate, make decisions, and solve problems.

The findings of the COGfx research study have significant implications for the design and operation of buildings worldwide. By demonstrating the positive effects of healthy buildings on cognitive function, this study highlights the importance of investing in indoor environmental quality.

It provides valuable evidence that can be used to advocate for better building standards and policies that prioritize occupant health and well-being. Ultimately, the COGfx research study aims to promote a shift towards healthier buildings that enhance productivity, satisfaction, and overall quality of life for occupants.

The big picture view - what role does the anthropocene play in the healthy buildings movement?

The Anthropocene is a term used to describe the current geological age, in which human activities have had a significant and lasting impact on the Earth's ecosystems. It is characterized by the rapid evolution of technology and the widespread industrialization that has occurred over the past few centuries.

This has led to significant changes in the natural environment, including increased pollution, deforestation, and climate change. These changes have had profound effects on the health and wellbeing of both humans and other species.

The rapid evolution of technology and industrialization has brought about numerous advancements and improvements in our daily lives. However, it has also come at a cost to our health and wellbeing.

The increase in pollution from industrial activities has led to a decline in air and water quality, resulting in respiratory and other health issues for humans. Additionally, deforestation and habitat destruction have led to the loss of biodiversity, disrupting ecosystems and potentially leading to the spread of diseases.

Climate change, another consequence of human activities during the Anthropocene, has also had significant effects on our health and wellbeing. Rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and changing patterns of precipitation can lead to increased risk of heat stroke, vector-borne diseases, and food insecurity.

These changes disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, such as those in low-income communities or developing countries.

PRADO restaurant lisbon with biophilic design

the chemical revolution

The chemical revolution refers to the significant changes that occurred in the field of chemistry during the 18th and 19th centuries. It marked a period of intense scientific development and discovery, leading to advancements in various industries and the understanding of chemical processes.

This revolution brought about major changes in manufacturing methods, agriculture, medicine, and everyday life. The use of chemicals became widespread, leading to both positive and negative impacts on society.

One negative impact of the chemical revolution is the role that harmful chemicals play in sick building syndrome. Sick building syndrome refers to a condition where occupants of a building experience acute health effects or discomfort due to the time spent in the building.

Poor indoor air quality, often caused by the presence of harmful chemicals, is a common factor contributing to this syndrome.

Chemicals such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from building materials, furnishings, cleaning products, and even personal care products can accumulate indoors and negatively affect the health and wellbeing of occupants.

These chemicals can cause respiratory problems, headaches, fatigue, dizziness, and other symptoms. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure proper ventilation and minimize the use of harmful chemicals in buildings to prevent sick building syndrome and promote a healthy indoor environment.

This context helps to explain how it came to pass that the buildings we inhabit for 90% of our lives (!) may in fact be having a negative impact on our wellbeing.

Only through some combination of new and existing buildings improving their building operations to impact human health in a positive sense, combined with efforts by the likes of US Green Building Council LEED and WELL certification for new buildings do we stand a chance of not just reducing the environmental impact of the real estate sector but converting it into a wellbeing contributor.

Green Healthy Places - healthy building consultants

Whether your concern be workplace wellbeing or health interior design, by integrating wellness features such as those described above, from monitoring features and a performance based system rating systems, to sustainable design, improve air quality, WELL building standard certification and efforts to improve air quality, followed up by post occupancy surveys, contact us at Green Healthy Places (part of Biofilico) to discuss how we can assist.

botanical design in architecture and interiors with wayward plants

the green & healthy places podcast explores the themes of wellbeing and sustainability in real estate and hotels

Episode 059 took us to London, UK to chat with Tom Kendall, Associate Director of Wayward Plants, a botanical design collective on a mission to bring urban communities back into contact with the natural world.

Our conversation covers their work creating biophilic public benches that convey a message about inner city air quality, large scale plant donations as an ethical business practice, designing botanically inspired playgrounds, their work designing a botanical memorial for nelson mandela in liverpool and their nature-inspired sustainable interior concept for a stella mccartney store.

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lemonary by wayward plants

Matt Morley

Let’s start with a question about your ‘better air benches’. There are so many different ways of bringing nature back into the city nowadays, it is one of the things that really inspires me personally and I think we share those same values.

How can something as seemingly banal as a public bench become much more functional and play an actual role in purifying the air within the city?

improving Air quality in the public realm

Thomas Kendall

Yes. So this was a collaboration with business improvement districts (BID) down in south London. And it was kind of interesting because it didn't start out as a bench, the initial proposal was supposed to be a gateway, it was supposed to be something big and grand.

After some really interesting discussions with the BID, we decided to change it to try and in a way take up more space. And to become more purposeful and useful within the public realm.

We knew there were other people who were doing other kinds of more ‘threshold gateway-esque strategies’ in London then anyway. So we wanted to try and find a way to integrate ourselves in a little bit more of a purposeful environment, we also knew that we were going to initially be sited in Borough Market, which is obviously this amazing sort of threshold and space of exchange, of constant flux and change.

We needed something that had an element of transition to it. And for us, this idea of a simple bench was I guess, the key that unlocked that for us, we wanted something that was going to be colorful, something that was going to be very simple yet interactive. And also obviously, that one of the key parts of us has to be something green.

Unusually for us, we ended up working with a monoculture of ivy in this instance. So we filled these very simple mesh cages of benches and we filled them with English IV, which is known to be really good for air quality. And we knew we were never going to fill them with enough to actively change the air quality. But for us, it was very much about raising awareness, which is also why we didn't want to be stuck in one site.

So whilst we started out in Borough Market, the whole point with the benches was that they were mobile, they could go out and fill space. Four years later, now, I'm still getting texts from friends being like, “Oh, I just saw your bench on this street” or “I just sat in this square and had my lunch on your bench”. There's something so wonderfully human and intuitive about them, that people really warm to.

borough market, london

Healthy buildings, outside air quality and raising public awareness

Matt Morley

So let me dig into that a little bit... If we had, say, a closed environment such as a healthy building interior, or specifically a workplace environment where we might be aiming for a much more tangible set of data and outputs. For example purifying the indoor air and improving productivity but when you're working in the public realm, perhaps the sheer scale of the problem is so huge that that you're never going to be able to make a meaningful impact on the air quality in that particular area of London. So do you set out with a different mission in a sense, just to raise awareness amongst the general public?

Thomas Kendall

Yeah, that was definitely one of the client’s key concerns with this was to have a wider discussion on air quality in Southwark obviously, it's a huge conflict points, so many congested roads, curbside deliveries, all day long and the amount of pollution varies so much, even down to like the huge spike in Christmas, because of Amazon deliveries to everybody's offices.

We knew there was a problem. but we only had a budget of £30,000. You're not going to solve all of the borough’s pollution problems for that clearly! There's there's always two strands - one is just the simple factor of enjoyability. In the public realm, the basic user interface of creating something that people will regularly use and then there is the lesson to be learned from that brief experience.

It's not we try not to make it like a giant placard, you know, we don't want to put a big billboard in front of you saying air pollution is wrong, it's usually a little bit more passive or subtle. So on the benches, we included a series of educational quotes or facts about the area and the pollution levels or different plants that can benefit our health and the environment.

air quality monitors and the role of data

We also had a series of sensors that were up for six months on them that were measuring the pollution in the different areas of particular, in particular, and that they sort of as they moved around, there was some data that was collected, just showing the amount of pollution in these different spaces, that was also then streamed to the business improvement district’s website.

In this way we did manage to get a really interesting look at the pollution levels, and how just moving two streets away from the main thoroughfare the amount of pollution would lower and there's now actually a green map that's been created of walks around Southwalk based not just on that data but on a much broader series of investigations to create different pathways to get to work or school for example avoiding pollution.

moor lane community garden by wayward plants

botanical design interventions in the community for added biophilia

Matt Morley

Let’s shift onto the Moor Lane Community Garden project and the idea of creating or co-designing effectively, and architectural interventions in the form of a garden in the local community as a way to bring an element of nature back into that that particular corner of the city. Talk to us a bit about that.

Thomas Kendall

Yes, Moor Lane was a really interesting one when it comes to engagement, because there was already a small community garden there and a huge future proposal involving the whole redevelopment of that particular street. So we were initially invited in actually as a mediator between the City of London and a series of local residence groups, where there seemed to be a bit of a disconnect happening.

Our first role there was to act as a middle person to help them communicate, and to find out what was missing, what wasn't being communicated effectively, and where things might be improved. Initially, we just having a lot of conversations, we didn't even dive into design. In fact the first three meetings were all about conversation and communication. And out of that we discovered that the future proposal had zero relevance to the site and zero relevance to the community. That was their problem.

We were eventually asked to not only come up with a green intervention for the site but also to challenge the entire future proposal for it. The future scheme had no relevance to the Barbecan, and it didn't reference its architecture, it didn't reference the community.

Not only were they concrete objects that we created in the end, but they were also etched in to exposed aggregate in the same way that the Barbican had previously been hand carved. There were certain color themes inspired by the area too as well as referencing old and new planting.

It was great for us, because as well as these conversations, we got to then invite people in to do planting in the project, too. So we had a really nice hands on aspect to it beyond the design and engagement. And then following up on that, obviously, there was a big report we put together that detailed every conversation, everything that had ever been said, as well as how it integrated into the designs.

Now in fact we're back on site, again, looking at how our designs have impacted it. And we're now redesigning the new planters, to include some of the details and motifs that the community thought was specifically poignant or interesting from what we did.

Even our own design got re-critiqued re-engaged with at the end of the whole thing, and the community groups came in and told us what they didn't didn't like about those and what was successful and what they would like to see go forward. It meant putting ourselves on the frontline to be critiqued.

sustainability and social responsibility in botanical design

Matt Morley

Is see that as being part of a wider concept of giving back and incorporating a community aspect into your work, which some could say is a version of corporate social responsibility (CSR) or ESG. It's certainly a cohesive approach within the overall framework of being a business working in the space of sustainability and biophilia that you to make an effort to, to give back via plants. Tell us about that.

Thomas Kendall

So this was something that started even before Wayward was Wayward. In a way, the very first thing that sparked this conversation for us was seeing a plant thrown out of a window in New York City, strewn across the street, it was incredibly dramatic, there was a couple shouting above, some sort of weird divorce argument I think!

Well, we picked up this plant from a broken home, we took it home, cared for it, brought it back to life, repotted it, and then we gave it to a friend. And the conversation we had with that friend was more in depth than I think most conversations we've ever had. And if a single plant had activated, this new conversation with somebody that we thought we knew quite well, we thought ‘well, maybe this is a thing’.

Plant donations as a way to give back through biophilia

It was an act of exchange and a way to use nature to explore human stories. And so we started off with one plant every year, we've gradually expanded on this. So moving to like 10 plants, 50 plants, 100 plants, so creating what we call ‘plant adoptions’, where we now invite people where we collect plants from unwanted homes, and we invite people into spaces, and they have to fill out an adoption form, and prove to us that they're going to be good plant parents by drawing or describing the home it's going to go to, and only once we deemed them a good plant parent will they then get the plant in exchange. And it's become this fantastic web. It's like exploring people's stories with gardens and nature. And it's not even just about filling out the form. Sometimes it's just the conversations that you have, again around these events.

We now use this as a tool for exploring public space and for large scale engagement. And so we also now give away through the same scheme, usually around 10,000 plants a year from the RHS Flower Show, Chelsea Flower Show, Hampton Court Flower Show, so we now give everybody about 10,000 plants a year to schools and community gardens, mostly sort of in and around London gradually gradually working our way out a little bit further afield as well.

Matt Morley

It's a really unique approach to giving back. We've collaborated on a biophilic design interiors project recently together and it was a very strong calling card for Wayward, being able to contribute to a greener, more ethical supply chain. create a supply chain and a network of consultants and other sort of service providers within that project.

Biophilic design and plants in kids playgrounds

I know that there's a playground that you're involved in recently, Asteys Row in London, I find playgrounds really interesting proposition they can often be so cold and heartless. But there's so many options simply by adding some biophilia and connecting the kids back to nature. Now, I often take inspiration from playgrounds I see in places like Germany, and Scandinavia, where they just seem to have completely reinvented what a kid's playground can look like. And then I see some other ones here, around me in Spain that look pretty, pretty frightening and harsh. But tell me about as these rows row playground because I know that was one you are deeply involved in yourself.

Thomas Kendall

Yeah, so Asteys Row was really interesting projct to be a part of because it was already embedded between two gardens in a way. So it's part of the New River Walk in the middle of Islington, London but when we first got faced with it, it was this very tarmac heavy, brutal, sad, grey crumbling space, a remnant from the 70s.

Again, through conversations with the locals, we started to gather stories about what it used to be the fact that there used to be speculations around streams running through it, there were a whole sort of weird little myths about who remembered what, but the key for us was this connection between the two existing gardens, and there's this amazing boulder garden that runs through part of the New River Walk right into where this playground space was. But there was no connection between it at all it was this is like they just sliced through it, and got rid of it.

rewilding the city for more biophilia

We saw it as an act of rewilding, we wanted to kind of bring this boulder garden back into fruition. It was also when we went on site with kids, as we did when we did our community engagement work for that we didn't want to get stuck in a local town hall talking about it, we went onto the playground. And we actually basically played with kids for half a day, in the space, both in the playground and up and down the area. So really, they we got the kids to take us on tours, rather than us going out taking them on tours.

We decided to take all the lessons learned from the existing garden, that was an amazing topography and landscape and bring that into the playground, whilst also having to handle all the many things that come with a playground, you know, health and safety issues, a ball court, which is never going to be the most appealing thing, especially on a sort of slightly tight Council budget. But it was we were actually really impressed with the way that the council really took the ideas on when we mentioned this idea of a boulder garden.

risk benefit analysis in healthy green playground design

We worked with a lot of amazing play safety inspectors as well, who brought the idea of a risk benefit analysis into the project. So we're no longer that concerned about a few falls or trips or hazards here and there. It's actually now about risk benefit analysis. So if the risk is great, but the benefit is greater, then that's actually deemed to be a positive thing.

And for me, the whole thing really it came out of very much replicating the existing landscape as well as learning from my own childhood, you know, I grew up on a farm near a beach. But there's sort of translation of how I played as a child. And my natural landscape. And the lessons I've learned from that, alongside working in talking with these children, and their appreciation of the natural landscape, sort of brought it all in.

Then we you know, as well as that, that, that's just the general topography, we then play with plants and planting as well on the site, we like introducing new trees, creating moments of play in interactions where the kids felt like they could disappear and hide from their parents and then reappear and emerge, even though they were never really out of somebody's sight. So it was a really nice way of integrating the whole of the History site as well as the way it was very much used by its existing community, and then just exaggerating it and and enhancing it.

Botanical design as part of biophilic design - an outdoor memorial project

Matt Morley

Some people might describe Wayward’s work outdoor biophilic design, others might call it, creative landscaping in some instances so you can go from a playground to something like the Nelson Mandela outdoor memorial project up in Liverpool where again, you're using nature for its mental wellbeing and quasi-spiritual benefits.

I think we all connect with nature on some level, often provoking feelings of calm for example. So how do you go about taking something like that and applying it to a memorial? And why in Liverpool?

Thomas Kendall

The Mandela project is an absolute privilege to work on, as you can imagine. And when we first got approached about this, we were a little unsure if we would be able to find our place within the project but when we started researching and reading, we discovered this amazing use that he himself had for gardens.

Within the prison that he was in, he used the gardens to grow food, both for himself and the other inmates because as you can imagine, the food was not particularly great on Robben Island all those years.Then he also used it as an act of exchange between them and the prison guards to allow books to come into the space. So he used it as this tool for both sustenance and education.

He would turn the quarries into temporary classrooms during lunch. They would then educate each other. And it was all through this exchange of edible foods for books and other educational materials.

In his act of kind of digging the garden over, and he had to grow plants, he'd also then be hiding his manuscripts. So the gardens were originally built, either just dug in the ground or dug into oil barrels, which would be cut in half as a very sort of simple on site piece of infrastructure. We've replicated these oil barrels in form and scale on site, there's going to be 32 of these simple cylinder shapes that are going to have his words on. And that's the reference and the way to Mandela and his approach to gardening.

What we were really keen on is that it wasn't just a memorial or just a public artwork, I don't think we will ever do just a public artwork, it will always have to be interactive, it will always have to be education, it will have to be a place that's accessible and inviting. And so very much in the way that he turned the quarry into a classroom we wanted to turn the island that this project is going to be on, in the middle of Prince’s Park in the middle of a lake and on this island, we wanted to turn it into essentially a theater, or at the very least an outdoor classroom that is active and engaging.

Even now, it's kind of amazing, we go into schools in Liverpool, and we've been doing workshops as well with kids there. And they already understand this at the ages of 9,10,11. They already understand this relationship that Liverpool had with Nelson Mandela. And they understand the importance of this. Hopefully, when they come to use the space, in the end, they will treat it as a classroom and as a theater and as a space to engage and learn and meet as a community. And not just as a memorial. But underneath it, there will still be his words gently carved in and around the space.

stella mccartney store, london botanical installation by wayward plants

botanical interior design narratives in sustainable retail

Matt Morley

It's an example of the role of narrative and big ideas that drive your projects Tom, there's always a lot going on behind it for anyone who's prepared to engage with that experience rather than just seeing the visual aspect, there's always an experiential component clearly.

When you're working indoors in an interior space of say 300 square meters in a retail store, such as the project you did for Stella McCartney, flagship, how do you go about trying to create that same experiential component and integrate those big ideas around bringing the outside world in through biophilia using certain types of plants? It must be a very different mindset, right?

Thomas Kendall

So in a way, there was a lot of similarities, they're both very personal projects, very much dealing in a way with the image of an individual. So obviously, Nelson Mandela, he had his particular approach to gardens and Stella McCartney, she herself has a very particular approach to the environment and sustainability.

With with Bond Street store, we knew that her interior design team were very much trying to explore something new, when it came to retail, they weren't just trying to create a store, what they really wanted to look at was how to integrate elements of her life. And her own experiences into the space.

There'd be a lot more personal conversations around her upbringing and growing up and how it started to translate into sustainable fabrics and finishes, as well as treating the whole building more like a home, there was a welcoming hallway, there's this almost sitting room upstairs.

This idea of a garden is core to any domestic situation, to the sense of the home. But then obviously incomplete counterintuitively to that we needed the kind of polish expected of a flagship store on London’s Bond Street.

So lots of the finishes and stuff that were going into the design of the store itself with the all this beautiful polished brass and concrete work and playing with materials and things there was a lot of process going on invited us to go right the other way and try and keep process to an absolute minimum and to really focus on very raw simple combinations of elements.

We were speaking to a lot about her father's Island up in Scotland and her relationship to stone, we proposed this idea of a boulder garden, right in the middle of the store, very weighty but at the same time relatively calm, sort of meditative. She felt a huge resonance with this idea. She's a big believer in sort of geological crystals and things as well.

The sustainability angle was important so we made sure that every stone in the place was sourced within the UK, carved within the UK, or the mosses either came from local growers, or were recycled from Chelsea Flower Show, and built into the garden. So then yeah, it became this very interesting conversation between the simple raw material of the stone and how to integrate it into into a beautiful green retail environment.

Matt Morley

It's a really unusual case study. And I think one that adds a lot of substance to your to your credentials, as well.

If people want to follow along and read more about what you're up to, where where's the best place for them to go, or to see what you're up to?

Thomas Kendall

Maybe just to have a look at our website https://www.wayward.co.uk/ we treat it like a live news feed as well, I have to confess, we're not the greatest on Instagram at the moment. But we're getting there slowly. We're too busy being outdoors rather than just online!

If you do want to get involved with any of our plant re-homing schemes as well. There's links on there that you can either sign up to as a school or community or as a volunteer. And yeah, usually for sort of have a look about usually around April or when there's usually some really good opportunities to come and volunteer and collect plants with us and enjoy the flower shows.

Thank you very much Matt.

https://www.instagram.com/waywardplants/

Health risks of toxic chemicals and materials in building interiors

a short history of building materials

In the past, human shelter and the earliest buildings were simply made from naturally occurring materials such as clay, wood, or stone, organically sourced and all safe enough to go back into the ground at their end of life.

It was only the industrial revolution starting in the second half of the 18th century and the concomitant explosion in synthetic compounds - that in turn began to find their way into building materials - that the buildings designed to protect us from the elements around us first become a health risk in themselves (who knew!).

Slowly and almost imperceptibly, the toxicity levels in buildings and interiors continued to rise as the decades passed and the ‘chemical revolution’ proposed ever greater numbers of solutions for the construction industry… until we finally began to take defensive action in the 1970s - starting with lead!  

Today, building and interior materials have the potential to negatively impact human health and wellbeing if they are not properly chosen, installed, and maintained.

These risks can vary according to the life phase of a chosen building material but we recommend taking into consideration all phases of the material’s life for good measure.

To do so, we apply the concept of a Life Cycle Assessment to better track, moderate, and eliminate harmful toxicity from a construction and fit-out project wherever possible.

It is also worth noting that if the whole cycle of a material is taken into consideration, the groups at risk of exposure to such toxic materials expand beyond just the building occupants. 

The negative health effects of toxic materials have the potential to extend to those living near the factories where the materials are made, the workers using the materials during construction of a building or interior fit-out, and even those charged with disposing or recycling the material at the end of its life.

For this reason we believe it is fundamental to understand what impact building and interior materials can have on human health.

Here we will look at common sources of toxic substances in building materials; common toxic substances we want to avoid in building materials; the health risks of human exposure to such toxicity; authoritative ‘red lists’ of these harmful chemicals in building materials and what can be taken from the materials-related content of various leading healthy building standards. Let’s get it into!

Common sources of Toxins in building materials

Toxic substances can be found in an alarming number of building materials and products from flooring to insolation, carpeting, cabinetry, paints and coatings, furniture and fabrics, all manner of adhesives and finishes.

Careful analysis of all such source materials should therefore be instilled in a project’s design phase as early on as possible to implement a green procurement policy as part of the project’s DNA.

Asbestos, VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds), SVOCs (Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds), Lead, HFRs (Halogenated Flame Retardants), Chromate Copper Arsenate (CCA), and Phthalates are some of the most commonly occurring and detrimental building chemicals for our health.

Below we cross-reference the source with the type of toxic substance:

• Insulation Materials <> Asbestos, VOCs

• Paints <> Lead, VOCs

• Coatings <> VOCs, Phthalates

• Adhesives <> VOCs

• Furniture & Fabrics (e.g. upholstery foam) <> HFRs, VOCs

• Composite Wood Products <> Chromate Copper Arsenate, VOCs

• Flooring Materials <> VOCs

• Combustion Sources <> Lead, Particulates

• Cleaning Products <> Phthalates

Common toxins to avoid in building materials and products

Humans can be introduced to these chemicals through a variety of manners such as ingestion, inhalation, hand-to-mouth ingestion, skin absorption, breastfeeding, and even placental transfer before a baby is born. 

These potential avenues of human-chemical transfer from building materials are compounded when interior ventilation is poor, highlighting the increased importance of indoor air quality in the post-Covid home, workplace, gym, learning environment, etc.

‘Off-gassing’ is a common characteristic of such materials, describing the release of toxic particles into the indoor air over time, which if improperly ventilated can accumulate to unhealthy levels in building interiors.

That new car / carpet / furniture smell? That’s the first wave of off-gassing. If you can smell it, and it’s not a natural material, you’re witness to off-gassing. Best open a window!

It is essential to not only choose healthy materials and products, but to also monitor and maintain healthy indoor air quality to avoid health hazards. See our section on indoor air here.

Health Hazards of toxic building products and materials in interiors

Negative health implications arise from many building materials and products, including from legacy materials, so-called “high performing” materials, and even from operations-based sources such as chemical-based cleaning products used by facilities management in an honest attempt to make interior spaces cleaner and healthier. The irony surely cannot be lost on any of us! 

Although several legacy chemicals that were widely used in the past without proper understanding are now widely banned, many are still present in buildings and therefore remain a threat.

These chemicals include asbestos, lead, Chromate Copper Arsenate, and countless others yet legislation moves at such a slow pace compared to the release of new chemical compounds that we as healthy building consultants have to adopt our own strategies to help rather than relying on industry-wide legislation from above. 

Asbestos is responsible for over 200,000 deaths each year, the leading cause of mesothelioma, and is a known toxin and carcinogen.

Lead is an endocrine disruptor (or ‘hormone disruptor’) and can therefore affect reproductive systems, puberty, and child development during pregnancy. Lead can be ingested, absorbed, or inhaled and upon accumulation in the body causes highly detrimental health effects.

Chromate Copper Arsenate contains arsenic, which is associated with lung, bladder, skin, and liver cancer. In addition, it can be leached from wood structures into soil and expose children to contaminants, further increasing its danger. 

Halogenated Flame Retardants are commonly inhaled, ingested or absorbed through skin contact and have been found to disrupt endocrine function, cause neurological damage and even cancer. They have the potential to cause long-term health effects as they accumulate in our bodies.

VOCs and SVOCs are compounds that are emitted from materials and accumulate in interiors. VOCs can cause sick building syndrome, nausea, and central nervous system damage. Gaseous at room temperature, their negative health impacts increase considerably with poor ventilation and generally low indoor air quality. These compounds are commonly inhaled, and some VOCs are even considered carcinogens.

Phthalates are known endocrine disrupters, negatively affect reproduction and development, and are carcinogenic. Their health impacts also bioaccumulate, meaning they slowly build up over time and cause detrimental health effects.  

Red List Resources of toxic chemicals in building materials

There are several resources that can provide guidance on so-called ‘red list’ materials, or materials that have scientifically proven negative health impacts and should ideally be avoided in all building projects with a view to human wellbeing in interiors. 

The International Living Future Institute (ILFI) has a definitive and highly demanding material red list for example while health-oriented design practice Perkins & Will has its own precautionary list that provides information on unhealthy chemicals and materials they believe should be avoided.

Cradle 2 Cradle (C2C) sustainability certifications for a product or material can provide a resource for healthy materials. 

In addition, ingredient disclosures such as Declare, and Health Product Declarations (HPDs) can help guide and inform builders and designers on making health-focused choices by encouraging transparency from manufacturers.

In sum, there is no longer any need for this to be an endless laborious task, project teams can and should leverage the work done already by standing on the shoulders of giants and implementing procurement policies that prioritize products and materials with high recycled content, HPDs, Declare labels and so on. This then places at least some of the responsibility on the general contractor to contribute to such sustainability efforts.

healthy Building Standards on materials and avoiding toxic substances

The WELL, LEED, and BREEAM certification systems as well as the Living Building Challenge provide resources and guides for healthy material implementations. 

WELL, focuses on the human health implications of all building-related decisions, provides in depth research, guidelines, and strategies to avoid unhealthy products and materials within the built environment. As such it is a definitive research tool and guide for us as healthy building material consultants.

The US Green Building Council’s LEED and the UK’s BREEAM both encourage material transparency too of course, as well as encouraging healthy indoor air quality through low VOC emissions and proper ventilation. 

As with so much in the world of healthy buildings and healthy interiors, the two concepts are in fact inextricably linked - enhanced indoor air quality and a healthy materials procurement policy go hand in hand.

As mentioned previously, the Living Building Challenge, part of the ILFI standard, focuses on choosing responsible materials and provides an impressively researched Red List of materials to avoid. 

Contact us to discuss your healthy building materials enquiry.

Operating Smart, green & Healthy Buildings

air quality / water metering / energy metering / waste management / cleaning / biophilia / thermal comfort

As the shift towards green and healthy buildings continues and sign-ups for building certifications such as LEED and WELL rises, it is equally important for real estate developers with an eye on ESG to dive deeper into building performance during the operations phase. For those holding onto and managing an asset in the medium to long-term, the journey does not stop once construction and fit-out are complete, quite the opposite.

As there is often a considerable gap between intended building performance and actual, ongoing building performance, a ‘commissioning process’ upon completion followed by an enhanced healthy buildings facilities management plan are the solution.

Smart building monitoring, which includes strategies such as air quality management, energy and water metering, and thermal comfort monitoring is a key factor in facilities management of a healthy building or a healthy co-working office for example.

With the latest real time sensors (e.g. Kaiterra and Awair) providing high quality, 24/7 quantitative data for analysis in the cloud combined with qualitative occupant feedback through regular surveys and pattern analysis of registered complaints, building efficiency and occupant comfort can increase. 

In addition, signage and educational prompts (a.k.a ‘healthy nudges’), enhanced green cleaning protocols, landscaping and greenery maintenance, as well as wellness programs for building occupants covering both physical activity and mental wellbeing are important factors to maintain in a smart, healthy building. This article explores the above in more detail so let’s jump in!

Air Quality Management in healthy buildings

Enhanced indoor air quality is vital to optimal occupant health, and an air quality plan needs to be implemented in both the pre-occupancy and occupancy phases of the building. Subsequently, as both indoor and outdoor air quality can fluctuate, live monitoring and tracking is necessary to ensure healthy indoor air quality levels and catch any issues as and when they arise. 

In the construction phase, an excess of dust and particles have the potential to accumulate indoors and compromise air quality in the later occupancy phase if not properly managed. It is essential to have an air quality management plan for the construction phase such as sealing air ducts, storing absorptive interior materials separate from the construction area, using temporary barriers to isolate working environments, and replacing filters before occupancy. 

In the occupancy phase, when the building is complete and occupants are using the interior spaces, air quality management combine with real time sensor monitoring becomes essential for occupant comfort.

Sensors should be placed strategically around the building at approximately head height to measure temperature, humidity, CO, CO2, PM2.5, PM10 and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). For more detail on. this see the RESET AIR standard in particular. For more on this see our article on RESET AIR here.

In addition, hazards such as mold and indoor smoking have to be tightly controlled to avoid additional negative influences on air quality. 

Water Metering in Smart, Green & Healthy Buildings

Both energy and water use should be tracked to ensure that the building is operating at the optimal level. Monitoring green building water use can not only provide information about how much water is being used in a green building but also guide improvements or highlight potential problems. 

Water monitoring should include both regulating and tracking the amount used, as well as maintaining proper drinking water quality to ensure building occupant health.

Permanent water meters should be installed to measure total water use and should be available in monthly and annual blocks to provide more specific information and monitor efficiency. In addition, leak detection systems should be installed and regularly checked to avoid potential problems and water overuse.

Finally, water should be regularly checked for contaminants, and drinking water quality factors such as pH, turbidity, and chlorine levels should be regulated to ensure safe consumption for occupants. 

Energy Metering in Smart, Green & Healthy Buildings

Green building energy efficiency should also be tracked within the building, a very important operational building factor that can vary greatly if not monitored.

Sub-meters should be installed to track energy on both the building level and system levels to identify opportunities for energy savings. For the most effective data, the systems should report hourly, daily, monthly, and annual energy use separated by energy type and source. In addition, the information should be readily available to facilities management teams so that changes can be made if needed, and any abnormal activity can be quickly detected. 

Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS) and Automatic Reading Systems (AMR) are examples of common energy monitoring and management systems. With the incorporation of energy tracking systems, the data can be used to make improvements in the future and provide insight into building performance. 

waste management in healthy buildings

In line with US Green Building Council LEED Operations + Maintenance guidelines, we recommend integrating into a workplace floor plan upfront a storage location for recyclable materials such as mixed paper, glass, plastics and metals, with safe storage areas for batteries.

Monitoring for Thermal Comfort in Healthy Buildings

Thermal comfort tends to be the factor with the highest number of complaints from building occupants as it is an immediate, visceral and in many ways subjective matter.

Numerous studies have proven correlation between building temperature and employee wellness and comfort, making thermal comfort a vital building characteristic to monitor, not least because of enduring sexism in how building temperatures are set - men in suits and ties and always going to have a different opinion on indoor temperature than any female not in a full trouser suit.

The way forward in smart building terms is, eventually, to offer greater autonomy over thermal controls within the building to its occupants. Factors such as outdoor temperature, ventilation rates, and indoor occupancy density all have the potential to affect perceived thermal comfort. 

As with other smart building systems, sensors should be placed intentionally to regulate indoor air temperatures and gauge if any unexpected deviations occur. These sensors can provide feedback to building managers and inform changes when necessary. 

The sensors provide little insight on their own however, only when coupled with occupant preferences and surveys, the power of information and data can be applied to provide optimal thermal comfort. On this basis, facilities management teams need to see complaints not as problems but as valuable data!

Currently, standards designate that 80% of building occupants should be considered comfortable to achieve acceptable thermal comfort levels (WELL). In order to reach and maintain this goal, building occupants should be regularly surveyed to gauge comfort levels. 

With information collected through post-occupancy surveys, perceived occupant comfort can be utilized with temperature data to inform the most effective next steps. As with air quality, temperature can be variable and should be regularly monitored to ensure optimal conditions and increase occupant wellness and comfort. 

Signage in Healthy Buildings

As healthy building consultants we advise on signage systems, wayfinding and their role in creating a healthy building. Signage can be used to promote a variety of health and efficiency-related concepts, with the potential to improve occupant wellness and building performance. 

Signage can be used to improve health through physical activity encouragement for example. Motivational point-of-decision wayfinding signs next to lift doors can promote greater stair use and increase physical activity levels, the WELL and FITWEL certifications encourage this policy.

Especially if stairs are not clearly visible, signs and wayfinding prompts can encourage use—both increasing physical activity and decreasing elevator energy use. 

In addition, building entrance signage can publicize a tobacco-free zone - a requirement of most green building certifications. There is no acceptable exposure level to cigarette smoke, so signage must be implemented clearly to indicate the ban.

Signage can also be used to indicate the health impacts and hazards of smoking, hopefully further discouraging tobacco use and encouraging healthier habits for building occupants. 

Educational signage is also very impactful. Promoting hand-washing has never been more important, a simple visual reminder that helps prevent the spread of infection in the new Covid-19 era. In addition, nutritional messaging can be used in and around dining areas to encourage healthy eating habits. 

On the other end, signage can be used to encourage people to adopt sustainable habits such as reminders to turn off task lights when leaving in the evening, (again) using the stairs instead of the elevator, and turning water faucets off when not in use - just a few obvious reminders that can encourage occupants to reduce energy and water use.

Building signage can on occasion be given to the architects or interior designers, at least the more visually exposed elements such as the reception / entrance lobby but much of the above mentioned signs are just as likely to land on the desk of facilities management.

Enhanced Cleaning Protocols in Green Healthy Buildings

Without proper cleaning protocols, health factors such as interior air quality, pollutant levels and surface cleanliness can be compromised. The cleaning products themselves should not contain any harmful ingredients, and surfaces should be cleaned regularly to avoid excess accumulation of dust or other unhealthy substances.

Many cleaning products contain hazardous ingredients that when applied to surfaces can emit ingredients that degrade indoor air quality, and therefore impact human health. Products should be selected carefully to eliminate any potential hazards and reduce detrimental health effects.

There are several third-party certification systems, such as an ISO 14024-compliant (Type 1) Ecolabel, which designates green cleaning products and can be used to guide healthy selections.

In addition to smart selection of the products themselves, a plan should be created that designates the extent and frequency of cleaning, where to access cleaning products, and the roles of cleaning staff and building occupants, when applicable, to the cleaning process.

Surfaces encounter countless microorganisms throughout the day, and can host pathogens from sick individuals, which if not properly cleaned can spread to other building occupants. Especially in the COVID-19 era, frequent and thorough cleaning practices should be embedded in building operations.

Dust and dirt from the outdoors readily accumulate in building interiors through windows, entrances, and other indoor-outdoor building connections. In fact, studies have shown that 65% of inhalation of outdoor air particles occurs indoors.

Entrance walk-off mats are used to reduce this transfer of dirt and other pollutants from the outdoors, and their maintenance and cleanliness is essential to keep up this role. Building entryways should be regularly wet cleaned and vacuumed to minimize the amount of outdoor pollutants entering interior spaces. 

Cleaning processes and habits are entirely reliant on cleaning staff and building occupants. Because of this, proper training and easily accessible green cleaning supplies should be implemented to ensure the promotion of healthy interiors.

Biophilia landscaping maintenance

Green and healthy buildings often contain vegetation in around buildings, providing countless human and environmental health benefits. However, they also require maintenance. Proper landscaping and greenery upkeep will not only benefit the health of the plants themselves, but also the building occupants and surrounding environment. 

In building interiors, features such as living walls must be maintained and watered properly to ensure their health. Living walls enhance biophilia, filter air pollutants, and provide cooling capabilities, making their health essential for promoting additional building operation benefits. 

On the exterior, landscaping maintenance encourage plant health and biodiversity. A landscape management plan implemented by the grounds maintenance staff protects the flora and fauna while minimizing wildlife disturbance. Petrochemical fertilizers and pesticides should be avoided whenever possible, and efficient irrigation techniques such as xeriscaping prioritized.

Workplace Wellness Programs 

Mental health and wellness programs are an important part of a healthy office workplace that places employee health at its centre. Provisions such as stress management and mental health support groups and programs, educational programs, childcare and family leave support, as well as fitness and nutrition services are all beneficial to workplace wellness.

Studies have shown that when employees are less stressed and anxious, they perform better an are more productive, making workplace wellness programs a smart business decision in addition to the clear occupant health benefits. 

Through the use of strategies such as mindfulness programs and restorative spaces, employee stress levels can be reduced. Mindfulness programs can be achieved through in person meetings and exercises, or through employer-designated digital applications, such as Headspace, for example.

Restorative spaces in healthy buildings

Restorative spaces should be maintained, and employees should be encouraged to take breaks when needed and use them to relax and reset throughout the workday. 

It is important that the resources are available, but more importantly that occupants are made aware that they exist. Educational materials should be readily accessible to inform employees of the resources, encourage their use, and reduce any stigmas against mental health and wellness issues. 

In addition to mental health wellness programs, physical health is equally as important, including both nutrition and fitness services. Nutrition or cooking classes, healthy recipe sharing, and nutritious snack offerings in the office are examples beneficial nutrition programs.

Gyms, exercise and mental wellbeing in healthy buildings

Access to fitness rooms, gyms and fitness equipment can all be complemented by programs such as exercise classes, running clubs, or a bike-to-work week or contest are all potential implementations to encourage active travel and health. 

If occupant participation is consistently low, additional incentives may nee to be implemented to encourage resource use and highlight the importance of wellness in the workplace.

Often, it is helpful to have a designated employee as a ‘wellbeing champion’ who promotes health programs within a company, and this person or group can host health promotion meetings and communicate digitally with employees to further encourage participation. 

Smart buildings for improved air quality, energy saving, carbon capture - Sally R

air quality / smart buildings / healthy buildings / energy efficiency / green building / hvac / indoor farming

Welcome to episode 45 of the Green & Healthy Places podcast in which we discuss the themes of wellbeing and sustainability in real estate today.

In this episode I’m in Sweden talking to Fredrik Tunberg, CEO of Sally R, a cloud-based intelligent ventilation solution that uses algorithms to optimize indoor air quality while reducing overall energy consumption related to the HVAC system.

We discuss how buildings have traditionally had to make guesstimates about how much ventilation they will need, and then applies a blanket approach throughout the day, throughout the building, whereas the latest technology, sensors and IOT enabled software completely changes the game, opening up opportunities for far more tailored, efficient and cost effective solutions. Which is essentially what Sally R do.

As Fredrik points out, high quality indoor air does not need to cost more, quite the opposite in fact, once you can see the air in a building and map that against usage data, and feedback from a network of air quality monitors, it’s a complete game changer that also saves on energy use in the process.

Finally, they are also getting into Carbon capture in indoor farms, but I’ll Fredrik explain that part. 

• Sally R website

• Sally R indoor farming

• Sally R on LinkedIn

Talking indoor air quality in healthy buildings and energy efficient green buildings with Fredrik Tunberg of SALLY R

Let's start with the basics. So, when you're describing SALLY R, what's the problem that you're solving here around HVAC and mechanical ventilation system optimization in healthy buildings?

Fredrik Tunberg

As part of the increasing energy prices, of course, across Europe across the world, as well as the pandemic, that we're hopefully seeing the end of. I believe that real estate and especially commercial real estate and public buildings starting to open up will create some very important questions for the real estate owners, as well as sales managers, and how to tackle these two issues - energy efficiency and indoor air quality. That's where Sally R can really make a difference.

Matt Morley

So there's two pieces that you mentioned, effectively, the building energy cost, the energy implications of running a mechanical ventilation system in a building, and also how that mechanical ventilation system relates to airborne diseases, such as COVID. So let's look at the first one. So the energy costs I get, how do you how to get involved or integrate into that, start measuring it and make improvements?

Indoor air quality and energy efficiency

Fredrik Tunberg

Yeah, and in our case, those two different pieces are very intertwined into each other. So overall, we're trying to really prove to people that well, an increase, and more secure indoor air quality, actually doesn't mean that you have to spend that the consumer energy is rather the opposite. 

“It’s a contradiction that clean air costs more, it’s actually the other way around. So an optimized indoor air quality in a healthy building will actually provide you with substantial green building energy savings. ”

— fredrik tunberg

smart buildings and hvac systems

“You have to bear in mind that the traditional way of controlling HVAC has been the same for many years. With the help of technology breakthroughs, such as big data, connectivity, and wireless sensors, we can manage that data to control very complex systems within buildings. ”

— fredrik tunberg, ceo , sally r

Matt Morley

So for someone who's perhaps not familiar with traditional building management systems, or facilities management, you said it's a bit of a dinosaur, and it hasn't really upgraded. So what does that look like for someone who's not familiar with it, obviously, you know, natural ventilation is where we came from. And then at some point, we started creating pressurized, mechanically ventilated buildings with HVAC air conditioning systems. And over the last, say, 20 years or so, or more, how has that? What's that look like?

building management systems in healthy buildings

Fredrik Tunberg

Yeah, this is different, depending on what kind of building you're talking about. And obviously, also what kind of country you're in, from our experience from, from Sweden, Scandinavia, and Europe, is that evolved buildings, once they were built, they were are the someone from the BMS system provider or their partners, they were in the building and programming a unique solution for that building. And that was obviously based on a lot of assumptions. And these assumptions goes hand in hand with what like the building would be intended, intended views, and all different kinds of things.

So one practical example would be one, one building that we implemented our solution and very recently, where they 2025 years ago, when the when the building was built, the HR system was programmed. And it was programmed based on the assumption like, Alright, let's do 40% return here. And it was just an assumption that that would work out and that that was a good level. It is not based on any kind of facts and figures, because and to be honest, like 25 years ago, you couldn't do that. And what we can do now is that we can, we can allow the building to choose his own level of returner, depending on how it is being used. What is happening on the outside of the building, and, and taking into a lot of different factors concerning the indoor air quality into account in order to calculate optimal performance for the system.

Matt Morley

So then that links in with the idea of the big data, right? Because you're then using global benchmarks to understand how it should be done comparing that with what's actually happening and trying to find gaps discrepancies between the two and then making the adjustments to how the air ventilation system is operating. Is that right? Yeah,

energy efficiency in a smart building

Fredrik Tunberg

Absolutely, absolutely. So that's one way to look at it. And then there's other other types of buildings like we're optimizing a large shopping mall in Stockholm, it's the largest one is going to need for more mall of Scandinavia. So it's, it has a good name. And that building was built in a was I believe it was finished, like in 2015, or 2016. So it's very, it's very new, it was a huge investment, obviously, for the real estate company. And so it's very sophisticated, everything that is within the building. And still, we managed to save around 40-42% of the energy being used with HVAC system, simply because we were more reactive to whatever was going on. And this was especially so during the pandemic, of course, when the building had a lot lower people occupants passing through. And again, was based on assumptions on how how it would be used the building. And, yeah, so there's a lot to be done.

automated hvac in a smart building

Matt Morley

So if I can create an analogy, would it be basically like someone going in to a building, turning on all the lights at a certain point on the dinner and saying, Well, that's it. That's how we operate the light system between nine o'clock and five o'clock? And you're saying, well, actually, you might need certain different intensities during the day. And you might need perhaps a little bit on a on a weekend, or you might need some later in the evening? Because that's actually how the building's being used. Would that be a fair analogy to draw, you're trying to connect the the usage by the occupants in the building with the amount of air ventilation and circulation that they need is that, yeah, absolutely

Fredrik Tunberg

That's definitely a huge part of it. And then we also have different ways of like, analyzing the building, as well. So we are measuring and we're constantly calculating the loads within the building and not not just the heating load, but are also like the load concerning co2, we can calculate any kind of boat, we can calculate and monitor VOC load process. And by doing it that way, we can predict what will happen a lot better than then what would normally be the case, as well. So there's a lot of different things, but those definitely a good analogy as well.

Matt Morley

“VOCs, volatile organic compounds, basically, the nasty chemicals that are off gassing from things like adhesives, glues, carpets, furniture in an office. ”

— matt morley

So for the listeners who perhaps aren't aware that toxic chemicals can be found in office furniture, the reality is they often can, especially in fabrics, textiles, foams, paints, and cheap ceiling panels and what have you. So the importance of what you've just described, is, is really, I think, critical for for improved indoor air quality.

So if we look at the hardware and the software involved in making that happen, like what's, what's going on in terms of bringing pieces of kit into the building? Or is it a completely software based solution? Like how do you integrate into the building management system into the BMS?

Fredrik Tunberg

Yeah, there's, different ways to do that, of course, and we do a lot of different types of integration and implementations. But Sally R is in essence a software company. So we don't have our own hardware concerning this particular service. Rather, we would prefer to collaborate with with a partner and primarily, that would be the BMS company and the BMS provider, but it can also obviously be an IOT platform, for instance, or it can be a sensor, sensor company, providing sensors.

But we have also done integrations and implementations where we made use of a kind of a simple kind of each unit each gateway, but that is simply just because we want to cut corners. And this is primarily we do that primarily for older systems, older buildings, where they sometimes they don't even have an internet. It's not connected to the internet.

Matt Morley

So it strikes me as an example of smart building systems, right, but we're trying to connect the bill Seeing via your software with the daily realities of what's happening inside the building. So it's reactive rather than being passive. Do you? Do you just make a distinction between the air purification that's going on in the building and the air quality?

So like, is the software looking at purification rates that are happening? Do we need to consider that there's not enough purification beyond just the ventilation rates in the building, do you normally recommend that there is a complimentary strategy in terms of improving the indoor air quality beyond just ventilation or is that typically enough to remove the VOCs? Remove the co2?

indoor air quality and sally r software

Fredrik Tunberg

Yeah, and obviously, definitely depends on where in the world you are, and what kind of room but we will obviously like we, we see a lot of data we can see. And we can analyze that for the customer. But then it's obviously up to the customer to take actions based on that data. But it's not that uncommon, obviously, that we get questions like how do we how can we improve this further?

How, what measures do we need to take it apart from the software, and stuff like that, and then we like to be really, really frank about, we're not a consultancy in that way, there are others who are way much better than than us that providing advice on that. But any way we can to help is, obviously a bit.

“we are not actually in this to to save energy, it might sound strange, but our standpoint is we want to secure indoor air quality, the energy saving is an extra benefit!”

— Fredrik Tunberg, CEO, SaLLY R

Matt Morley

So then you'd imagine there being say, a network of head height air quality monitors throughout the building that there's the building management team are getting one source of data coming in, you then got what Sally are producing in terms of data, and you can start to see how the management team is building up a picture, right? of exactly what's what's going on. So how does that how does that take place?

For someone who's not familiar with that process? Yeah, so like you said that there, you're creating the data. And you're is it is the is the software making decisions on behalf of the building management team or the building management team having to take to sort of interpret the data that you're creating, and then manually create, implement changes, or is it automatically linked, now is

Fredrik Tunberg

“Our software automates improvements in indoor air quality 100% based on whatever parameters, you as the building owner, or manager, want to achieve in the building in terms of indoor air quality.”

— fredrik tunberg, ceo , sally r

And usually, there is a minimum value and a maximum value, and never to exceed the maximum value of course. And then the system the software would optimize within that can range and it will do that automatically. But it would also obviously pick up on any like discrepancies in in that performance as well. And for instance, we can easily analyze a abnormal high energy consumption within any kind of like fans or anything like that, that we can track back to, for instance, that filter change being needed.

So we can optimize that and we can we can optimize for other types of filters as well. So you can introduce more filtration, for instance, concerning knowledge, but then who are starting to talk more and more about TM one for instance. So we can we can definitely there's definitely room to improve more on the filtration side with an optimization.

Particulate Matter in indoor air quality

Matt Morley

So PM1 - we typically talk about PM10, which would be dust level particles, then PM 2.5, which is much smaller. Things like mold, VOCs and tiny little things, but PM1 would be airborne disease level?

Fredrik Tunberg

Yeah, exactly. I mean, noncredit to me, according to the WHO.

indoor farms and carbon capture

Matt Morley

Yeah. Okay. And and so you then have this other piece, right, you have this other element, which I think is a really interesting complement to, to what we've just been talking about around the the HVAC Building Management and this carbon capture and indoor farms. So where did that come from? What's that product about?

Fredrik Tunberg

Yeah, absolutely. So we will need to go back five or six years basically, because Sally R - our name to begin with is a tribute to Sally Right, the first female astronaut, US astronaut. So we basically turned to space in the beginning to find solutions to how our buildings can rely less on the outside air. Because we see problems with the outside air becoming more and more polluted. And a lot of energy consumption comes from the process of changing outside air into heated or cooled indoor air.

So when starting to look at ISS, and how they're solving the indoor air quality on the space station, we came across some some very like crucial, crucial things that need to solve. And one of them obviously, being the optimization of the whole service. And that's, that's our software today. Another part of it is being able to capture co2 from an HR system or from an indoor environment. So for the last three or four years, we've basically been digging into that and evaluating different technologies out there, and then coming up with our own technology in order to capture carbon efficiently from indoor environments. And then, obviously, like looking looking for for different solutions in how to offset that carbon.

But once you want to calculate what what would you do with the co2. And we saw this, this kind of new industry, it's not new, but it's, it's definitely on most people's radar these times. And it's concerning vertical farming and locally grown verbs that urban farming and container farming, there's a lot of buzz going on there. And one crucial part of sustainable indoor farming is being able to enrich the farming area with co2. And the the only solution that we've seen so far is to bring in like shoo, some tanks with co2 that quite often comes from natural gas. And that's not very sustainable. So we see a possibility here to kind of make one industry more sustainable by giving them the co2 and one industry, the real estate industry, both safe, safer and more energy efficient by capturing. So yeah, that was a long explanation, a monologue.

Matt Morley

So if that was say, just to understand, because I know some images on your website, they depict maybe like a rooftop indoor farm that could be on a could be on a an office building, for example, where they decided to go into that with a kind of, like a Yeah, a bubble, right? So you create this this glass house area where it's a protected environment? Would it have to work would only work in those that context? Or could it be, say, a vertical farm set up in the reception of a big building, for example? Or do you need an enclosed space? How is it? What are the applications? Like what do you need from your side?

Fredrik Tunberg

Well, we need an enclosed space in some way, in order to really have an effect on the co2 levels. So the so that you actually get an increase in yield on the crops. So they grow more and more co2 have a certain extent, of course. So that that is what you need. But we're also looking into different applications preferring more like traditional indoor farming, like traditional greenhouses, and particular than commercial greenhouses. And then we would actually capture the carbon from from ambient air instead, that would be more like direct air capture for it for a specific purpose. That's another another kind of application.

Circular Economy and green healthy buildings

Matt Morley

So you sort of have this circular economy concept, right? Where you're, we're trying to keep everything in the loop rather than and in this case, the co2 is kind of like the waste product that we want to keep in the loop to reuse to get more value from it.

Fredrik Tunberg

Absolutely. That is what we really want to achieve and we also want to kind of like waste from the general awareness but you can actually do this if faced with co2, and co2 is natural, it's in our air, he says that we have a bit too much of it these days. So we need to like we need to make something useful with it. And why not actually do or try to increase the production of healthy food, and especially locally grown healthy food? Because there's loads and loads of benefits with vertical farming, indoor farming, and being really, we can help one.

Matt Morley

So where do you go from here? In terms of building the business? bringing in new clients developing new products and services? Like how do you see this evolving over the next three to five years?

Fredrik Tunberg

Yeah, no, it's very exciting time here - the plan for this year is internationalization where we are at scaling up business as we're getting to new markets. obviously started out in Sweden and Scandinavia, but we're looking to expand into UK and further into Canada as well this year, concerning the carbon capture where we are now way more like a pre mature stage, but we're commercializing right now. We're getting our first first couple of clients, and we will continue to evaluate the performance on that technology. And so yeah, it will be a little bit divided. But we're, we'll have different places that we have our hands full.

Healthy buildings integrating Sally R software

Matt Morley

So let's take a potential building in central London. And there are certain parameters within which you can work or are there certain requirements in terms of going in? Does it need to be a certain genre or type of building or something that's built after a certain year in terms of its HVAC? Like, are there? Are there areas where you can't help? Are there areas where you can have more impact and more more positive results?

Fredrik Tunberg

Yeah, essentially, we don't, our software works for any kind of building anywhere. Basically, as long as you have mechanical ventilation, we can optimize that. But it's more of a matter of where we put our focus, as of today. So we focused deliberately on offices and retail primarily, but also on on more sensitive buildings, like schools and hospitals, elevate the health health sector. But we make the most difference in obviously, large buildings, obviously, less complex buildings. So open spaces, versus open spaces. And we can really make a difference where you have a lot of people coming in and changing the the occupancy, because then we can be casting a huge difference on the interview.

What is the cost of healthy building software?

Matt Morley

So it's a question that I'm nearly always asked when I'm proposing these kind of concepts and services to clients that I work with. So I'll map Okay, but what are the cost implications? And how much more is this gonna cost me? And often, my responses will look, there might be a little bit more upfront in terms of your capex, but then how long will it take you to pay that off in terms of operating costs once you open the building, and actually, it can often be within a space of two to three years.

But then the owner, if they're holding the property for that long, if they're redeveloping or constructing, building and then selling, then it's slightly different story I find, but when they're holding the building for at least a few years, there's often a discussion around well, what are your management and operational costs over the next three years? And how much can we save you on those? Is it a similar argument in terms of selling in a salary or service to a developer or landlord?

Fredrik Tunberg

Yeah, no, absolutely. And obviously, with the twist that we sell our service as a service, so So you would basically pay a monthly fee that is way lower than your energy savings. So I mean, from our perspective, there's actually no investments that basically like saving money or making money from day one, basically. But obviously, like in the in the startup phase, there can be certain investments that we need to do. And that could be relating, like investing in more sensors, for instance.

But the way that we figure is that well, you want sensors anyway, even if you're not going with that those are not selling your specific sensors. So whether or not whether or not you like it or not, you need the sensors. And then you can subscribe to our service and start saving entity as well as be comfortable with that it's actually locked in with security and oil quality, no matter what happens in the building or outside.

Matt Morley

So sensors you mean ventilation rates as in in inside the HVAC system or in terms of the air that's circulating in the occupied spaces?

Fredrik Tunberg

90% I would say that the sensors inside the HV system that is already in place, is a very rarely that we need to compliment those sensors. But what we want, it all depends on what type of building obviously, but in an in an office building, with a more traditional office building, with a lot of different roofs and stuff like that, we would need some more reference, measuring measurements in in the different groups so that we can securely control the indoor air quality. But as sensor costs, as the cost for sensors comes down even more, it's not a huge investment and maintain away. I would say, yeah, it's minimal compared to what other types of investment can do for themselves.

Matt Morley

That's a much easier sell than than solar panels on a roof. I can tell you from experience. Very good. So how can people learn more? How can they connect? How can they reach out and follow what you're doing?

Fredrik Tunberg

Yeah, w obviously have a website, which is fairly good. It's, it's getting more and more content on it. But we're also trying to stay as active as we possibly can on primarily LinkedIn. That's our channel of choice. And you're always happy to schedule a meeting with me or one of my colleagues to learn more as well. So we're always always eager to

Ventilation and healthy building design

indoor air quality / healthy building certification / ventilation rates / healthy indoor environment / consultants

kaiterra indoor air quality monitor

What is ventilation in a healthy building plan?

There has never been a more urgent time to consider an enhanced ventilation strategy as part of a healthy indoor environment. Why does this ventilation matter and what can landlords, developers and workplaces do about it?

‘Ventilation’ describes the cyclical process of supplying outdoor air and removing the existing indoor air through either natural or mechanical methods. 

Natural ventilation in a healthy building strategy aims to introduce outdoor air into a space thanks to operable windows, doorways and ceiling vents for example, without relying on electricity. This approach typically benefits from an accompanying CO2 monitor plan to ensure healthy indoor air at all times.

Mechanical ventilation for a healthy indoor environment meanwhile does the same albeit in a far more calculated and energy intensive manner via a powered system of vents, piping, filters and fans.

Mechanical systems should ideally be designed with the anticipated occupant numbers and type of activity in mind; for example a busy gym full of cardio machines will require a different ventilation rate than a boardroom used for occasional meetings.

A mixed or hybrid ventilation model would deploy a combination of both healthy building strategies but in all three cases the ultimate purpose remains the same - to increase occupant comfort and create a healthy indoor environment by removing dust and particulates, unpleasant odors, CO2 and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) that off-gas from toxic materials in furniture, fittings and adhesives.

Ventilation and indoor air quality for workplace wellness

From a workplace wellness perspective, adequate ventilation rates are fundamental to ensuring healthy indoor air that in turn plays a role in promoting cognitive function and reducing the transmission of viruses, amongst other things.  

Ventilation in healthy building certifications

It is also worth noting that ventilation rates are often designated by regional codes, as well as healthy building certifications such as the USGBC’s LEED, BREEAM and WELL. This means a healthy building consultant and/or MEP engineer can be a helpful resource when creating and implementing a comprehensive wellbeing interiors or workplace wellness strategy. 

Finally, for home upgrade to indoor air, there is also the option of a standalone air purifier such as those made by Dyson for smaller spaces (25m2-50m2 let’s say). These are limited in impact compared to a mechanical system but still represent a viable option in certain circumstances, for example in a bedroom for a sleeper with asthma or allergies.

Healthy indoor environments and air filtration

Filtration is a key aspect of ventilation, this is the process of removing potentially harmful particulates from the outside air intake before that air is sent into the building interiors. 

Air filtration is done via increasingly advanced filters in the ventilation system, meaning this is an area where we as healthy building consultants can make a tangible difference simply by encouraging an MEP Manager or consultant engineer to upgrade the filter, for example.

A High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter removes dust, mold, pollen and particulates. The Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) is a 1-20 scale that measures the effectiveness of these filters and is commonly mentioned in building certification systems as an indication of enhanced indoor air quality. 

A MERV 13 or above filter is now seen as the gold standard - with local equivalents applicable - the higher the number the greater the removal of small particles from the air. Note that all filters require regular maintenance and upkeep as part of an ongoing healthy building strategy delivered by facilities management.

In contemporary buildings, standard practice is to use mechanical ventilation with a filtration system but natural ventilation and other more advanced strategies can be used to reduce energy use in certain specific locations and with adequate planning by the engineers and architecture team. Simply opening a lot of windows and hoping for the best is not a healthy indoor air strategy!

UV light for enhanced indoor air quality

Anti-bacterial ultraviolet (UV) light systems can be incorporated into an indoor air management plan to reduce the risk of harmful organisms lingering in the indoor air. This system can be used in tandem with other ventilation systems or on its own, and uses UV light to kill airborne pathogens. 

Using UV light systems to enhance the indoor air quality is especially relevant in spaces with high occupant densities such as restaurants, in places where occupants are especially vulnerable such as hospitals, or in health clubs and gyms where optimizing the health of members is a priority.

RESET Air certification process

Healthy Building Certification System Benchmarks and Guidelines

There are several guidelines to help determine the ventilation rates for appropriate indoor air quality levels. ASHRAE Standard 62.1 designates “Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality” and is used as an industry benchmark as a minimum value, rather than a target to aim for. 

As is often the case when it comes to consulting for healthy buildings and healthy indoor environments, we are in fact looking to go beyond the bare minimums to achieve excellence, wherever possible.

In addition to the ASHRAE standard, certification systems such as LEED and WELL include numerous credits denoting indoor air quality and ventilation guidelines. 

In the LEED standard, for example, a MERV value of 13 or higher contributes to the “Enhanced Indoor Air Quality Strategies” credit. In the WELL standard ‘Air Filtration credit’, different MERV values are recommended based on the average outdoor air quality levels.

In addition, both the LEED and WELL standards denote the importance of maintaining proper air quality throughout the construction, pre-occupancy and occupancy phases. 

Strategies such as a full flush-out (the elimination of indoor air pollutants that were accumulated during the construction phase through the introduction of outdoor air), replacement of air filters pre-occupancy and ongoing indoor air quality testing are all recommended strategies to ensure enduring air quality levels.

The guidelines and recommendations for the LEED standard are present within the Indoor Environmental Quality credit category, while WELL’s reside within the Air concept.

The LEED and WELL standards focus on different things—LEED places emphasis on the environmental impacts of the built environment, while WELL focuses on the human health and wellbeing side of the built environment. 

Both standards overlap closely in the arena of indoor air quality, ventilation, and filtration however, reflecting the importance of this aspect for a healthy indoor environment and minimizing a building’s environmental impact.

Indoor Air Quality Monitors as part of a healthy building plan

In many green building certification systems, constant monitoring of indoor air quality is a key strategy. Indoor air quality can range greatly throughout the day depending on factors such as outdoor air quality and interior pollution sources, which can all affect what the optimal ventilation rates should be to maintain healthy conditions.

RESET Air advocates for commercial grade air quality monitors connected to the cloud as a way to monitor and assess indoor air quality factors such as airborne particles, temperature, humidity and CO2. Constant monitoring provides a level of transparency and insight that can in turn help to reduce wasted energy costs, not just make for a healthy indoor environment.

See Kaiterra here https://www.kaiterra.com/en/index/

Indoor Air Quality and Ventilation

Proper ventilation and HVAC filtration systems are important components of a healthy indoor air quality plan however due consideration should also be given to additional factors, such as healthy materials, outdoor air quality, green cleaning policies, entryway systems (walk-off mats) and pest management protocols.

If consistently delivered, suitable ventilation rates and healthy indoor air quality supports occupant wellbeing, promotes concentration and productivity, helps improve attention and memory, and can in reduce the possible spreading of viruses indoors. 

A cohesive, joined-up indoor environmental quality plan is required that may well involve some combination of healthy building consultants, architects, interior designers, mechanical engineers and facilities management. 

Sources:

Allen, Joseph. “The 9 Foundations of a Healthy Building.” For Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, https://forhealth.org/9_Foundations_of_a_Healthy_Building.February_2017.pdf. 

“Upper-Room Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI).” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 9 Apr. 2021, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/ventilation/uvgi.html. 

Benefits of Biophilic Design in Schools: From Nurseries to Universities — Wellness Design Consultants

Nurseries, schools and universities can leverage healthy building strategies to facilitate learning - here we cover the role of biophilic design, healthy materials, indoor air quality, light and restorative spaces

How can wellbeing design be used in schools?

The cultivation of a healthy learning environment goes well beyond curriculum, teaching staff, physical activity and the canteen menu - by implementing evidence-based design inspired by biophilia and healthybuildingprinciples, we can create educational spaces maximized for learning and happiness. Biophilic design can significantly improve emotional well-being by reducing stress levels and promoting overall mental health. Incorporating natural elements such as plants, water, and natural light into educational spaces is crucial for enhancing student performance and well-being.

How do we do this? By leveraging the latest thinking around healthy materials, indoor air quality, light and set pieces known as ‘restorative spaces‘.

Children are especially sensitive to **environment

Using Healthy Materials in educational environments

If no expertise on sustainable, non-toxic, and natural materials is delivered to a project team during the design phase, materials can find their way into an interior that will negatively impact the health of building occupants.

This happens primarily through off-gassing of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and the emission of toxic chemicals into the air through the processes of natural

sources of pollutants in nursery and school buildings

Unhealthy materials have the potential to increase indoor air pollutants, which have been found to decrease cognitive functioning and therefore diminish student productivity. The hotspots for such issues tend to be insulation materials, flooring, paints, adhesives and furniture.

We focus on the internal make-up of building materials and their health impacts, a research process facilitated by Health Product Declarations (HPDs) that provide a clear, concise overview of a product's ingredients.

Deploying a Healthy Materials strategy in a nursery, school or university can:

• Reduce negative health impacts from toxic chemicals

• Improve indoor air quality

• Reduce symptoms of Sick Building Syndrome

Paul Chevalier School, France - an example of a healthy learning environment using biophilic design

Enhanced Indoor Air Quality in nurseries, schools, universities

Indoor air quality has a tangible impact on human performance and if not properly established, maintained and monitored, can negatively impact learning and productivity

After steps have been taken to reduce pollutants coming from materials and surfaces in a space (see above), proper cleaning and ventilation practices should be incorporated to maintain good air quality.

Numerous studies have linked cognitive success, absenteeism rates and Sick Building Syndrome symptoms to indoor air quality and ventilation rates (see here).

Ventilation and indoor air quality

Higher ventilation rates are associated with lower rates of absenteeism and Sick Building Syndrome symptoms as well as improvements in test scores, while poor ventilation rates were found to decrease attention and increase school days missed.

One study showed that higher ventilation rates led to 1.6 fewer days missed, while another demonstrated that students had higher scores on math, reading and science tests when the classrooms were properly ventilated (Allen / see sources below). 

In summary, deploying an enhanced indoor air quality plan in a nursery, school or university can:

• Increase attention rates

• Reduce Sick Building Syndrome symptoms

• Decrease absenteeism

• Improve student test scores / cognitive function

The importance of lighting design in nursery, school and university settings

Consideration around natural light as well as electric lighting solutions is an important factor in creating a healthy indoor environment for learning, both for its biophilia benefits and added focus through details such as task lighting solutions. Incorporating ample natural light in educational settings enhances student performance, well-being, and productivity. Maximizing natural light can create a bright and inviting atmosphere, improve overall mental, physical, and emotional health, and contribute to energy efficiency and ecological sustainability.

Daylight and biophilia

Daylight connects students to the natural world, fostering a closer connection with nature. Natural light has a positive impact on students' mental health by reducing stress and promoting emotional balance.

In addition, enhance exposure to natural light as part of a biophilia plan synchronizes us with our body’s circadian rhythms, which when optimized has been shown to increase worker performance (Allen / see sources below).

Task lighting (e.g. smaller format table lamps) is another tool to boost learning environments for activities such as reading or writing, which rely heavily on visual performance.

It was found that a group of third graders who had access to focus lighting for a year had a 36% increase in oral reading fluency, while a group without focus lighting had only a 17% increase (Allen / see sources below).

Circadian lighting

In addition, the type of artificial light has been proven to have an impact - a study found that blue-enriched light causes higher levels of concentration, alertness, and cognitive performance, as well as higher test scores for students (Allen / see below). 

In summary, such lighting strategies as part of a biophilia plan can:

• Improve student mood

• Increase learner alertness and concentration

• Increase student cognitive processing speed and performance

• Improve learner test scores

Restorative Spaces in nursery, school, university settings

Classroom design and orientation can be just as important as the elements that function within the space. The incorporation of small restorative spaces that have been deliberately created using the biophilic design concept for example can help relieve stress and mental fatigue amongst students, providing a modest mental refresh. 

WELL Certification and restorative space design

There are many ways to designarestorative space, and the WELL Building Standard (see more on that here) aims to provide guidance on what can be most successful, using its evidence-based design approach. While the creative design work still needs to come from us, leveraging research data and scientific rigour is a key part of the process in order to deliver tangible results once the space is completed.

Integrating outdoor spaces into school design can provide students with access to natural landscapes and green roofs, fostering sensory interaction with the environment.

According to the WELL ‘Mind’ concept, restorative spaces should include natural elements**/ biophilic design** and have thoughtful lighting, sound, thermal and material choices. In addition, an element of privacy and the inclusion of calming colors, textures and forms is beneficial for recharging and refocusing. See our Biofilico design example image above for this.

Simply creating a place of quiet and calm can have an impact on student performance. For example, a French study found that test scores decreased by 5.5 points for each 10 dB increase in noise levels above the average noise level (~50 dB) (Allen / see sources below).

Biophilic design not only supports mental health but also contributes to the physical health of students by reducing stress and promoting overall well-being.

Schools and learning environments can, if not designed thoughtfully using healthy interior design principles, cause low level stress for students and even increase mental fatigue, so the incorporation of places or respite and restoration are key to providing kids and students with a nourishing place to perform their best.

In summary, the integration of biophilic design in restorative spaces can:

• Relieve mental fatigue and stress

• Recharge and rejuvenate

• Promote increased learning and academic success

• Provide a nature connection

Biophilic Design in learning environments such as nurseries and schools

Biophilic design has been shown to improve cognitive function through increased memory, concentration, creativity, and productivity—all key factors in learning environments. See more here.

A recent study looking at the impact of biophilic design on learning spaces found that the reduction in student stress was much greater in a biophilic classroom when compared with control. In addition, learning outcomes were greatly improved—math test score averages increased more than three times higher in the biophilic design classroom over a seven-month period.

Finally, 7.2% more of the students in the biophilic learning environment tested at grade level when compared with the control classroom (Determan). This study provides encouraging outcomes between biophilic design and improvements in student learning outcomes, wellbeing, and the potential for success.

In addition, the Attention Restoration Theory (ART) correlates increased nature exposure to a faster recovery from mental fatigue and stress (Jimenez).

The use of biophilic design to enhance learning environments connects to many of the strategies mentioned above—such as the incorporation of natural elements in restorative spaces or materials, and the use of daylighting to enhance learning capabilities. Occasionally these lines can blur but only because the biophilic design concept encompasses so many healthy design strategies within it.

In summary, biophilic design principles in learning environments can:

• Improve cognitive functioning and productivity

• Enhance creativity and memory

• Increase test scores and improve learning outcomes

• Reduce stress and provide restorative benefits

Overall, the atmosphere and personality of learning spaces has the potential to positively influence student performance. Healthy material choices, indoor air quality monitoring, lighting, and the incorporation of restorative spaces and biophilic design are tools available to us as healthy interior specialists, so we believe they can and should be deployed to full effect for this purpose!

SourcesAllen, Joseph G, and John D Macomber. Healthy Buildings: How Indoor Spaces Drive Performance and Productivity. Harvard University Press, 2020.

Barbiero, Giuseppe, et al. “Bracing Biophilia: When Biophilic Design Promotes Pupil’s Attentional Performance, Perceived Restorativeness and Affiliation with Nature.” Environment, Development and Sustainability, 2021,https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-021-01903-1

Determan, Jim, et al. “THE IMPACT OF BIOPHILIC LEARNING SPACES ON STUDENT SUCCESS.” Oct. 2019.

Jimenez, Marcia P. et al. “Associations Between Nature Exposure and Health: A Review of the Evidence.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18.9 (2021): 4790. Crossref. Web.

What is Indoor Air Quality (IAq) in a healthy building?

indoor air quality / air purification / air ventilation / well building standard / healthy building / wellness interior / air quality monitors (kaiterra)

Image shows a Kaiterra indoor air quality monitor

Why does indoor air quality matter for our health?

A simple question but one worth asking upfront. As many of us now spend the majority of our lives indoors, somewhere between home, the office, gym, restaurants, school and so on, the quality of the indoor air we breathe in those places matters because indoor air pollutants can cause headaches, sore throat, a loss in productivity / concentration levels, itchy eyes or asthma attacks in the short-term.

In more serious instances, there is a tangible risk of long-term health concerns such as cancer and respiratory issues. All that is before we introduce the theme of viruses.

common indoor air pollutants

Indoor air pollutants we watch out for include CO2, carbon monoxide, radon, tobacco smoke, mold and chemical off-gases known as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). Particulate Matter PM2.5 and PM10 are made up of dust and synthetic materials decomposing around us from furniture, fabrics and so on. PM1 are extremely fine particles and include air-borne diseases such as COVID-19.

sources of indoor air contaminants

The primary sources of these contaminants include toxic building materials, paints, finishes, adhesives, chemical-based cleaning products, fire retardant furniture and fabrics, even our shoes can drag in dust and dirt particles from outside, while nail varnish, aerosols and certain low grade perfumes also negatively impact the indoor air quality in a building.

How does outside air affect indoor air quality in a building?

There is an increasing amount of data available now on the real time quality of our outdoor air in many major cities, with a little research online it’s possible to track down extremely detailed air quality maps of your home city, available both on desktop and mobile app formats.

In London for example, there is an impressive network of outdoor air quality monitors set up by one of the universities there. It operates under the London Air moniker:

https://www.londonair.org.uk/LondonAir/Default.aspx

What you'll often find is that there are very different air quality readings according to the seasons, weather conditions, day of the week, even time of day, depending on commuter numbers, industrial activity in the vicinity and so on, versus the relative respite of a Sunday morning outdoor air quality reading for example.

Equally, low cloud cover can compress and hold down smog closer to street level rather than allowing it to dissipate upwards as on a clear day.

Natural ventilation strategies and indoor air quality

According to the type of windows installed in a commercial building, on a day when the outdoor air quality is suitably. high, there may be the option of using natural ventilation rather than an energy-intensive air conditioning system to ventilate an indoor space. If the outdoor air quality is particularly poor, this solution only serves to make matters worse indoors, clearly.

smart apps for indoor air quality management

A new generation of smart apps that can recommend when to open windows and allow outdoor air in are increasingly popular in India and China, a response to the critical air quality situation in some of the major cities there - easily the worst offenders at a global scale.

We expect this technology to trickle down to newly launched smart buildings in European and North American capitals over coming months and years.

Kaiterra air quality monitor

Indoor Air Quality monitors in a healthy building

We have written extensively about the role of indoor air quality monitors in healthy buildings, not least via our conversation with Liam Bates, CEO of Kaiterra, for episode 040 of the Green & Healthy Places podcast.

Essentially the indoor air quality monitor plan (covering quantity and location) as well as the grade of monitor need to be carefully analyzed in advance of the installation, with them finding a home between 1.2m -1.8m from the floor with hourly data readings covering particle. count, carbon dioxide, VOCs, temperature and humidity.

See also our article on the RESET AIR Standard, from our perspective as RESET Accredited Professionals.

Healthy Building Standards and Indoor Air Quality

There is some degree of negotiation that needs to happen when we're evaluating the impact of People and Planet as an air conditioning HVAC system in a new build is much less damaging to the environment than it would have been 20 years ago when there were harmful hydrocarbons and chemicals involved.

Older buildings, especially those originally built on a low budget, still carry the scars of those mistakes today however, a real problem but one slowly being phased out.

In light of Covid-19, we should view mechanical ventilation systems as our friend, albeit one we’d rather ran on green electricity rather fossil fuels, clearly.

The key to an HVAC, from a healthy building perspective at least, are its filters and ventilation rates. That is where the magic happens, these can be UV light, or a physical filter that's catching dust particles, removing bacteria and harmful VOCs (chemical off-gasses) from the air.

This is in addition clearly to thermal regulation to ensure occupants are comfortable, according to the type of activity they are engaged in - be that working, sleeping or working out!

In terms of energy consumption, the issue is that these systems can, if not monitored and programmed smartly with something like a Kaiterra system, be left on all day and night, even when not strictly needed.

The ideal healthy building for indoor air

The absolute apex of all this is a passive or Net Zero building that has been designed to deliberately make use of natural wind patterns, daylight and sunshine to minimize energy expenditure. To some extent we’re waiting for the green energy revolution to catch up but examples of these smart, future-proof buildings have started to emerge, many of them having followed the International Living Future Institute’s Living Building Challenge.

Well Building Standard on Indoor Air Quality

WELL’s chapter on air quality is a comprehensive review of the subject (see here) whilst their guidelines on Particulate Matter and VOC levels are included below for reference:

https://standard.wellcertified.com/air/air-quality-standards

Standards for Volatile Substances

Formaldehyde levels less than 27 ppb and Total volatile organic compounds less than 500 μg/m³.

Standards for Particulate Matter and Inorganic Gases

Carbon monoxide less than 9 ppm.

PM₂.₅ less than 15 μg/m³.

PM₁₀ less than 50 μg/m³.

Ozone less than 51 ppb.

Standard for Radon

Radon less than 0.148 Bq/L [4 pCi/L] in the lowest occupied level of the project.

Indoor Air Quality with Kaiterra CEO Liam

Talking Healthy Buildings and Indoor Air Quality with Liam Bates, CEO of Kaiterra

Welcome to episode 40 of the Green & Healthy Places podcast in which we discuss wellbeing and sustainability in real estate and hospitality. I’m your host, Matt Morley, Founder of Biofilico healthy buildings / wellbeing interiors.

This week I’m in Beijing with Liam Bates, CEO of Kaiterra, a company creating indoor air quality monitors combined with a software component that evaluates that data to drive improvements in indoor environmental quality and ultimately reduce energy expenditure.

We discuss outdoor air quality’s impact on the air we breathe indoors, what uncomfortably high CO2 levels in enclosed meeting rooms mean for our mental performance, the importance of continuous 24/7 365 data monitoring of indoor air, how efforts to create more sustainable buildings in the past may have inadvertently created less healthy buildings, the levers available to us to improve poor quality indoor air and how buildings, landlords and employers need to up their game like never before to encourage workers back into the office.

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GUEST / LIAM BATES / CEO OF KAITERRA

• www.kaiterra.com/

• Kaiterra Air Academy (blog)

• www.linkedin.com/company/kaiterra/

HOST / MATT MORLEY / WELLBEING CHAMPION

• LinkedIn

• www.mattmorley.net/

• https://biofit.io/

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Conversation Highlights

• Most of the buildings in which we spend our time weren't created with the health and wellbeing of the occupants in mind.

• As we moved towards putting an emphasis on a building’s energy efficiency, it often came at a cost to the ventilation, and as a result the quality of air inside a building.

• Thanks to IOT products and the cloud we now have the potential to monitor indoor air throughout an entire building 24/7 and 365.

• Making the buildings in which you live and work slightly more energy efficient is going to bring far larger returns in terms of impact on the planet than driving an electric car, or becoming vegan.

• It's not like you can see air - without a sensor, you really have no idea what's going on. But once you can see it, suddenly there are changes available that have a rapid impact on both occupant wellbeing and the building’s sustainability.

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FULL TRANSCRIPT COURTESY OF OTTER.AI (EXCUSE TYPOS)

Liam Bates

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So, in a nutshell, what we do at Kaiterra is create solutions to help people, companies and buildings understand, measure and ultimately improve their indoor environment, while also reducing their carbon footprint. So low carbon healthy buildings.

As human beings, we spend around 90% of our time indoors. And the reality is that most of the buildings in which we spend our time weren't created with the health and wellbeing of the occupants in mind.

Sometimes it's an afterthought. But in the vast majority of cases, it's not even a thought at all. It's never really been a consideration. And given the massive impact that the environment has on how we feel and how productive and how happy we are. we think it's really important that there's

So more concretely, what we're doing is we're making hardware, physical products to measure environmental quality, specifically air quality. And then we have a layer of software on top that helps sift through that data, helps people understand it, visualize it, analyze it, and ultimately helping people to make more data driven decisions to improve their indoor environment.

Matt Morley

So if we start big picture, it's always worthwhile on these discussions to establish upfront what the negatives are, what the risks are. If we look at what the health risks risks are of poor quality indoor air, I think there's a general acceptance of outdoor air pollution. But when we look at indoor air in cities, what's going on there?

Liam Bates

You brought up a really interesting point there which is outdoor air quality, we often think that there's air pollution only outside, maybe in Beijing or in New Delhi but of course it's an issue almost everywhere in the world, the vast majority of the planet does have issues with outdoor air quality as well.

Indoor air quality is driven by what's going on outdoors. Some of the obvious examples are- if there's a wildfire burning, as we've seen happen more and more on the West Coast, or the US bushfires across Australia.

You see the same thing in Singapore. So if the outdoor air is polluted, the air indoors is usually not very much better. So that's one factor. The other is essentially poor air quality that is created from within the building. And there are a few different parameters here.

Some that most people might be familiar with would be CO2 levels. We've all we've all been in that meeting room where there's too many people, not enough ventilation and you start to feel claustrophobic, hot, even, sleepy, you think somebody needs to open a window… that’s due to an increased level of carbon dioxide in the room.

But there's also other important parameters to indoor air quality - Volatile Organic Compounds, VOCs, these are chemicals that are given off by furniture in the room, paint on the walls, sometimes even the people in the rooms as well.

Particulate Matter (PM) is the third main parameter that is of concern for indoor air quality - that can come from the outdoors, smog, it can also come from indoors. And let's say the poor ventilation between the kitchen and the office, or even someone vacuuming the carpets in the morning, and kicking up dust into the air. Anyone with asthma will know exactly what I'm talking about.

There's a lot of research that shows both short term health impacts and productivity impacts as well as long term health impacts of indoor air quality.

Matt Morley

A lot of the guidance and advocacy for a greater integration of indoor air quality monitors in new buildings, and in refurbishments, particularly in big cities like London, here in Barcelona, is being led by the healthy building, the sustainable green building movement. How does that connect with your work? Specifically the certification systems for healthy buildings for example.

Liam Bates

There's definitely a massive trend in in that around healthy buildings in general, and around the importance of monitoring, and specifically continuous monitoring within those. So I think maybe a few a few steps back into history.

There's been a focus on sustainability for longer than there has been healthy buildings. And we've known that energy efficiency is important.

Unfortunately, often the indoor environment came at the cost, I'd say a degradation of the indoor environmental quality.

So an interesting example that I sort of always like to use, which is a little bit extreme, is that if you wanted to make the perfect sustainable building, what you would do is you probably build a concrete block with no windows, no doors, thick concrete, and no ventilation system, and you’d leave the lights turned off all the time. And then your building wouldn't be using any energy.

And it would be incredibly sustainable. But it'd be terrible for anybody that was inside that building. And that's obviously an extreme example. But historically, as we moved towards putting an emphasis on a building’s energy efficiency, it often came at a cost to the ventilation, and the quality of air inside the building.

What’s driven a lot of the new certifications would be the WELL building standard, as well as RESET.

WELL has a strong focus on healthy buildings in general, with a focus on air but also water, nutrition and light while RESET is more closely focused on on air quality specifically. And what's interesting with both of these, is that they've really been leading the charge when it comes to continuous monitoring.

That is making a shift from historically how we took measurements in buildings, which is having someone come around maybe once a year, with a large laboratory grade instrument, putting it in a room, taking a reading, sometimes even writing it down on a notebook, and then coming back one year later to see if things were better or worse. And so it's really just a one point in time measurement.

Whereas what we're seeing now, which is really enabled by the shift in IOT products, connected products, more integrations with building management systems, but also with the cloud, is that now we the potential to monitor indoor air throughout an entire building 24/7 and 365.

These building certifications are now allowing, more points or more paths to certification through the utilization of this data. And I think that's a great thing. Because it's really providing a true picture of what's going on inside the building, as opposed to what was it like this one day when someone happened to come in, which is kind of like rolling the dice.

If, if it happened to be polluted outside, it would look like your building was performing badly. If somebody happened to just clean the carpets that morning, and there were chemicals in the building, it might look like your air quality is terrible, or vice versa. And that's really not how we should be making decisions for where we spend 90% of our time as human beings, especially in the 21st century, with all the access to data that we have, uh, you know, I really believe that we should be making data driven decisions.

Matt Morley

It's a fundamental shift in how we think about monitoring our air, I think it's important that we give that historical perspective. If you do that at the beginning of a flush out, or post construction, you typically leave it there for any any number of weeks, depending on how it was built, right?

And you might take a recording at the beginning of that flush out another one at the end of the flush out and then and then that was it. But really, then you've no idea you are flying blind for every consecutive day after that until the next air quality monitor reading, right.

I think this is it's really empowering system to be able to say that the building management, and therefore, you know, if the transparency and the communication around it can be as simple as a digital screen at the entrance and reception lobby, right, just saying, look, here's what's happening today, here's where we're at in terms of where the outdoor air quality vs your indoor air quality.

What are the levers available to improve indoor air quality?

Liam Bates

It’s a complicated answer, we have a lot of work to do, because air quality, when you think about it holistically is not as simple as, let's say temperature.

If you're in a room, and you feel cold, you know that there's one simple solution, which is to increase the temperature. And when you increase it to a certain amount you will feel comfortable, at least from the thermal comfort perspective. And you can also you know exactly what the building needs to make it happen.

And you can also work out what the energy consumption is, it's a relatively simple equation to translate how somebody is feeling into what should be done, what the impact is of making those decisions.

Overall air quality is a lot more complicated. At the most basic level, how much outdoor air are we bringing into the building. If you have high levels of carbon dioxide, that means that you need to bring in more outdoor air - adjusting the ventilation rate is a way that you can impact that.

Natural ventilation vs outdoor air pollution

Of course, you can also do that by opening the windows. These things come at a cost potentially however, because what happens if I open the windows and there is for example, ozone, present outside is, you know, relatively common in many parts of the world, or what if there's particulate matter because next to a highway.

So, this is where it gets a little bit more complicated and where a lot of our our development and engineering work goes as a company is, is understanding the relationship between these different parameters and how they interact so that ultimately, an intelligent decision can be made.

filtration rates of indoor air

Then you have of course, the filtration rate in an HVAC filter. So what is the grade of the filter in the air handling unit. Again, that comes at a cost, the higher the grade of the filter, the more particles that will filter out, the cleaner your air will be but there will also be less air coming to the building.

Green and healthy building priorities

And so it's all a balancing equation between these different parameters, and also bouncing between sustainability, or carbon footprint, and the health and wellbeing of the occupants.

chemicals used in Cleaning & building operations

Changing the hours in which cleaning takes place, this is one of the highest potential highest ROI things that you can do. A lot of companies had cleaning schedules that were in the morning, and especially with everything COVID related, those cleanings became very thorough, deep cleaning even, which is of course, a great thing, except that a lot of the chemicals that are used in the cleaning process are not necessarily very good for the people that breathe them in.

The reality is that we are quite often using these toxic cleaning materials on on tables or floors and then they're off-gassing chemicals into our air, so we're breathing those toxic gases in throughout the rest of the day.

So without having continuous monitoring, where you can see this 24 hour trend, you wouldn't necessarily see that you have by cleaning at 6am in the morning created an enormous spike in chemicals at 8am when everyone comes into the office.

A very simple change, clean at 6pm instead of 6am. It's outside of working hours, but that spike happens when there's nobody in the building. And then it drops throughout the rest of the night. And as long as you turn on, maybe there's still some residual chemicals in the air at, let's say 6am.

But as long as the ventilation system comes on at 7am, one hour before anybody enters the building, they're walking into a clean, healthy environment rather than one that is potentially quite contaminated.

Matt Morley

Therefore we have what happens before the occupants enter the building. So that might be construction and interior fit out phase. And then what's going on during the operation and building management phase. So you sort of think of it in two major blocks.

You've mentioned the low carbon footprint and energy efficiency piece. I just wanted to dig into that a little bit if we could just to establish the connection between your indoor air quality monitors and energy efficiency - how do you join the dots between those two?

Energy efficiency and indoor air quality monitoring

Liam Bates

So maybe some background data, first of all on the just the impact on the planet of buildings, our mission is very human driven, but it's also very much driven by wanting to have a positive impact on the planet. And so some of the you know, some some of the facts here that really shocked me when I first learned were, number one, just the impact that the the impact the planet that buildings have on our planet.

The operation of buildings, so building operations account for approximately 28% of all co2 emissions, which is an enormous number.

It's just running buildings is a huge contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. And that number is not really going down because we're building more and more buildings. We build a brand new New York City in terms of buildings every single month.

So over the next 30 years, we are going to be adding a huge number of buildings to this planet, and all those buildings have operations going on. So there's, there's this this huge impact on the planet. And when it comes to building operations, the single largest contributor to energy consumption.

We spend so much of the world's energy, just moving air around a building and heating it up and cooling it down. So enter in any, any optimizations that we can have on that front will have a huge impact on the planet.

But the reality is that making the buildings in which you live and work slightly more energy efficient is going to bring far larger returns in terms of impact on the planet than driving an electric car, or or becoming vegan.

In the same way that when people are in a space, we want to make sure that the air is optimized, and their health is prioritized. And so that can mean things like having low levels of pollutants, when people are not in a space, we don't need to spend that, that same amount of energy, ventilating or filtering that space.

The question is, how can we utilize this data to make more intelligent decisions run and essentially optimize how we run the space to save on energy. And so the simple way to look at it is, if if somebody is in a space and the air quality is poor, then we should be taking actions to improve that air quality. And quite often that, that that's by increasing ventilation rates, for example.

Well, just like we would do that if if the air quality in a space is already optimal, or if there is nobody in the space, then we don't need to continue filtering more air and bringing in more fresh air from the outside. So it's really just about understanding what is at the most basic level, essentially demand control ventilation. That's sort of the most basic example here, which is that if a space is already great, let's not waste energy, trying to make it even better.

So an example would be if you're recently on the West Coast of the US, for example, we've seen a lot of examples around where there were there's pollution coming in from the outdoors from wildfires. And it's actually quite a complex process to work out what is the the best thing to do from a building perspective, when that's going on? Should you bring in more air from the outside and try to filter it should you re circulate more air internally, should you have some combination of the two of these.

If you simply have a very basic kind of control algorithm going on, you might be essentially noticing that the air is bad and just pumping more and more and more air from outdoors inside to try to clean it. But at the end of the day, just bring in more smoke. So it's really about having optimizing the logic in the system to not trying to clean when that doesn't essentially not try to ventilate more when it doesn't make sense.

That wasn't a great example, let me share another another one from a concrete example from a project that I was just looking at a couple of days ago, where the the ventilator ventilation system was essentially being turned on and run at levels that were unnecessary about 27% of the time. And this was often tied to parts of the building not being occupied, or people and not having a clear idea in real time of which parts of the building were actually being utilized in which way but by looking at the changes in indoor pollution, and that could be a combination of co2 and VOCs, you actually start to identify this part of the building, that building is being used more than other parts.

The second floor right now, even though it was planned to be used has three people in it and it's being ventilated for 100 people. And so it's just about shifting, where some of that that load is going maybe from one air handling unit to another and the result is that you get better overall air quality and lower overall energy consumption.

I think that does clarify and particularly within the context have the sort of extreme example that you gave of this sort of perfect closed building with with no ventilation at all. And in many ways, sometimes I think some of these other buildings that are just not smart in any way, are effectively managed in that same way. And there's just no visibility, there's no transparency around what's going on inside that space.

And it's, in a sense about taking responsibility from the building management side, right to say, Well, look, there are things we can do to make this a healthier space for the occupants. But there's also things we can do to reduce the, the carbon footprint of just keeping this building alive and keeping it going as an occupied space. And, you know, stepping up and getting a handle on what's going on in terms of indoor air quality is is both good for the people and for the planet. I think that's, that's the message that I'm that I'm getting and that we want to try and communicate out there.

Indoor Air Quality monitor installation

Matt Morley

So if we kind of go a level deeper, and we actually think about this whole process of how Kaiterra get involved, how they monitors are planned installed, and where the value is delivered over the sort of short to medium term, it took us through like how typically, who's bringing you in? Like, who's your contact person within the building project or real estate management team? And what are the steps that you then go through in terms of installing your, your hardware and software?

Liam Bates

This actually ties quite nicely to your question, but also the last point that you were making.

A really interesting example. So okay, so I guess, to answer that question directly, we work with a few different groups, typically, this initiatives around the indoor environment, could be coming from sort of a sustainable sustainability perspective.

So often, that would be we'd be working with the, let's say, the director of sustainability. It could be coming from facilities management, who are receiving a lot of complaints. People are complaining, either people are either complaining because they they, they just feel bad in the space.

Or it's simply that they they're concerned. And there's no transparency. And that's that's definitely a major issue this year, especially as with all the news that's that's been around around the transmission of viruses. What is my facility doing to prevent this? And what is the quality of air because there is a well known correlation between these two things.

And the third direction that we often get brought in is is from a call it sort of an employee experience, perspective. And so that might be driven by HR head of people. It depends on the firm, but really trying to say what can we do to make sure that our occupants are happy and healthy and productive, and they feel great coming to work. And I think this is really being this is becoming more and more important in the future, because a lot of companies still want to have their people come into the office, at least a few days a week.

Indoor air quality post Covid

But it's not, it's you know, it's not like things were before and things have changed, the world has changed. And if you're, you know, if you're asking me to come to the office, or you want me to actually come to the office, because I want to it hopefully, you know, it needs to be a pretty good office, it needs to be better than my home, right? I have to want to go into the office and of course, have human interactions, but also be in a physically comfortable, mentally stimulating environments that maybe I don't get in my living room.

And so that's also a big piece of what what is driving sort of initial reach out with us. And often we come in sort of interact with these, these different groups together. A really funny example was a project in, in the US in the Bay Area that we were working on recently. And we were analyzing some of the data and working with the customer and looking at it and saying, Well, you know, we can see that your, you have excellent air quality when when the space is occupied, and the air quality isn't great overnight. But that's fine, because there's nobody there.

They said they're saving energy and the air is great when people need to be there. However, on the weekends, from the data, it looks like the HVAC system is still running. And you have great air quality throughout the weekend when there's nobody there. And this is a really interesting sort of discussion that takes place between facility management and the sustainability people and the employee experience people were nobody had realized that they had set this facility management had set a timer to try and optimize for occupant experience and energy efficiency to turn on the ventilation system at specific hours.

The building was most occupied. But no one had bothered to turn it off on Saturday and Sunday. So this building was running, you know, full power for two days a week when there was nobody there. And that is just such low hanging fruit.

That, you know, just kind of observing this conversation is really interesting, because you've got the sustainability person that's going wait, we're doing what, why there was a, I don't know, just set up this way.

Our solutions were were installed in the project, we work with multiple different stakeholders. And within a very short period of time, I've been able to find some some really obvious problems that you wouldn't otherwise see.

Obviously air is invisible. It's not like you can't see it without a sensor, you really have no idea what's going on. But once you see it, suddenly your eyes are opened, and there are changes that you can make that have very rapid impact on again, both people and sustainability.

Matt Morley

I think it's a crucial point to get across - buildings are not necessarily healthy places to be, especially if the installation, the furniture, the paint, etc, haven't been chosen for low toxins or toxic qualities, etc. So I think that's one thing.

The other thing is that the game has changed Post COVID. The world is not going back to how it was. Employees are just asking a lot more questions. HR teams are rightly asking more from the buildings they inhabit.

You reference the connection between the transmission of airborne diseases, ie COVID, amongst others, and indoor air quality. So let's try and quell any doubts, how do you stand on that position says there's a lot of confusion out there around this. What do we need to know about airborne diseases in indoor air quality?

Airborne diseases and indoor air quality

Liam Bates

I mean, there's a reason that we put, you know, you put a mask over over your mouth, because there are particles that are coming out when you breathe, and they spread throughout a building.

If you have, if you have an HVAC system that is recirculating air, that's obviously not great. So it's really important to take the right strategies, when it comes to how you handle air quality and how you handle your air because viruses are in the air, they latch on to particles, if if there are physical things floating around in your air, which there always are.

Air is not just molecules of oxygen and nitrogen floating around. It's also all these particles, and a lot of things stick to those particles.

So in summary, I think there's absolutely no doubt that air quality and the air is tied to the transmission of viruses. There's plenty of evidence that shows this, both when you look at the particles in the air, but also the importance of having the correct levels of humidity, relative humidity, and so on. All of these things have an impact. And there's, there's there's really no doubt anymore at this point.

Matt Morley

I really encourage everyone to get a handle on this. Because if we're out there in the world of interiors and real estate, you kind of need to be up to date with what's happening.

Biophilia in healthy buildings

The role of biophilic design in healthy interiors

The real estate industry has increasingly shifted away from thinking exclusively about 'green buildings' and 'sustainable real estate', this has been a quiet revolution over the last 10-15 years towards building occupant wellbeing and human health as well, not replacing but rather extending the concept further. This then gives you a mix of Planet (green buildings) and People (healthy buildings).

Healthy, green and smart buildings

Aligned with that, we are increasingly looking at smart buildings too, so 'healthy, green and smart' are becoming the holy trinity of high performance real estate today in other words. Thinking about a workplace or a home or a building, or an entire community that is healthy, green and smart.

Benefits of Biophilia in real estate

For me at least, within that space of sustainability and wellbeing in buildings and interiors, there's been this massive shift towards integrating nature into an indoor environment, typically referred to as biophilia, which is really just our innate connection to to the natural world and how increasingly urban environments, come with their own risks because we end up disconnected from nature, so biophilia or biophilic design brings the outside world back into our urban, indoor environments.

Biofilico started doing gyms and then branched out into co working spaces and business clubs and offices and now entire buildings, but really the focus there is combining elements of the eco friendly and sustainable, a consciousness about the impact we’re having on the planet, from the materials to the types of fabrics that we're bringing in, and how many plants are in there, and so on.

Nature = healthy interiors

What’s fascinating is that the natural is often the healthy too, so if you think about diet for example, the more natural and organic your ingredients the better the nutritional value. The same concept can be applied, in an abstract way, to our office and home environments.

You're seeing all of these Silicon Valley startups going big on biophilic design in their workplace wellness and employee engagement strategies for that same reason.

A lot of it's about giving something back to staff, not just doing less harm to the environment but actually giving something back to the people, to your employees who are spending time in the workplace every day by making it generally more pleasant and by implication a more productive for them to work in.

This approach helps with concentration levels too, it's been shown that if you can reconnect a little with nature during your work day rather than sitting in a white box all day long, then it actually helps to restore energy levels, it gives feelings of vitality.

Biophilic design research - health benefits

There's a lot of research out there around the positivity that a biophilic interior in your home or office can engender and so now we're seeing this happy balance in interiors today.

We’re looking for the science and the data to back all this up. That's where tech comes back into the discussion as we need to deliver functional benefits, so not just form and aesthetics but functional mental and physical health benefits.

Like any good interior design it all needs to look good whilst having minimal impact on the environment, plus we are aiming for tangible improvements in emotional and physical wellbeing for the occupiers of the space in question, be it an office, a home or even a gym.

Well building certifications

In the same way that you have your star ratings for hotels, when you're dealing with a workplace, there hasn't really been any standardized system in terms of ensuring that there is adequate consideration taken for workplace wellbeing, or generally creating a healthy environment for workers.

The green building movement did that to an extent, via certifications like LEED and BREEAM and various others all around the world. Then came the wellness certification rating systems such as WELL, FITWEL and RESET. More recently we've seen the emergence of smart building certifications, the one I use is WIRED SCORE.

They really go in and just make sure that everything within that building or workplaces is set up so that it is future proofed so that can you can effectively integrate tech into your facilities management system, a lot of it then goes into the FM facilities management, and you're then looking for efficiencies in terms of how a building is operated so that you're reducing energy expenditure at lower times of usage, when there's less occupancy in a space, whether it's an office or hotel or, or an entire building and creating a more touchless environment so that most things can be done and delivered via an app or via technology instead of old school manual options.

What is indoor air quality in the context of a healthy building?

Indoor air quality data comes down to your air quality monitors, Biofilico is certified in RESET AIR - a protocol for installing certain types of high-grade monitors in certain locations around a building or interior space, ensuring the data is delivered to the RESET cloud for ongoing analysis, you then have a lot of alarms that go off if anything looks unusual, you can overlay that data with occupancy data and start to see if there's something happening in this meeting room because they've been in there for four hours without a window open and there’s a problem with the ventilation, for example.

Wellness tech is now allowing us a real time view of the healthy credentials of a space. Yes it requires a modest investment upfront on behalf of the building owner or the tenant, but really once you're set up you provide support for your guests, customers, occupants or residents, giving them reassurance that you're taking their health to heart and that it's a priority.

When you look at the costs of staffing and rent, a minor increase in healthy interior enhancements can really make a tangible difference, especially to productivity rates. People are breathing fresher air, they're more likely to be do quality creative work. It's no longer about putting hours in at your desk in a specific, dedicated corner of the office, it's about how much can you produce and what quality work can you produce around the building, , moving between areas as needed to adapt to the type of work you are doing at any one time during the work day.

Biophilic design in building certification standards

Biophilic design is less an alternative than an integral component of the green building and healthy building movements. So if you're looking at LEED or BREEAM, there are components within them both that give credit or recognition for integrating elements of biophilic design, such as landscaping, gardens, views of nature, plant walls, and so on.

Biophilic design is a strategy that we use to not just tick boxes but to deliver value and enhancements to a space and what's interesting about it that is straddles both worlds, the green and the healthy, wellbeing design and sustainable design. So that same strategy can be applied to both of those two different types of certification standards and you gain credits for both.

Lighting strategies in healthy buildings

There's been some real revolution in lighting systems over the last few years. How can we, first of all, reduce energy expenditure with the lighting? That's the easy part, we've been doing that for a little while, then you say okay how can we enhance wellbeing through smart lighting systems and really you get into color therapy, there, playing with the light spectrums on offer at different times of day to connect with our innate circadian rhythm.

So thinking about, say, a brighter blue white light. In the mornings, which is when the sun is high as we're getting up to the middle of the day and then towards the end of the day, a softer, more Amber yellow or orange hue, and removing all the blue white lights later at the end of the day so we're not disrupting sleep patterns.

How many of us have spent days in offices with these intense blue white halogen lights above us from nine o'clock in the morning until nine o'clock at night, then you go home and it's hard to switch off! A different type is more appropriate after dark, especially in winter.

How does Biofilico apply these concepts to a home setting?

A typical project might be an 8-story mixed use real estate development in London or the health and fitness offer for entire hotel. At a larger scale, I'm part of a team and there's mechanical engineer consultants, architect studios and interior design teams involved as well..

Recently though, we’ve applied this thinking to Can Ikigai in Barcelona, Biofilico’s home base, with a home gym set-up, a biophilic home office and a wabi-sabi organic interior concept design. This has meant applying some of the knowledge that we have from healthy buildings and wellness in the workplace to a residential context.

Contact us for help with your office, home, hotel or gym project

future of Workplace wellbeing interview with matt morley

We recently participated in a webinar on the future of workplace wellbeing alongside The Yoga Agency and Yinshi Meditation as well as the Founder of Planet Organic / Beluga Bean, Renee Elliott.

Here is an extract from that webinar with Matt’s thoughts on workplace wellness, biophilic design and active design in healthy buildings.

For those of us working in the wellbeing space we have seen that Covid-19 has bought wellbeing into the spotlight for many businesses. Why do you think this is?

MM: From my perspective at least, COVID has merely accelerated a process that was already underway, in what was admittedly a rather patchy, yet undeniable ‘quiet revolution’ towards healthier, greener workplaces that respect the Triple Bottom Line of people, planet & profit. 

In the broadest of terms, the US, Australia, Canada, Singapore and to some extent the UK were seen as world leaders in this. Like I say, these things start as a niche and slowly become more mainstream, we just leapt forward by several years basically.

Indoor Environmental Quality - or IEQ - is a fundamental part of the healthy workplace concept, those of us engaged in this field have all studied it in-depth and more importantly implemented strategies to create, maintain and monitor purified, high quality indoor air with adequate ventilation rates long before the world switched on to the risks of getting it wrong, airborne virus transmission is one example but high levels of CO2, particulate matter or Volatile Organic Compounds all have their own detrimental impact on our health. 

Essentially then, at least in terms of creating a baseline for IEQ, it’s about three fundamentals: 

• the mechanical system or HVAC

• the building and fit-out materials present in a space that can off-gas harmful chemicals that reduce IEQ

• a facilities management policy around enhanced, eco-friendly cleaning schedules

Have you noticed any trends in terms of what different industries are doing to prepare the workspace for peoples return 

MM: Innovative tech companies were already way out in front on this as they are often cash-rich and place such priority on their knowledge workers no matter where they are in the world  - an example would be the green, leafy and cutting edge Amazon offices all over the world 

Where they led, others followed, so more generally now a lot of small-medium size start-ups looking to attract and retain top talent into their workforce in a highly competitive job market recognize that having an uplifting, positive space can make a real difference.

Then we have companies with an inherent connection to nature, perhaps via their mission statement or product line, an example there would be HERO organic foods in Switzerland for example, basically the natural version of Danone, they are now doing biophilic nature-inspired offices that reflect their company values on one level but also are designed to help raise productivity, concentration and happiness levels amongst their staff, whilst keeping them safe.

The current phase that I’m seeing is akin to a trickle-down effect that has been 10 Xd by COVID to a far wider spectrum of companies who now see an urgent need to upgrade their offices in light of recent events.

What do you think are some of the longer lasting impacts of covid 19 in terms of the way we work?

For those businesses looking for a standardized process backed by scientific rigor , there are a number of well regarded certification programs out there now, from Virus Response, to Air Quality specific, to those such as the WELL Certification that cover not just a workplace’s Air quality but also its Water, Nourishment and nutrition, the quality of Light within the offices, Fitness and movement, thermal and physical Comfort, as well as Mental Wellbeing

So just as sustainable building certifications tell us when a building has eco-friendly credentials, increasingly the leading workplaces are talking about their wellbeing standards as well.

Before it was a nice to have but Covid changed that.

What can businesses do to improve their physical environment/office space and why is it important.

First and foremost, again, it has to be indoor air quality, please please please let’s get that right! You may need some outside help to implement a solid plan in larger organizations but your staff will thank you for it and now is the time! 

Additionally, I’ve been talking about biophilia and biophilic design for 5-6 years now but it feels like this concept is finally ‘having a moment’ as more and more workplaces are catching on post-pandemic.

Essentially it’s about bringing the outside world into our built environment to harness nature’s mental and physical health benefits, for example a plant wall can do amazing things in terms of air purification. 

No matter how modest a space, a nature themed recharge room for having a quiet moment alone, doing some deep thinking, or a little light stretching can make the world of difference to the workday, especially in offices with limited natural light and no outdoor green spaces nearby.

For me, biophilic design combines elements of sustainability and wellbeing via its nature-first approach to materials, colours, sounds, textures and even scent. 

It’s not just putting plants on desks, the deeper you go into the principles behind this idea the more it gives back and the greater the impact can be on that Triple Bottom Line I mentioned earlier. 

In the end, we’re looking to boost productivity and concentration while reducing anxiety and stress amongst employees and, just as importantly, respecting the environment in the process. It’s a win-win.

What advice do you have for those in the audience in HR of Office management roles who have the responsibility of caring for other peoples health and wellbeing ?

I’ve touched on Indoor Environmental Quality, specifically the importance of establishing high quality indoor air and then monitoring it on an ongoing basis - data is key otherwise you’re operating blind! 

We then have the wonders of biophilic design, whether on a small or large sale, whether promoting access to nearby nature via walking meetings outdoors, or by bringing more nature indoors, it’s all good.

I’d add to that a real focus on physical and mental activity opportunities facilitated by the organization, even if only a discount or voucher system for nearby fitness studios or meditation centres if there Isn’t space or budget to host something in-house every week.

It’s the thought that counts and ultimately, if budget allows, having it there under-utilized (“my employer cares”) is still better than not having it at all (“my employer doesn’t care”).

Also, consider boosting your community-oriented CSR practices that help staff and the organization itself give back - they have been shown to foster immense feelings of purpose and satisfaction in the giver, not just the receiver. 

Additionally, consider the lighting in an office, uplighters / standing lamps and desk lamps with warmer, amber hues can be especially helpful in the darker winter months as an alternative to those harsh overhead blue-white lights that are detrimental to sleep quality, which in turn impacts worker performance the next day.

What can employees/individuals do to stay healthy during this transition back to normal?

In terms of personal agency, taking matters into your own hands rather than relying on organizational level change, it would have to be Active Design also known as ‘incidental movement’ during the day - it’s about being active at work, which is different to working out at work!

• So mindfully choosing the stairs not the lift

• Perhaps using a standing desk rather than a chair for at least part of the day

• moving between deep work spaces and more collaborative zones in the office, or going to a colleague to chat instead of sending an email 

• using a bike to get to and from the office

• consciously making yourself walk outside at lunchtime for a bite to eat

• proposing a walking meeting with another colleague instead of opting to sit together in a small enclosed office, and so on….

Contact us here to discuss your workplace wellness project

reset air quality standard - real estate - core & shell

What is a healthy building?

A healthy building definition is important to establish first and, for us, a building can only be considered “healthy” if it has a proven, positive impact on the mental & physical health of its occupants, whilst also doing no harm to the environment. We simply cannot accept that a building is good for People but harmful to the Planet, we must combine the two.

Imagine a people-focused building designed for maximum wellbeing benefits that also had a detrimental effect on the planet around it. The cross-over between green building concepts and healthy building concepts is obvious.

The rise of the healthy building movement over the past decade provides a new lens through which businesses can assess their performance and we are proud to be able to play a part in this process.

See our 9-point guide to healthy buildings here.

What is a smart building?

‘Smart’ is now right up there alongside ‘healthy’ and ‘green’ when it comes to desirable characteristics of a modern building.

We need data and information in order to monitor and optimize a building’s performance; ultimately ‘smart’ in this sense is effectively about ‘high performance’ buildings that are digitally connected with smart technology built in.

The leading smart building standard / certification for us is currently WiredScore, check them out here. They define a smart building by these four factors:

• an inspirational experience

• a sustainable building

• a cost-efficient building

• one that is future-proof by design

What is Indoor Air Quality in a healthy building?

Indoor pollutants such as CO2 have a negative impact on cognitive function and performance. the best solution is source control - nipping the problem in the bud, by not bringing harmful materials into the space that carry chemicals, VOCs or off-gases.

For that, we need building materials and fit-out materials that disclose their chemical ingredients, ideally with a healthy product accreditation to back up their claims.

One of the main culprits in this sense are Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) or chemicals that off-gas at ambient temperature from building materials such as particle board, glues, paints and carpet backing. 

Particulate Matter PM2.5 and PM10 are made up of dust and synthetic materials decomposing around us from furniture, fabrics and so on.

For RESET, Carbon Monoxide is only relevant for projects where combustion is present. As reference, CO reduces the amount of oxygen transported in the bloodstream, making it potentially lethal.

Sensor technology cannot cover every pollutant, other air quality sensors do exist but they are prohibitively expensive, so as the market for high-grade sensors steadily democratizes over coming years, new pollutants will be incorporated into the standard.

What is RESET for smart and healthy buildings?

RESET stands for “Regenerative, ecological, social and economic targets”. It is a healthy building standard and certification.

The company was started by architects in Shanghai in 2001 adopting an eastern perspective based on a 5000 year history of health and regeneration, rather than the explicitly green / sustainable approach promoted in the west.

Unlike other green building or healthy building standards, such as LEED, WELL or FITWEL, RESET AIR does not insist on any set, prescribed paths towards achieving high quality indoor air results.

Their approach is simply to leave the door open to innovation, how each project gets there is up to the project team. It is the destination that matters most in this instance, RESET do not concern themselves with prescribing the journey.

In their terms, this is a biomimetic approach, that takes its inspiration from nature and the biosphere’s 3.8 billion year history. They talk our language in other words!

What is the RESET Air for Core & Shell indoor air quality standard?

You’ll find that RESET AIR for Core & Shell, whether for new or existing buildings, is basically all about ongoing monitoring and analysis of high quality indoor air quality data, delivered to the RESET cloud via a network of professionally installed, pre-approved air quality monitors.

We are concerned primarily with particulate matter (PM2.5), Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and Total Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOC) in the outdoor air and the supply air including recirculated air that affects the building in question.

The data will be communicated back to building occupants as a way to raise awareness about this important healthy building theme, that has never been more relevant than in the post-Covid world.

Nota Bene: the intent here is different to that of RESET Air Commercial Interiors; in this case we are not focused on the quality of ‘mixed air’ that occupants inhale inside the building, for example in office spaces or communal areas.

Again, we are concerned exclusively with the quality of the air being delivered through the building’s HVAC system.

What affects the air quality of air in an HVAC system?

Clearly there is a world of difference between a remote coastal or countryside building and one in the middle of a megalopolis such as Shanghai.

Factors to consider here are location as well as a building’s orientation, the general climate, the age of the structure and HVAC system equipment, use type, and zoning calculations.

Daily averages are calculated based on hours of occupancy and international standards for Indoor Air Quality (‘IAQ’).

Qualifying projects must remain within these limits for a full three months in order to be certified, although there are a certification statuses available before then too (see separate article here on that).

• Particular Matter / PM2.5: Less than 12 μg/m3 (75% reduction. NB: When outdoor PM2.5 is ≤48μg/m3, indoor levels can be no more than 12μg/m3. When outdoor PM2.5 is >48μg/m3, filtration at the level of the air handling unit must remove 75% of PM2.5 at a minimum.

• Total Volatile Organic Compound / TVOC: less than 400 μg/m3

• Carbon Dioxide / CO2: less than 800 ppm

• Temperature: Monitored only as this impacts PM2.5 and TVOC

• Relative Humidity: Monitored only as this impacts PM2.5 and TVOC

What are the air quality Data Provider requirements?

Data is collected and transferred to te RESET Assessment Cloud online. For this reason projects have to use certified RESET Air Accredited Data Providers that connect to the RESET Assessment Cloud.

This may sound complicated but it isn’t really as some air quality monitor manufacturers such as Awair are also accredited data providers, so you deal with both steps in one purchase effectively.

Data is to be communicated to building occupants on an hourly basis, perhaps via a digital display in reception, a smartphone app or webpage. RESET want this information to be as visible as possible, not hidden away and hard to find!

What air quality monitors are accepted by RESET AIR?

Direct read or hand-held instruments may be good for a walk-through survey or in detecting a specific pollutant but they have been deemed unsuitable for RESET as the standard requires high quality and constant air quality data in order to detect trends and patterns over time in a specific, fixed location. A lab test is good for a deep-dive but will only reflect a specific moment in time.

RESET provides standards for the deployment, location and installation of monitors that have been classified as Grade A (reference grade) or Grade B (commercial grade) only, excluding the increasingly common consumer Grade C.

It is RESET APs (accredited professionals) that are responsible for the monitor deployment plan, RESET then acts as the neutral stakeholder capturing data in the cloud. 

As all monitors will gradually drift over time and need to be cleaned / recalibrated, the occasional follow-up site visit is required to inspect the monitors, again by a RESET Accredited Professional.

In order to certify for RESET Air for Core & Shell, projects need to demonstrate the mechanical (HVAC) system delivers air to occupants in line with the performance targets. For this to happen, we need a baseline established via outdoor air quality monitoring.

Indoor air quality monitors are then “paired” with the outdoor air monitors and the aggregated data can compared. This is the crux of the Core & Shell standard. Understanding this point is fundamental.

How do air quality monitors need to be installed for RESET AIR Core & Shell?

RESET Air accredited monitors that report PM2.5, CO2, Temperature and Relative Humidity need to be positioned within 5 metres / 16 ft of an air intake in a location that is pre-filtration and pre-mixing. Read that line again, it is really important!

If a building has 10 stories or less and one air intake, it only needs one outdoor monitor. That same building with more than one air take, needs still just one monitor but located wherever the air quality is deemed to be worst.

Taller buildings with a single air intake again need just one outdoor air monitor but if it has multiple air intakes then the monitor must be positioned at the highest air intake (or centrally if they are all on the same level).

Indoor monitor deployment meanwhile are based on a project’s total air volume. Mechanical systems that are not designed with constant air volume must calculate air volume based on the highest capacity airflow possible in the system.

To achieve Core & Shell certification a minimum of 30% of total air volume must be monitored.

These indoor monitors need to cover the usual suspects of PM2.5, TVOC, CO2, relative humidity and temperature.

Monitors should be installed post-mixing, post-filtration (or simply post-filtration if there is no mixing in the HVAC system in question). They should also be installed prior to dampers that limit airflow to a duct. The outdoor monitors have to be paired with an indoor monitor, this is essential.

Thee are the steps a RESET accredited professional will follow:

1. define project boundary

2. deploy outdoor monitors

3. calculate total air volume

4. calculate 30% of total air volume

5. deploy and pair indoor monitor locations to outdoor monitors

6. deploy additional indoor monitors if necessary

Contact us to discuss your RESET air certification project or other indoor air quality queries.

RESET Healthy Buildings (podcast interview)

Green & Healthy Places podcast 019:

RESET healthy buildings standard

Regenerative buildings monitored for health: the RESET standard

The ‘Green & Healthy Places’ podcast series takes a deep-dive into the role of sustainability, wellbeing and community in real estate and hospitality.

Green & Healthy Places with Matt Morley

Welcome to episode 19 of the green and healthy places podcast in which we explore wellbeing and sustainability in real estate and hospitality.

In this episode we talk to Stanton Wong in China, President of RESET, a data-driven business that harnesses technology to monitor buildings from a health perspective.

We discuss the differences between the concepts of ‘green buildings’ in the West and ‘healthy buildings’ in Asia, the surge in interest in air quality post-pandemic, how the materials used in building construction and fit-outs connect with indoor air quality, how to create biomimetic indoor spaces that behave more like an outdoor spaces and the importance of high-quality data collection around Air, Water, Energy and Waste use in benchmarking healthy buildings.

Stanton is a seriously bright guy with a background in computer science and he’s now at the helm of an organization that just seems to be in the right place at the right time. So there is a lot of solid content in this conversation!

GUEST / Stanton Wong, President, RESET

• RESET main site

• RESET AIR standard

See our 9-point guide to healthy buildings here.

HOST / Matt Morley

• Founder of BioBlu sustainable yachting

• Founder of Biofilico wellness real estate & interiors

• Founder of Biofit Health & Fitness

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FULL TRANSCRIPT FOLLOWS COURTESY OF OTTER.AI - excuse typos!

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Matt Morley

Stanton awesome to be with you here today. Let's jump into it. Why don't you give us a quick intro to your personal background and your career path to becoming president of reset.

stanton wong

Hi, Matt, thank you very much for having me. I'm My name is Stanton. I'm currently the president of reset. In terms of career paths, it's been a little bit windy, but I think it makes perfect sense on why I'm here right now, I am a computer science major. So I have a tech background. My first jobs are all computer science and software development related. I was visiting Shanghai, which is where one of our offices are in. That's where my mother's from. So I was visiting Shanghai I met Ray for and then I really liked what they were trying to do, they were essentially trying to look at how technology can affect and figure out how to monitor and learn about building behaviors. So I joined in from the technology side, and then tried to help build the product around it. And gradually, I took on more responsibility until I'm now the president.

Matt Morley

I've been going through this process myself, as I mentioned to you, of you know, studying your RESET AIR professional qualification and it's one of the things that's really come through is that data driven approach. But you know, another thing that's been immediately stood out for me was was some of the content with the study materials around the difference between green and healthy.

So you kind of have this dichotomy in the market at the moment, there's green buildings, and there's healthy buildings but in some of the pieces that you've published online you mention how with China's 5000 year history of Regenerative Medicine, perhaps, you know, sort of a different terminology or different way of thinking about that?

stanton wong

Yes, s we came from a Western background, our company, our initial thinking was around provided a service for green buildings, that's traditionally what we've talked about. When we were pushing the idea in China, it was not very strongly received because traditionally, the environment, the concept of ‘green’ just wasn't part of the consideration whereas health and wellbeing in general was.

So once we started talking more about what a healthy building is, for occupants inside, there was a lot more interest in understanding what that meant. So when we started doing a few more talks and presentations, we realized that at least in China, the concept of health is a much stronger sell in terms of a concept then, then it is green.

Matt Morley

And you've also introduced the idea of this wonderful word biomimetic. So you describe the RESRT approach has been biomimetic which is essentially if I've understood correctly inspired by natural evolution?

stanton wong

Yeah. So this word really started when we were exploring how we wanted to approach air, I want to give a bit of a background First, we didn't actually start with air quality, per se, we were starting with healthy building materials. And when we were doing research into materials and just the data behind it, we were building calculators that would basically look at the TVOC data from certifications of materials and try to calculate how much TVOC off gassing would occur within a certain space. At depending on materials we used, we realized that no matter how many versions of calculator we went through, they were never accurate. And then at the exact same time, we were discovering that there were air quality monitor manufacturers that were developing monitors that were within a price range that felt very reasonable.

And so we transitioned to looking at what would air look like, if we were just wanting air quality? Will we get better data? So that's, that's how it started.

Then the biomimetic part is from a concept that our founder Rafer Wallace introduced - he grew up in an area that was next to a lake and in a forest. We were thinking - we spend so much time indoors, how can we create an indoor space that felt more like an outdoor space?

Outdoor spaces are constantly changing, depending on what's happening around, right, so trees are constantly sensing the temperature, the humidity, the birds are sensing everything, you hear the birds, depending on what's happening with the weather, you're getting a lot of feedback. But in an interior space, typically it feels a lot more dead because your mechanical systems aren't automated. Mostly it’s someone clicking a button to make the ventilation start or stop. That's kind of what the traditional indoor spaces like.

“We asked ourselves, how can we create an interior space that felt more like an outdoor space by getting data that’s collected to mimic or automate certain aspects of interior spaces to be more similar to outdoor spaces?”

— stanton wong

Matt Morley

Which then kind of connects you with my favorite subject of biophilic design? Which is exactly the same concepts. How can you do that through the physical space and the materials and perhaps the sounds or the senses that you're, you're playing with in that room?

As I understand it, then you've got this air quality situation in Shanghai, that's obviously one of the worst in the world. And that's clearly a huge background piece to all of this that's going on. Right. So you're then from materials, you switch into air and start focusing more on that and create what is effectively a data standard and certification piece around air quality, which is your first step forward into this into this world still, would that be fair to say? Okay, but then like, what comes next like beyond that? How are you then? Because materials are coming back round? That seems to be like your next product or service coming to the market?

stanton wong

Yeah, so So I think what we've discovered for ourselves in the past couple years is that the direction we want to take is data driven and performance driven. So we want to look at what can data give us to help empower better solutions.

We haven't focused on solutions, what we want to do in the future is highlight more of the different solutions that are being implemented. Our focus is to standardize the data collection aspect, so that projects can be compared against each other, we can leverage larger sets of data to understand how different projects performed compared to others.

Basically, we want to do a lot of benchmarking. So air quality is where we started, we're going to go into materials.

But from a continuous monitoring perspective, we want to go into water, energy and waste. So with water and energy, I think it's relatively simple. It's really just continuous monitoring, instead of having a monthly paper trail of how much energy or water was used, we want to have a continuous data collection and the reason behind that is because we actually had clients asking about how does our air quality and A track system compare against our energy usage. And once you have that data layered on top of each other, you can start comparing and seeing how can we potentially save energy while maintaining good air quality.

“good air quality doesn’t mean you have to clean the air 100% all the time, it’s about maintaining a certain level of air quality. ”

— stanton wong

stanton wong

So for example, if you have an empty office space, you don't need to have fresh air systems on 24/7, you only need to turn that on when there are people in the space and the CO2 levels are getting higher. Same for Particulate Matter (PM2.5 / PM10) filtration - it only needs to kick in when higher levels of PM are detected.

So for energy or waste or water, there's probably something that can be compared. So we're interested in setting a standard for collecting the data initially. And then we will do research into how we can cross reference it some more.

Matt Morley

So and then sort of basic terms, obviously, you've got the type of the HVAC system, which is the middleman between the indoor air that we're breathing in a building and the type of outdoor air that's coming in. So we touched on it briefly at the beginning, but I did just want to ask about location - how much of a role is that playing?

If you're in central Shanghai, and you've got another one of these dark clouds floating around? Surely there's got to be so much more work to do to ensure good quality baseline indoor air quality? Or is it just something that these h HVAC systems can handle As long as they're fully equipped and specced for that type of work?

stanton wong

Yeah, so this is a really good question. What we've discovered is that traditional HVAC systems, the online ones, they're not a very good fit for this kind of situation. So I'll give an example. One of the reasons we started separating Core & Shell from Commercial Interiors is because there is two different roles. One is the central hvac system. Core & shell is the property owner controlling the central HVAC system that includes fresh air systems. And then commercial interiors is typically tailored to the actual tenant or occupant space. The in the occupant space, you want the air to be clean no matter what but you don't actually have control over the central HVAC.

Typically you ask the landlord need more fresh air or something, they'll help you figure something out. But it's not instantaneous, they have to configure something, it's not automatic. So what we've discovered is at least for Pm 2.5, there's now a lot of single units that you would install in your occupant space, like in the ceiling.

Matt Morley

where the recirculation ones right with Yeah, having the portable ones you don't want the like the portable carry around once you want them installed in the ceiling.

stanton wong

Correct. Because we want it to be automated, we don't want it to be something where people are pressing to turn it on and off, it should be more natural. And when it's installed in the ceiling, you can have the tubing have the intake be on one side and the outtakeon the other side so that there's actually more circular motion, air motion. So it cleans the air better than a unit that's sitting on the ground and just trying to clean the air around it.

Matt Morley

Which is what we're seeing, almost this kind of like this sort of knee jerk reaction to? Yeah, I'm seeing it in crazy places, right, you know, go to the physiotherapist. And clearly they haven't got enough ventilation in there, you can see that the H vac systems really just not doing what it needs to be doing. And they've got like one solitary floor fan, if you want to call it that trying to do the work of the system.

“The pandemic has generated a lot more interest in air quality. Previously, air quality was invisible, aside from temperature and humidity. Nobody says ‘oh the CO2 levels are high in here’ - you might feel dizzy or sleepy, even if you don’t have any numbers to back it up. Air monitors help you understand more about the air you breathe. ”

— stanton wong

stanton wong

So obviously, if you optimize it perfectly, it doesn't prevent file transmission 100%. Because if one person comes in with the virus, and they cough on somebody, the building can't do anything about that. But at least you're maintaining a system that lowers the chance of virus virus survivability, and improves immune system like human immune system so that you're at the strongest to defend against it. So, so that's something that we've been playing with, and we're trying to figure out how to make that more available. But um, generally, I think, with the pandemic, a lot more people are aware of the importance of air quality, and are looking into how they have how they can have more control over it.

Matt Morley

What would be the other possible sources beyond outdoor air and airborne viruses within an indoor environment that could cause pollution, or that might be damaging, or lowering the quality of the air in, let's say, an office building?

stanton wong

Yeah, I think the most common is the building material choice. So where we started was materials. And materials is not where you would generate PM2.5 but rather VOCs, that’s the big issue. So a lot of offices have a period where they're flushing out the air, right. And the assumption is that most materials will off-gas all their VOCs within a week or two, and then you're done. The unfortunate thing is, it depends on the material. And it depends on the temperature in the space.

So for example, if certain adhesives if they're not high quality, it's possible for them to off-gas for a long, long time, or certain varnishes as well. At the same time, if, for example, it's a really hot day, it's 40 degrees in door, when the sun is shining, and before the air conditioning turns on, that can affect how stable the varnish is, and lead to off gassing. Even a year or two afterwards.

“If you don’t make good interior material choices, it’s very possible that you’re in a space that’s relatively toxic, especially if there’s not enough fresh air coming in to dilute those VOC’s in the air”

— stanton wong

Matt Morley

And so we're talking about varnishes, glues, paints, possibly the carpet, fabrics used, or even the stuffing inside furniture such as sofas and things. These are all potential sources of volatile organic compounds, right, which is correct, we mustn't be just like, distracted by the organic word. These are negatives, not all of them are harmful, but some of them are. And if those levels rise too high, then the impact of that on us is or will be some of the symptoms then of a typical, like sick building that we might recognize, but not have known the sources of.

stanton wong

If you're getting headaches, or you're feeling like your throat is uncomfortable and itchy. Those are very simple and basic symptoms of breathing air, that's not great. So, yeah, those are those are probably the most obvious ones. With a lot of vo C's you're going to smell it as well. So a lot of when you're entering a newly referred, newly furnished space, you're going to smell something a lot of like, in China, at least pregnant women. Once they smell that they're immediately telling them they're their company that they're not working in the office. So because they know that that can have actually long term detriment to their baby as well. It's possible and it's not a risk they want to take so is a lot of these effects from air quality is much more longer term and it's not obvious right away.

Matt Morley

So if we were, let's say if you if you were to take a project that was in a rural location, then or say you're in the middle of the sea, you might think that the indoor air or the Yeah, the outdoor air quality coming into the building passing through the the air conditioning system would be well, what could be better, right? But then materials. If you've if you've stuffed that, that indoor space, whether it's a residential building or commercial building with materials that are bringing in off gases, or that are producing off gases, then you're, you're potentially creating a situation whereby the indoor, the outdoor air quality is really quite good. It's fresh air, there's there's no industrial use nearby, etc. But you've got a reduced quality of indoor air because of the off gases being produced by your furniture, glues and paints and vanishes.

stanton wong

Indoor air is almost always worse than outdoor air because of the way we've built our world. The indoor air issue didn’t exist for our ancestors because we didn't have such enclosed indoor spaces.

Even for example, in China, most families are very used to the fact of opening windows every day, they want to bring in the fresh air, obviously, now we have the Pm 2.5 issue. But previously, the idea was you want to dilute the air, you want to bring in the fresh air, right? Because indoor, there's an indoor buildup of potentially chemicals or other things if you don't know what's going on. So the the most simple way is just opening windows bringing in fresh air diluting everything. VOC's are not a problem outdoors. Because it's been completely diluted.

Matt Morley

And I know you guys are really big on on the quality of the monitors in place. In fact, a lot of going going through this process of becoming the sort of accredited professional, a lot of it is like how good is your is the monitor? And what grade is it and how is it deployed? And where is it deployed? And I found that going so deep into that was fascinating. But it then raises the questions like there's just this hit, there's been this huge surge in, let's call them consumer grade monitors, right. And I'm standing here with one of these, these these Dyson, air cooled fans that constantly sends me readouts that don't seem to make much sense, and I can never quite work out what's going on. So let's let's cut through all the marketing talk, right? Like realistically, these these consumer grade monitors and fans that we have on our desks or in our bedrooms? Is there any merit in that? Is there? Is there value in it? Are they is it really just a marketing ploy? Or how do you see it from an insider perspective? Hmm,

stanton wong

I think there's two different things to consider. One is the accuracy of the monitors. And then the second thing is, it really is about where it's playing. So for example, the Dyson one, right, and a lot of filters, like filtration, air filtration units, they have a monitor on it. The issue with that is it's only like the way air filtration works as it cleans the air around it first. And if the fan is not blowing hard enough, it's still only going to clean, you know, the closest air around it. So when I'm recommending my friends to a solution for air quality at home, I asked I tell them to buy a separate air quality monitor, put it on the opposite end of the room from the filter. And so that's how you determine whether or not the air quality in the room is actually clean. If you're using the monitor, if you put the monitor right next to the filter, most of the room is actually not at the level that you're expecting.

So that's one thing. The other thing is consumer models are actually very good at giving a basic trend of understanding what's happening, the thing that they're not very good at is the accuracy between the units. So what we've seen a lot is if you buy five consumer units and you place them all next to each other, it's very possible that two of them are reading a little bit or quite a bit off from the other three. So it's not balanced in that way. But all of their trends are probably going to be very similar. So they're going to all peak at around the same time. They're on a dip at around the same time. But their numbers are not going to be quite that similar. That's that's something that we've seen.

So if you're in an office space where you're trying to illustrate that you are leveraging air quality for either automation or you're trying to show that you have high quality data, you want to use something that is more consistent with numbers of reports. So that's why we've been doing testing - our tests are really just asking manufacturers to give us five different monitors have the same make. And we tested over three weeks to a month and see how they perform in different situations. And even even Grade B ones that we've tested multiples of them have failed the first test, and we have to send them back with a report telling them what's wrong. And then they have to fix the factory calibration process. So before it gets shipped, if it's not properly calibrated, properly stored before shipping, then it's very possible that the numbers will just get wacky, because sensors are not, they're not completely stable yet.

Matt Morley

So something we haven't mentioned thus far is just is that the approach that the researcher takes is very much more about it seems to me the destination than the journey, you're non prescriptive, you're not saying you must do X, Y, and Z in order to secure air quality, you're really focused on the quality of the monitors how they're deployed, how they're maintained, how they're installed, where they're located. And then really, it's all goes into a cloud based data storage system where you're constantly monitoring the quality of the air in the space. And your focus is very much on that, right? Rather than saying, well, you must use only natural materials in your space where you must use this type of ventilation system, you've chosen to focus very much more on the data outputs, right? That's kind of your key differentiator.

stanton wong

You're completely correct. So we're based in China, And so in China, we have to take into consideration Pm 2.5, that's of a common issue. If you're in certain parts of Europe, if you're in a more rural area, that might not be a that might not be something you need to care about. So you don't need as many recirculation units that are filtering the air instead. Well, and the other thing to think about is also like co2 levels, there's no way to prescribe exactly what a space needs, because the density of different offices are different. So if you're in a space, like if you're in an area where land is relatively cheap, you're going to have an office space that's significantly larger than a city center. So the way that you design, your H, exosomes might be completely different.

stanton wong

So instead of saying that you have to have a certain type of solution, we recommend that you have the data to figure out what is the most optimal solution for your kind of space, because it doesn't make sense to spend so much money to have something that doesn't really make a difference. I'll give an example, in in China, because of COVID, they had a rule where all h vac systems had to run a, I think it was 100% fresh air capacity. That means bringing in so much fresh air that there's not enough time to heat it in the winter, or like to cool in the summer, it's just so the indoor spaces feel very uncomfortable. But you got all the fresh air right. And so that's not a proper solution for a situation like that. Instead, if you had co2 monitors, you would understand how much fresh air to bring in. So you can maintain a system that is more energy efficient, and produces all the effects that you need. So that that's just an example. But um, our concept is if you have the data, you know how to create a solution for the project.

Matt Morley

So that might suggest then that you would so let's look at the process then of going through the reset err certification, because that might not necessarily involve an MEP consultant, for example, if your data coming out within those three months is immediately good, right? So if everything's working fine, but so what point might you expect? What's the team? What's the resource going on? Like? How does that process go from from a project, making a request to become part of the of the standard and take the certification and like, who might they need on that team to make that happen?

stanton wong

So our recommendation is almost always start just by monitoring, just one monitor in your space is better than having nothing because it gives you it first brings awareness to the air quality data, because that's never been that's not something that's talked about. In in the US, for example, ASHRAE doesn't have very much content around continuous monitoring. It's all spot testing one time test. And then what do you do with that data? That's the information they have.

So continuous monitoring, using this data to figure out what to do is still relatively new. Even if you bring in MEP experts, a lot of them don't know how to approach this. That's really the big biggest issue that we're encountering right. Now it's that, yes, you can get the data you can monitor. But what do you do after that, if you have a good space, and the air quality is already good, it's it's not very complicated, you just get certified. You install the monitors, you go through the process, which includes three stages.

The documentation, which is you demonstrate, you show where you're going to install your monitors the site audit, which is we verify that they're installed properly, in the right place. And then the data audit, which is a is a continuous audit of the space forever, you get the certification after three months, but we need to continue tracking the project. Because if you stop, then we assume that something has happened, and you lose the certification. So we're not one of those. We're not a one time sort of certification, it's more of an operate operational certification where we're tracking the whole time.

Matt Morley

Yeah. And then you get into and then you can imagine, it might provide peace of mind. It might provide transparency for, let's say, a commercial building, owner, landlord who, through their facilities, management wants to communicate their tenants that look, we're doing everything, everything's good, you've got good indoor air quality, is we have nothing to hide equally, it can raise an alarm, right. And at that point, you can imagine the project then whether it's MEP, or it might be that they have a materials issue, or there might be off gases going in. And so your data will be able to give some sense of where the problem is right, based on whether it's co2, whether it's m PM, 2.5, PM, 10, or some other point that's creating issues, right. So you'll be able to get pretty close to get sniffing out where the problem is.

stanton wong

Yeah, our best case studies are best stories are all around how quickly people found out what the issue was. So I'll give to one is a commercial interiors case like story. There is a project that was that has that was passing every month, right, they've already got certified everything. And all of a sudden, one month they failed. They looked at the data and saw that on, I think the 16th or 17th of a certain of a month, all of a sudden the tvoc numbers went up and it stayed up.

So to see if it spikes and drops, not a big issue because perfumes alcohol, all that stuff can affect today's TVOC sensors. So Friday afternoons, typically, a lot of offices will have a high spike of TVOC, because it's happy hour. But if TVOC goes up and it stays up, that means something just got installed, that is permanently off gassing, like a significant amount of TVOC. So we looked in the data we told we helped, we asked the tenant, what do they install or add to the space on that day, and they found out that they installed the whiteboard. And the glue used for the whiteboard was off gassing TVOC heavily. So they removed it, they scraped off all the glue, and then the TVOC went back normal. So that's an example of like having the data to figure out what went wrong.

Another example that was really was, um, TVOC You know, office building can affect other tenants, because a lot of the eight fax systems are all connected. So there is a there was a newer building in Shanghai, and they only allowed construction teams to come in at night to work because some of the other spaces already occupied. They noticed that on an on a certain afternoon that TVOC and pm two and five were spiking on one of the floors, they had monitors in the H vac systems. And so they sent a security guard over and they found two workers trying to catch up on some of the work that they had to do. And then obviously, they kicked them out. But they did this within half an hour of seeing the data spike. So it's just it's little things like this, it's if you first of all, their team is starting to leverage the data, which is something that they probably wouldn't have done before, if they didn't have the data. And with the data, you can make really quick response time. So you can solve a lot of issues.

Matt Morley

It's an important point to mention also the idea of no you actively promote the communication of that data, right? you encourage like maybe having a display screen in reception, or by the elevator. So as people come in, they get some sense of where we're at on the day, right? So if you really, the data isn't managed and stored in your cloud and it stays there. It's very much kind of this positive feedback loop right where it's constantly coming back through to each project that then communicates that to the the occupants themselves. I think that's key because they're There is often that sense of things taking place at some strategic level, but then the occupants maybe not engaging with it or worse, you know, having an air more air quality monitor on their desk and taking, trying to take ownership of it. But it's poor data. And it's, you know, it's just not it's not reliable, right. So you're trying to put, like a building level system in place.

stanton wong

Yeah. Speaking of the monitor on the desk, one of the impetus for starting the standard, or making the standard official was also a legal case where somebody said that they brought a monitor into the office and said, the air quality in this office is crap, right. But then the office obviously had nothing in place to fight back, they had no data, they had nothing that they could show, right, so they had to settle. But um, that's by making it official, you're showcasing that you've installed monitors in the right places, they're not installed in some closet, which is still things that we see where the data is faked. And having a third party verify just means that everything is legit and aboveboard.

Matt Morley

I love it. I'm a real fan, I really encourage people to check out the cert and honest piece of info is that it's very reasonably priced. It's not a prohibitive cost, whereas some of the other certs can can really come with quite a heavy price tag. And, you know, I love the fact that you've, you've priced yours to make it much more accessible to a wider audience. I think that's I think that's key. And in a sense that it invites a longer term relationship, which, which I think is also fundamental. So it raises the question like, what's next, like what's coming in your, in your pipeline over the next one to two years? What are you working on for the future?

stanton wong

Yeah, so the first thing that we're trying to do right now is to flesh out our suite of standards. So we I mentioned that we're already doing air, I mentioned that we're going to be doing water, energy and waste waste is interesting, because it hasn't been done before with continuous monitoring. What we're imagining is to have IoT scales that will monitor how much weight gets put into a trash bin. And then once that trash bin is lifted, and the weight is removed, that gets stored into a system. So you're tracking how much waste is being generated every day from a weight perspective. Obviously, it's not a panacea, it doesn't give you all the right information. But it gives you a starting point to understand how much is being how much waste is getting created. And if you want to take it a step further, it would be separating the bins and tracking each bin separately.

So for example, a bin would be for recyclables. And another bin might be for organics, every every region has their own kind of separation strategy. So we're not going to set one in stone. But we're going to make it available that people can select different strata, like different organizations try structures for this. And hopefully making this data visible make it so that there's more awareness to how much waste is being generated. So that's the initial concept. For all four of these, the long term goal is to create a benchmarking system that allows you to compare projects between projects. So we're, in the long term, we're not looking at setting specific standards globally.

In terms of thresholds for what the data level should be, it's gonna be probably something that's collaborative, with a local group, because for example, let's just say air quality, temperature and humidity is different for every region, right? If you're in the tropics, versus if you're in a colder area, the numbers are gonna be very different. So what you're targeting might be very different as well. You might not like the optimal humidity and temperature might not be exactly the same for different areas. So we want to work with the local region to set the thresholds for that.

Our focus will only be on making sure that you're collecting the right data or the most accurate data. And so we're our focus for our standards will always be around that. The other standards that we're going to be doing as materials and again, our our mo our focus is going to be on collecting data. So for materials, every project has a list of materials that is actually installed in the space. We want for every project in the future to have that list. And we start scoring that list based on how much information in regards to health or carbon or safety of each material is collected.

So we're the scoring system is not necessarily going to be initially based on how good the material is because once you see it you'll you'll realize whether or not it's good, because that's the stuff you're installing to your space in We want you to do the research of the materials that you're aware of what you're actually putting into your space. So the scoring system is based on how much do you understand what's actually going in? Are you actually collecting that information? Do the materials that you select actually have any of the information that you're looking for, and materials that are actively trying to collect more information for these aspects will be will be more noticed. So we want to incentivize materials to really care about the health aspect, the carbon aspect, that kind of stuff.

Matt Morley

Yes, we were very much part of a wider infrastructure, which includes product health certificates, or healthy environmental product declarations, things like that, right. So that, yeah, there's then that middleman that's sourcing the materials that have already been through that that rigorous process of securing certifications for the for that individual product that then gets installed within a wider fit out with a green procurement policy that then secures the right kind of standards for materials and indeed, knock on effect, air quality. So it's really this sort of Tetris puzzle, right, then you're sort of encouraging that, that network of players to come together to do the work to collaborate and then measure and monitor those results over time?

I think it's, it's great. And it's exactly what we needed for the industry. I think you've got to, yeah, some amazing, amazing growth years ahead of you. So Best of luck. Congratulations with that, where can people find you what's the best way to reach out and follow along for the work that we set are doing.

stanton wong

So we're constantly updating our website. The website is reset dot build, r e s e t dot v UI LD, there's no.com dot build is the end of it. And that's probably the best way to follow us. We also have a newsletter. So if you scroll down to the very bottom of the homepage of the webpage, there'll be a link, there'll be a link to follow our newsletter. And if you have any questions, info at reset dot build is the go to email. And if you want to email me directly, it's Stanton at reset dot build.

Healthy buildings and RESET Air quality commercial interiors

Smart Healthy buildings with RESET AIR for Commercial interiors

What is a healthy building?

A healthy building is a smart building that, while respecting the planet wherever possible, places most emphasis on human health and wellbeing of occupants.

Factors include indoor air quality (IAQ), visual comfort, light quality, acoustic performance, active design, thermal comfort and cleaning protocols - it requires a combination of multi-sensory design and healthy design strategies.

See our 9-point guide to healthy buildings here.

What is indoor air quality?

Indoor pollutants such as CO2 have a negative impact on cognitive function and performance. the best solution is source control - nipping the problem in the bud, by not bringing harmful materials into the space that carry chemicals, VOCs or off-gases.

For that, we need building materials and fit-out materials that disclose their chemical ingredients, ideally with a healthy product accreditation to back up their claims.

One of the main culprits in this sense are Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) or chemicals that off-gas at ambient temperature from building materials such as particle board, glues, paints and carpet backing 

Particulate Matter PM2.5 and PM10 are made up of dust and synthetic materials decomposing around us from furniture, fabrics and so on.

What is RESET Air standard for Commercial Interiors?

RESET is about continuous monitoring, analysis and transparency around indoor air quality that specifies monitor standards, deployment processes, maintenance and reporting requirements.

The RESET AIR Commercial Interiors certification can be applied to both new and existing buildings, it should be distinguished from the Core & Shell version of RESET Air.

The Standard covers particulate matter PM2.5, Total Volatile Organic Compounds ( TVOC), CO2 and CO for 80% of occupants in regularly occupied space types, that data is then reported back to those occupants as a way to raise awareness around indoor air quality, the air monitor data is uploaded onto the Assessment Cloud and analysis on an ongoing basis.

RESET do not dictate a specific way of achieving these performance targets, instead they focus specifically on the quality of the data. So project teams have to define the space types included in a monitor deployment plan, with a narrative of how they arrived at that decision submitted to RESET.

What are the RESET indoor air quality performance targets?

• PM 2.5 from <35ug/m3 (acceptable) to < 12ug/m2 (high performance)

• TVOC from < 500 ug/m3 (acceptable) to < 400 ug.m3 (high performance)

• CO2 from < 1000 pppm (acceptable) to > 600 ppm (high performance)

• Temperature: monitored but no specific targets

• Relative Humidity: monitored but no specific targets

• Carbon Monoxide: < 9ppm acceptable (only applicable to spaces with combustion)

What about the air quality data?

RESET have an algorithm for daily averages based on hours of occupancy in relation to the performance targets above. These results must stay within the acceptable limits constantly for three consecutive months in order to be awarded the initial certification.

Projects have to use an accredited Data Provider that reports in to the RESET Assessment Cloud. That data is then communicated to building occupants via a smartphone app or graphic signage for example. The aim is transparency and dialogue around this subject, between facilities management and occupants / tenants.

How to choose the air quality monitors?

RESET make this relatively easy in that only certain suppliers are allowed, based on quality standards and regional coverage. The monitors then need to be mounted 3-6 ft from the ground, at least 16 ft from an operable window and at least 16 ft from an air filter or fresh-air diffuser, as well as being hard-wired to a permanent power source.

All of this has to be incorporated into the monitor deployment plan created by the project RESET AIR Accredited Professional or ‘AP’.

Other important information in the certification process

• A project boundary must be physically distinct from other interior spaces in the building. Once defined it must remain consistent for all subsequent calcs.

• The total number of occupants is based on where each occupant spends the majority of their time

• Full certification requires 80% of occupants or more to be covered by the monitors, Partial Certification is just 30% of occupants covered

• Create a list of regularly occupied spaces (more than 1hr per day) based on function type within project boundary, excluding transition spaces such as corridors

• Deploy one monitor in each regularly occupied space type so that in total they cover the total number of occupants for Full or Partial certification purposes (based on their usual location within the office and a monitor having a range of up to 5,382 sq ft (unless a proof of uniformity test permits an extension to 10,764 sq ft)

• A detailed monitor deployment plan has to be submitted to RESET for review

Contact us to discuss your healthy building, indoor air quality or RESET certification requirements.

Healthy Buildings: RESET Air quality certification statuses

What is a healthy building?

Healthy building design focuses on indoor air quality (IAQ), visual comfort, light quality, acoustic performance, active design, thermal comfort and cleaning protocols - it requires a combination of multi-sensory design and healthy design strategies.

What is RESET Air healthy building standard?

RESET stands for “Regenerative, ecological, social and economic targets”. Unlike other green building or healthy building standards, such as LEED, WELL or FITWEL, RESET AIR does not insist on any set, prescribed paths towards achieving high quality indoor air results.

Their approach is simply to leave the door open to innovation, how each project gets there is up to the project team. It is the destination that matters most in this instance, RESET do not concern themselves with prescribing the journey.

Applicable to a wide variety of project types, both commercial and residential, RESET leverage the latest data standards that help assess air quality data from reliable sources (almost 20 accredited air quality monitors at the last check).

There are more than 500 RESET Accredited Professionals around the world, assisting as consultants in the RESET certification process for clients and generally championing the RESET indoor air quality program within the real estate industry.

New modules on Materials, Energy, Water and Circularity are in the pipeline to join the Air module that was launched first.

What are the RESET Air certification statuses?

These statuses are a response to the need for greater levels or phases that a project passes through on its path to healthy building certification with RESET.

RESET ENTRY STATUS

A short-term certificate for those with at least one month of continuous monitor data, this was a way to address concern around airborne pathogens in the indoor environment, post Covid-19.

This helps building owners to make a quick decision around improving their air quality in their property.

This status does not require the same calculations on occupants in each space, as one single monitor can be enough to help understand if there are any immediate air quality problems with an indoor space. However the project must use a RESET accredited monitor installed in line with the standard and an accredited data provider.

RESET CONNECTED STATUS

A project with accredited monitors and data provider platforms installed, tapping into the power of the RESET Cloud but not necessarily going forward into full RESET certification.

A way to access the data and used for purposes such as stakeholder / tenant engagement, benchmarking and so on.

Project deployment quantity calculations are recommended but not obligatory. One monitor may suffice here but data is ongoing, not just a 30-day timeline as per ENTRY status.

RESET PRE-ACCREDITED STATUS

For projects with a RESET AP on the team and have created a monitor deployment plan using the standard, calculating how many monitors are required and in which locations, along with a pre-deployment plan that has been approved by a RESET Auditor, making it the Approved Deployment plan of record.

This status reflects the amount of work that has gone into the pre-deployment phase, perhaps even before a building has been constructed. Ideal for design phase projects prior to physical installation.

RESET ACCREDITED STATUS

All steps for deployment and installation have been completed, with data now bing collected through an accredited data provider, just waiting to see the data results. So it is a project 100% ready to go generating high quality data.

RESET CERTIFIED STATUS

Projects that have met all the monitor deployment criteria and the data they provide has passed the performance requirements after a minimum of three month of data.

Multiple stakeholders are likely engaged in maintaining this status as it involves both the building owner and ongoing maintenance via facilities management and tenants.

Contact us to discuss your indoor air quality enquiry or indeed RESET AIr certification.

A guide to RESET Air Residential - healthy building standard

The Biofilico guide to RESET AIR Residential healthy building standard

RESET Air Residential in summary

RESET approach the subject of indoor air quality with a long-term perspective and therefore have created a healthy building standard for residential projects that specifies continuous monitoring rather than a one time only test.

This healthy building standard for residential projects specifies air quality monitor deployment, performance, maintenance and reporting. It can be applied to both new and existing interiors, whether single home or multi-family.

What is the goal of the RESET AIR Residential?

The standard sets out to continuously monitor particulate matter / PM2.5, as well as Total Volatile Organic Compounds / TVOCs, CO2 and CO in all regularly occupied space types.

This data must then be communicated to the residence’s inhabitants as a way to raise awareness and promote engagement with the theme.

Daily Indoor Air Quality IAQ targets are set to measure performance, in addition to zeroing in on the monitors themselves, their installation, the data they produce and ongoing calibration.

This healthy building standard is all about good data in other words!

Indoor Air Quality Certification

RESET Air recognizes that hours of occupancy, cooking areas, sleeping and entertaining all have a direct impact on indoor air quality within a home, which in turn should influence the air quality monitor deployment plan in their view.

For this reason, the certification is non-prescriptive, with space types includes or excluded based on a rationale provided by the ‘Reset AP’. Targets are given for average indoor air quality for PM 2.5, TVOC and CO2, as well as Carbon Dioxide (in spaces with combustion only) while Temperature and Relative Humidity have to be monitored but no specific targets are given.

High performance targets are also provided as global benchmarks in excellence for indoor air quality, specifically for PM 2.5, TVOC and CO2.

Indoor Air Quality Performance Targets

• PM 2.5 can cause respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. It is not to exceed 35 g/m3 or 12 g/m3 (high performance).

• VOCs include formaldehyde, benzene, toluene and styrene, with long-term exposure a risk for liver and kidney damage, amongst other things. The targets are not to exceed 500 g/m3 or 400 g/m3 (high performance).

• CO2 affects productivity and comfort, causing headaches and cognitive issues so should be limited to 1000 ppm or 600 ppm (high performance).

• Carbon Monoxide results from combustion and can cause dizziness, unconsciousness or worse, so levels should not exceed 9 ppm.

Data is sent to the RESET Assessment Cloud for analysis and daily averages calculated from hours of occupancy should not exceed performance targets for a total of three months in order to receive the initial certification… but that is just the start!

What data providers and air quality monitors are required?

Only accredited data providers can report data to the RESET Assessment Cloud, with hourly data uploaded for occupant’s to see on an ongoing basis, for example via screen display or smartphone app.

Our friends at AWAIR offer monitors and the data upload as well, making them a sensible solution.

Only calibration grade (A) or commercial grade (B) air quality monitors are accepted, not consumer grade monitors (C).

These monitors need to be installed on a wall, in a central location within each designated space type, 3-6 ft from the ground and at least 16 ft from an operable window, a minimum of 16 ft from air filters or fresh-air diffusers and hard wired to a permanent power source.

Finally, a Carbon monoxide detector has to be within 5 metres of bedrooms.

How to calculate monitor deployment

This is a key deliverable for the RESET AP (professional consultant on the project) and requires that they:

• define the project boundary

• identify regularly occupied spaces (more than 1hr each day), with sleeping areas individually itemized / treated separately

• deploy one monitor for each space type and one in every sleeping area

• deploy one CO detector within 16 ft of each bedroom (this could be in a corridor between multiple bedrooms), if there is a source of combustion, or is adjacent to a parking garage for example (monitors should also comply with local code)

• ensure a monitor range of 500m2, i.e. no single space type larger than 500m2 can use a single monitor, that is the maximum range for a single unit

Contact us to discuss your indoor air quality project requirements

well community: AIR / Fundamental Air Quality

biofilico well community standard consultants: specialists in healthy indoor air

What is the WELL Building Standard?

The WELL Certification process for WELL V2 is now widely established as the leading healthy building and wellness real estate standard in the world today. It is essentially a series of guidelines backed by rigorous scientific research, that when taken together, will guide a real estate project, whether new build construction or refurbishment and fit-out, towards a final product that is aligned with human health and wellness.

Sections of the V2 standard are dedicated to Air, Water, Nourishment, Light, Movement, Thermal Comfort, Sound, Materials, Mind, Community & Innovation.

What is WELL consulting?

A WELL AP or WELL consultant is there to assist a project team through the certification process, ensuring maximum points are scored along the way by offering expert advice not just on how to lock-in points but also the principles that lie behind them. As a result, the project has every chance of becoming a model of health and wellness in the built environment.

Additionally, a WELL consultant’s skill set might include wellness interior design, biophilic design, knowledge in healthy buildings and consideration for sustainability / green buildings, a WELL building’s close cousin, as well as expertise in health and fitness, or as WELL like to call it ‘Physical Activity’, ‘Movement’ and ‘Nourishment’.

What does WELL Community Fundamental Air Quality require from you?

The WELL Community standard has some fairly stringent air quality standards that, for those unfamiliar with air quality data standards, such as RESET Air for example, may appear initially intimidating. This is what they look like:

• Annual average PM2.5 less than 35 µg/m³.[5]

• Annual average PM10 less than 70 µg/m³.[5]

• Annual fourth-highest daily average 24-hour concentration (99th percentile) PM2.5 less than 75 µg/m³.[5]

• Annual fourth-highest daily average 24-hour concentration (99th percentile) PM10 less than 150 µg/m³.[5]

• Highest 8-hour average ozone less than 240 µg/m³ (122 ppb).[5]

• Highest 8-hour average carbon monoxide less than 14 mg/m³ (12 ppm).

(Sourced from https://v2.wellcertified.com/community/en/air/feature/1)

What basis questions do you need to ask yourself for WELL Community Air Feature AQU?

Existing quality of outdoor air in the project location is a good place to start. We can safely assume urban mega-city vs a remote, or rural location will makes a huge difference in the baseline quality of outdoor air intake and how much work the filters will have to do. Natural ventilation with operable windows may be a terrible idea in a city like Shanghai for example!

Indoor air quality monitors

Have commercial grade indoor air quality monitors been specced, as well as a suitable monitor deployment plan, correct installation and cloud data storage with alerts and maintenance protocols?

HVAC filters & Recirculation filtration

Has the MEP consultant or engineering team specified suitably high-grade HVAC filters in each building? MERV 13 are the new gold standard so remember that name if you can. Consider recirculation filtration units in-ceiling rather than the portable versions.

Green Procurement Policy

A green, low-VOC and non-toxic procurement policy for building materials & fit-out materials will then ensure that there are limited if any off-gases present inside the building post occupancy.

Identify sources of combustion

If there are possible sources of combustion (carbon monoxide) near the buildings in question, that might well create an air quality problem, specifically heavy industrial, commercial kitchens or car exhausts / car parking areas.

Green Cleaning Policy

Post-occupancy, an enhanced green cleaning policy should be obligatory in each building, delivered by via the facilities management, as some cleaning materials contain harmful chemicals, believe it or not.

Green walls for air quality

Finally, we always recommend designers integrate the strategic use of 'living machines' such as vertical gardens / green walls with a high plant density (especially the root systems and soil, we need that to purify the air) to have a tangible impact on IAQ in certain locations - a pot plant in the corner of a conference room will not change much unfortunately. Remember to aim for 1 x air-purifying plant per 8 regular occupants in each enclosed room as a baseline.

How do we approach this WELL community feature as project consultants?

We start with a project briefing and stakeholder meetings, review the project plan & concept designs as well as the overall wellness & sustainability goals before agreeing on some occupant / user profiles to understand who will be using the community once completed. Specifically to address the possible features for additional points:

Feature SGR / Integrate Streetscape Greenery

We advise on required masterplan landscaping adaptations for spacing / density of urban greenery, environmental equity and population density / existing tree cover, document installation and species selection in line with local code, document maintenance plan for tree plantings

Feature GRE / Restorative Green Spaces

We advise on required masterplan landscaping adaptations for access to green spaces, entry points and draft recommended signage content & locations for green spaces and finally minimum planting requirements in green spaces, suggestions on how to offer respite while encouraging voluntary attention.

Feature VEG: Urban Vegetation & Built Spaces

Here we make recommendations on location & density of tree shading, identify outdoor spaces for evaluation and advise on vegetation coverage strategies. We then advise on required masterplan landscaping adaptations for spacing / density of urban greenery, environmental equity and population density / existing tree cover, document installation and species selection in line with local code, document maintenance plan for tree plantings

Feature BLT: Restorative Built Spaces

We identify qualifying restorative places in existing masterplan and recommend necessary adaptations, draft entrance signage content for each space and draft content on respite voluntary attention elements.

For more info on our healthy building strategies see here.

To discuss how we can help you with the WELL Community standard, email us here.

RESET Air standard for healthy building & interiors

A healthy workplace consultant’s review

What is the RESET Air quality standard & certification?

RESET stands for “Regenerative, ecological, social and economic targets”.

The company was started by architects in Shanghai in 2001 adopting an eastern perspective based on a 5000 year history of health and regeneration, rather than the explicitly green / sustainable approach promoted in the west.

Unlike other green building or healthy building standards, such as LEED, WELL or FITWEL, RESET AIR does not insist on any set, prescribed paths towards achieving high quality indoor air results.

Their approach is simply to leave the door open to innovation, how each project gets there is up to the project team. It is the destination that matters most in this instance, RESET do not concern themselves with prescribing the journey.

In their terms, this is a biomimetic approach, that takes its inspiration from nature and the biosphere’s 3.8 billion year history. They talk our language in other words!

What standards make up RESET Air?

• Deployment and installation of monitors (APs are trained to create a professional monitor deployment plan

• Standards for qualified monitors (only Grade A and B, not retail grade C)

• Standards for collecting and reporting data via accredited cloud data providers (priority is data completeness and data on a project meeting targets for key pollutants of TVOC, CO2 and PM2.5 specifically) 

The goal here is effectively to make occupant health measurable leveraging technology, shifting the focus from prescriptive design to measured results, using cloud software and making building data ‘social’ (easily available to occupants).

Why should a real estate development engage with RESET Air?

Green buildings have been shown to have a positive impact on cognitive scores, even a 10% increase in productivity in an office or workplace can pay potentially for or greatly offset a business’s rental costs.

What’s more, health & safety are often the main criteria in building satisfaction for occupants. Deliver a healthy building with high quality indoor air and you add value to the property in other words.

It is worth stating too that RESET have launched with RESET AIR but recently announced a series of other declinations that shows the true ambitions of this young contender in the green & healthy building sector.

Next up is a MATERIALS standard, currently in pilot phase at the time of writing, that will be followed by standards for WATER, ENERGY, and waste or CIRCULARITY (all three still under development).

What makes the RESET Air quality standard different?

It’s all about integration of available technology that has been rigorously tried, tested and maintained to ultimately create buildings with feedback loops, buildings and real estate that ‘talk to us’.

So whether it be a Core & Shell or a Commercial Interiors fit-out, the data is king.

Pollution thresholds have been adopted from best practices from existing authorities such as ASHRAE, leaning on other specialist institutions in other words.

Why is Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) so important?

Indoor pollutants such as CO2 have a negative impact on cognitive function and performance. the best solution is source control - nipping the problem in the bud, by not bringing harmful materials into the space that carry chemicals, VOCs or off-gases. For that, we need building materials and fit-out materials that disclose their chemical ingredients, ideally with a healthy product accreditation to back up their claims.

One of the main culprits in this sense are Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) or chemicals that off-gas at ambient temperature from building materials such as particle board, glues, paints and carpet backing 

Particulate Matter PM2.5 and PM10 are made up of dust and synthetic materials decomposing around us from furniture, fabrics and so on. For RESET, Carbon Monoxide is only relevant for projects where combustion is present. As reference, CO reduces the amount of oxygen transported in the bloodstream, making it potentially lethal.

Sensor technology cannot cover every pollutant, other air quality sensors do exist but they are prohibitively expensive, so as the market for high-grade sensors steadily democratizes over coming years, new pollutants will be incorporated into the standard.

What air quality monitors are accepted by RESET AIR?

Direct read or hand-held instruments may be good for a walk-through survey or in detecting a specific pollutant but they have been deemed unsuitable for RESET as the standard requires high quality and constant air quality data in order to detect trends and patterns over time in a specific, fixed location. A lab test is good for a deep-dive but will only reflect a specific moment in time.

RESET provides standards for the deployment, location and installation of monitors that have been classified as Grade A (reference grade) or Grade B (commercial grade) only, excluding the increasingly common consumer Grade C.

It is RESET APs (accredited professionals) that are responsible for the monitor deployment plan, RESET then acts as the neutral stakeholder capturing data in the cloud. As all monitors will gradually drift over time and need to be cleaned / recalibrated, the occasional follow-up site visit is required to inspect the monitors, again by a RESET Accredited Professional.

To discuss Biofilico assisting with your project’s RESET Air certification process please contact us here.

Indoor Air Quality in Gyms

Biophilic design as a unique selling point

When you walk into a green wellness space, gym, yoga studio or BJJ academy, there is an immediate visual impact from the nature-inspired interiors that stands in marked contrast to most such interiors,. While this can be a unique point of differentiation, the real benefits of such eco-friendly interior design choices go far beyond what the eye can see…

Air Quality & Biophilia

When it comes to indoor air quality, nature-inspired interiors are quite literally a breath of fresh air. Why so? Like so many of today’s man-made environments, traditional gyms are designed with scant concern for the provenance or potential toxicity of the materials used in the fit-out. These chemicals are known as indoor air pollutants (IAPs) and they can have a negative effect on gym-goers’ health.

Indoor air pollutants (IAPs) exceed government limits

In a 2014 study, researchers at the University of Lisbon found that a number of local fitness centres had levels of CO2 and VOC that exceeded limits set by Portuguese legislation.[4] Health risks from IAPs may also be magnified during exercise due to deeper breathing patterns.[5] The cruel irony of course is that health centres and gyms are intended to be bastions of wellbeing.

biofit gym protocols

A biophilic gym heads off many of these issues at the pass thanks to its design protocols and then implements a series of ongoing operational procedures to ensure similar standards of healthy air quality are maintained over the long term. Here is our take on it:

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)

VOCs are linked to cancer and organ damage. They come from building materials, gym equipment, alcohol-based hand sanitizer and cleaning agents.[1] Biofit gyms avoid VOCs through the use of non-toxic paint; organic materials such as cork panels and eco flooring made of sustainable cork and eco-rubber’; eco cleaning materials and the use of sustainably minded gym equipment suppliers.

Carbon dioxide (CO2)

Human breath is the main source of CO2 indoors.  CO2 levels correspond with the rate of outside air supply; the more CO2, the more “stale” the air feels.[2]  In spaces that have a high concentration of sweating human bodies therefore, ventilation and air flow are fundamental. Think of a spinning or hot yoga studio for example. Biofit gyms use NASA approved air-purifying plants as a way to regulate CO2 levels combined with air-purifiers, tackling the problem from two sides and then monitoring the results on a daily basis.

Microscopic & biological air particles

Some tiny particles in the air are linked to cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory disease.[3] Sources of these particles include traffic fumes, cigarette smoke and dust. Bacteria, mould and pollen meanwhile can trigger asthmatic and allergy attacks.[1] Biofit gyms have strict daily cleaning protocols as well as air-purifying strategies to reduce airborne pollens and dust, outdoor shoes are an under-the-radar source of such particles so our gyms recommend barefoot training whenever possible.

the problem with Fitness facilities

In gyms, martial arts academies and yoga studios, gathering large groups of people in relatively small spaces is par for the course. Unfortunately, this is bad news for indoor air quality. While classes are in session, accumulated dust can be thrown up into the air while heavy breathing inevitably adds extra carbon dioxide to the air. In many instances, ventilation simply cannot keep up.  

Green design: A natural solution

High quality air is an inherent quality of biophilic spaces, which, by definition, are intended to replicate an environment that is as close to the great outdoors as possible, including air purity. On this basis, a well-designed organic gym could house the freshest pocket of air in a city block.

To minimise indoor air pollutants, Biofit’s sustainable gym designs include:

• Mindful selection of materials

• Temperature and humidity control to minimise bacterial growth

• Air purifying plants

• High ceilings

• Small to medium-size class sizes

• Appropriate HVAC system

• Low-tech or manually powered gym machinery

• Smoking ban

• Eco-friendly cleaning agents

• Easy-to-clean surfaces

• Non-VOC paint on the walls

To learn more about our eco-friendly, nature-inspired gym design services, please contact us at info @ biofit . io

References

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5707925/

[2] https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/ad30/328938f3843eace78ffc672851f956389817.pdf

[3] https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ambient-(outdoor)-air-quality-and-health

[4] http://tarjomefa.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/7873-English-TarjomeFa.pdf

[5] https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/35/4/214

The Health Benefits of Biophilia Plants in Interiors

Whether used in commercial biophilic interiors, such as offices, hotels, and gyms or as part of residential biophilic design, plants add personality to any space and come with various health and wellness benefits to supercharge any interior with Vitamin Nature.

The biophilic design leverages the innate tendency of humans to seek connections with nature, connecting human beings with our evolutionary history by reintroducing living systems and plant life into soulless, polluted urban contexts in some unfortunate locations.

How Does the Biophilia Hypothesis Help Interior Designers Create Healthy Spaces?

The biophilia hypothesis, developed by biologist Edward O. Wilson in the 1980s, suggests that humans have an innate and instinctive connection to nature and other living organisms.

It posits that our well-being, physical, and mental health are intricately linked to our interaction with the natural world and living systems. This hypothesis has significant implications for interior designers striving to create healthy indoor spaces. Urban designers can also benefit from understanding and applying biophilic design principles to improve health and well-being in urban environments.

Incorporate Natural Elements

Interior designers can incorporate natural materials such as wood, stone, and water features to evoke a sense of nature. These natural elements help create a more inviting and calming environment.

Maximize Natural Light

Designers should prioritize maximizing natural light in indoor spaces. Large windows, skylights, and strategically placed mirrors can help bring more natural light into the interior, enhancing the connection to the outdoors.

Use Biophilic Patterns

Biophilic design includes patterns, shapes, and textures that mimic those found in nature, such as fractals and organic forms. These patterns can be incorporated into interior finishes, fabrics, and furnishings.

Create Views of Nature

Designers can strategically position seating and workspaces to offer views of nature, whether it's through windows overlooking greenery, water features, or natural landscapes.

Integrate Indoor Plants

Incorporating indoor plants, living walls, or green roofs can help bring nature indoors. These improve air quality and enhance the overall aesthetic and well-being of occupants.

Provide Opportunities for Interaction

Interior spaces can be designed to encourage interaction with nature, such as creating outdoor seating areas, rooftop gardens, or indoor atriums where people can relax and connect with the natural environment.

Use Natural Colors

Choosing color palettes inspired by nature, such as earth tones, greens, and blues, can contribute to a calming and biophilic interior atmosphere.

Selecting building materials and finishes from natural, sustainable sources, like reclaimed wood and stone, aligns with the biophilic design principle and creates a tactile connection to nature.

Provide Water Features

The sound and sight of water through indoor fountains or aquariums can be soothing and evoke a sense of connection to natural environments.

Create Multi-Sensory Experiences

Biophilic design can engage multiple senses, including touch, smell, and sound. Incorporating elements like textured materials, natural scents, and ambient nature sounds can enhance the overall experience.

Leveraging the biophilia hypothesis in interior design creates healthier and more aesthetically pleasing spaces and contributes to improved mental well-being, reduced stress, increased productivity, and a stronger connection to the environment.

It aligns with the growing interest in designing spaces that prioritize occupant mental health issues and comfort in a sustainable and holistic manner

Plants in Interior Spaces

Plants play a central and integral role in biophilic design. This design philosophy recognizes the innate human connection to nature, also known as nature biophilia, and seeks to connect people with nature in the built environment.

Biophilic design incorporates natural elements into interior and architectural spaces, including plants.

Here’s how plants contribute to biophilic design:

Strengthening the Connection to Nature

Biophilic design aims to create spaces that evoke a sense of nature and bring the outdoors indoors. Plants through potted greenery, living walls, or indoor gardens serve as a direct link to the natural world, enhancing this connection.

Enhancing Visual and Aesthetic Appeal

Plants add beauty and visual interest to interior spaces. Their various shapes, colors, and textures create a visually stimulating environment that can reduce stress and enhance overall aesthetics.

Improving Air Quality

Many indoor plants purify the air by removing common pollutants. Incorporating air-purifying plants into a biophilic design enhances the visual appeal and contributes to a healthier indoor environment.

Promoting Well-Being

The presence of plants has been shown to reduce stress, improve mood, and increase feelings of well-being. Additionally, the presence of plants has been shown to reduce blood pressure, contributing to overall well-being. The biophilic design leverages these psychological benefits by strategically placing plants in areas where people spend time, such as offices, homes, and healthcare facilities.

Supporting Biophilic Patterns

Biophilic design principles often incorporate elements like fractal patterns found in nature and can be mirrored in plant arrangements. These patterns have been associated with relaxation and reduced stress.

Enhancing Acoustic Comfort

Some larger plants can help absorb sound, reduce noise levels in interior spaces, and contribute to acoustic comfort.

Providing Opportunities for Interaction

Biophilic design encourages interaction with nature through indoor gardens. Indoor gardens and living walls offer opportunities for people to engage with plants, whether through caring for them or simply enjoying their presence.

Creating Restorative Environments

Natural settings, including plant-filled spaces, have a restorative effect on mental fatigue and cognitive function. Biophilic design incorporates plants to help occupants relax and recharge.

Adapting to Seasonal Changes

Biophilic design can incorporate seasonal variations in plant selection, allowing occupants to experience different aspects of nature throughout the year, which adds interest and variety to the environment.

Supporting Sustainable Practices

Biophilic design often aligns with sustainability goals by promoting indoor plants that require minimal water and maintenance. This reinforces the connection between human well-being and environmental stewardship.

Plants in biophilic design are not merely decorative elements but essential components that foster a stronger connection to nature, enhance well-being, and contribute to a more sustainable and visually appealing built environment.

They create spaces that promote physical and psychological health while aligning with our innate affinity for the natural world.

Scientific Research on Indoor Plants' Wellness Effects

Scientific research has consistently demonstrated the positive impact of plants on health in interior spaces. Numerous studies have explored the physical and psychological benefits of indoor plants, and the following is a summary of key findings:

1. Air Flow and Improvement:

• In 1989, the NASA Clean Air Study found that the power of plants went far beyond absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen; many can also filter harmful chemicals from the air, such as benzene, formaldehyde, and trichloroethylene—all commonly found in everyday objects that surround us all the time in cities such as furniture and building material.

1. Stress Reduction and Well-Being:

• Research published in the Journal of Physiological Anthropology found that interaction with indoor plants can reduce physiological and psychological stress responses.

• A study in the Journal of Environmental Psychology showed that the presence of indoor plants can improve overall well-being, including feelings of comfort and relaxation.

1. Enhanced Cognitive Function:

• Studies conducted at the University of Exeter found that introducing indoor plants in office environments led to a 15% increase in productivity and improved cognitive function.

• Research published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology found that introducing indoor plants in a workspace can increase creativity and problem-solving abilities.

1. Mood Enhancement:

• A study in the Journal of Environmental Psychology reported that indoor plants positively influenced mood, with participants feeling happier and more comfortable in plant-filled spaces.

1. Reduced Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) Symptoms:

• Research conducted by the Agricultural University of Norway showed that introducing indoor plants reduced symptoms associated with SBS, such as dry throat, dry skin, and fatigue.

1. Faster Recovery and Reduced Pain:

• The American Society of Horticultural Science published a study indicating that patients recovering from surgery in rooms with indoor plants required less pain medication and had shorter hospital stays.

1. Improved Humidity and Comfort:

• Studies have shown that indoor plants release moisture through transpiration, which can help increase humidity levels, improve respiratory comfort, and reduce the incidence of conditions like dry skin and sore throats.

1. Noise Reduction:

• Research in the journal HortScience demonstrated that large, leafy indoor plants can help absorb and diffuse sound, reducing noise levels in interior spaces.

1. Positive Biophilic Effects:

• The concept of biophilia suggests that humans have an innate connection to nature. Studies have consistently shown that indoor plants can strengthen this connection, reducing stress and increasing feelings of well-being.

These studies collectively provide strong scientific evidence for the positive impact of indoor plants on health, well-being, and indoor environmental quality. Incorporating plants into interior spaces is a practical and effective way to create healthier and more comfortable living and working environments.

Can Ikigai, Barcelona - biophilic interiors by Biofilico

Mental Benefits of Plants in Interior Spaces

1. Stress Reduction and Mental Health: Interacting with indoor plants can help reduce stress and anxiety. Caring for plants, such as watering and pruning, can be meditative and calming.

2. Improved Mood: Indoor plants have been shown to boost mood and promote well-being. Their presence can create a more pleasant and positive atmosphere.

3. Enhanced Creativity: Some studies suggest indoor plants stimulate creativity and problem-solving, making them valuable in workspaces and creative environments.

4. Increased Productivity: Indoor workplace plants have been associated with increased productivity and concentration. They can help reduce mental fatigue and improve focus.

5. Improved Air Quality: The quality of the air is better, resulting from plants’ oxygen production, and air filtration capabilities can lead to improved mental clarity and alertness.

Physical Health Benefits of Plants in Interior Spaces

1. Air Purification: Many indoor plants can remove pollutants and toxins from the air, such as formaldehyde, benzene, and xylene, contributing to improved indoor airflow.

2. Humidity Regulation: Plants release water vapor through transpiration, which can help increase humidity levels in indoor spaces. This is particularly beneficial in dry environments and can help alleviate issues like dry skin and improve respiratory comfort.

3. Noise Reduction: Some large, leafy plants can absorb sound, reducing noise levels in interior spaces. This can create a more peaceful and comfortable environment.

4. Faster Healing: Studies have suggested that indoor plants can accelerate the healing process for individuals recovering from illness or surgery. Patients with access to greenery tend to require less pain medication and experience shorter hospital stays.

5. Eye Comfort: Indoor plants can help reduce eye strain and discomfort associated with prolonged screen time by providing a soothing natural element to focus on.

6. Biophilia Benefits: Biophilia, the innate human connection to nature, is nurtured by indoor plants. This connection can lead to reduced stress and an overall sense of well-being.

It’s important to note that while indoor plants offer these benefits, they also require proper care and maintenance. Overwatering or neglect can lead to mold growth and poor air circulation, which can have negative health consequences.

Therefore, it’s essential to choose plants that match your commitment and care for them accordingly to maximize the physical and mental health advantages they offer in indoor spaces.

Natural daylight and indoor plants

Light Requirements for Indoor Plants and Natural Daylight

The amount of light required for indoor plants varies depending on the type of plant. Different plant species have different light requirements, which are typically categorized into three main categories:

1. High Light: These plants require direct or bright indirect sunlight for several hours each day. Examples include succulents, cacti, and many flowering plants.

2. Medium Light: These plants thrive in indirect sunlight or in areas with filtered or dappled light. They can typically tolerate lower light conditions than high-light plants. Examples include pothos, spider plants, and peace lilies.

3. Low Light: These plants can thrive in areas with minimal daylight, such as rooms with small or shaded windows. They can adapt to artificial lighting. Examples include snake plants, ZZ plants, and cast iron plants.

For interior designers looking to maximize available natural light and supplement with artificial lighting for plants, here are some strategies:

Maximizing Natural Light

1. Use Reflective Surfaces: Incorporate light-colored and reflective surfaces, such as mirrors and light-colored paint or furnishings, to bounce natural light deeper into interior spaces.

2. Optimize Window Placement: Position furniture and shelving to allow natural light to reach as many plants as possible. Avoid blocking windows with large obstructions.

3. Choose Light-Friendly Window Treatments: Select window treatments like sheer curtains or blinds that allow natural light to filter through while maintaining privacy and controlling glare.

4. Keep Windows Clean: Regularly clean windows to ensure maximum light transmission.

5. Consider Skylights: If feasible, incorporate skylights or light tubes to bring natural light into interior spaces with limited windows.

Supplemental Artificial Lighting to support bringing the natural world inside

1. LED Grow Lights: LED grow lights are energy-efficient and come in various spectra to cater to different plant needs. You can use these LED grow lights in areas with insufficient natural light or as a supplement to extend the daily light duration for plants.

2. Position Lights Strategically: Place grow lights above or beside plants to mimic natural sunlight. Adjustable fixtures allow you to fine-tune the light intensity and direction.

3. Use Timers: Install timers or smart plugs to automate the lighting schedule for your plants, ensuring they receive the right amount of light each day.

4. Choose Full-Spectrum Lights: Full-spectrum LED grow lights closely mimic natural sunlight and provide a balanced spectrum for photosynthesis.

5. Consider Light Reflectors: Reflective materials around plants can help maximize the use of artificial light by directing it back toward the plants.

6. Adjust Light Duration: The duration of artificial lighting should match the specific needs of your plants. Most indoor plants require 12-16 hours of light per day.

By combining these strategies and selecting plants from the natural world that match the available light conditions, interior designers can create indoor environments that support healthy and thriving greenery while enhancing the overall aesthetic and functionality of the space.

Choosing the Right Plants for your Biophilic Interior

When choosing plant species to use in your next eco office interior or biophilic home, you should consider a few things to ensure your plant plan is sustainable and practical; let’s face it, nobody benefits from dead foliage.

Here are three questions to consider:

1. What kind of light is available? Low light doesn’t necessarily present a problem, but it does mean you must choose plants that can thrive in dimmer conditions, such as Spider plants and Pothos plants.

2. How much time can you commit to maintenance? A good biophilic design should enhance your life, not disrupt it. Plants that require less watering, like Snake plants and Aloe, tend to be hardier and won’t put a damper on your schedule.

3. Which plants like or dislike each other? Placing your plants beside the wrong neighbours can be the difference between thriving greenery and stunted stems. Ensure you know who likes to bring out the best from your sprouts.

Best Indoor Air purifying Plants

Best Indoor Air-Purifying Plants

Indoor air-purifying plants are a natural and aesthetically pleasing way to improve indoor airflow and air levels by removing certain pollutants and toxins.

Here are some of the top air-purifying plants suitable for indoor use:

1. Snake Plant (Sansevieria trifasciata): Snake plants are known for their air-purifying abilities. They effectively remove formaldehyde, benzene, and other common indoor pollutants. They are also low-maintenance and can thrive in low-light conditions.

2. Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum): Spider plants greatly remove pollutants like formaldehyde and xylene. They are easy to care for and can adapt to various indoor environments.

3. Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum): Peace lilies are excellent at removing indoor air pollutants, including ammonia, benzene, and formaldehyde. They also add a touch of elegance to indoor spaces.

4. Boston Fern (Nephrolepis exaltata): Boston ferns effectively remove pollutants like formaldehyde and xylene. They require regular moisture and indirect light to thrive.

5. Aloe Vera (Aloe barbadensis miller): Aloe vera not only purifies the air by removing formaldehyde and benzene but also has healing properties for minor burns and skin irritations.

6. Dracaena (Dracaena spp.): Dracaenas come in various varieties and are known for their air-purifying capabilities. They can help remove pollutants like xylene, trichloroethylene, and formaldehyde.

7. Bamboo Palm (Chamaedorea seifrizii): Bamboo palms effectively remove indoor air pollutants, including formaldehyde and benzene. They also thrive in low-light conditions.

8. Rubber Plant (Ficus elastica): Rubber tree can remove indoor air pollutants like formaldehyde. They have attractive dark green leaves and can grow into a statement piece in your space.

9. Gerbera Daisy (Gerbera jamesonii): Gerbera daisies are known for removing trichloroethylene, a common indoor pollutant. They also add vibrant color to your indoor environment.

10. Pothos (Epipremnum aureum): Pothos is a hardy plant that can help remove indoor pollutants like formaldehyde and benzene. It’s a great choice for beginners due to its low maintenance requirements.

11. Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema): Chinese evergreens purify indoor air effectively. They’re also low-maintenance and thrive in low light.

12. ZZ Plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia): ZZ plants, like snake plants, purify the air by absorbing toxins. Their succulent-like structure withstands drought and missed waterings, making them low-maintenance with gorgeous foliage.

13. Areca Palm (Dypsis): Areca palms are effective air purifiers, removing toxins like formaldehyde and xylene. They also add humidity to the air, enhancing overall indoor air quality.

14. Philodendron: Philodendrons purify the air by removing toxins like formaldehyde and benzene. Their beautiful foliage adds aesthetic appeal while improving indoor air quality.

15. English Ivy (Hedera helix): English ivy purifies the air by effectively removing mold spores and common toxins like formaldehyde and benzene. Its attractive, cascading foliage also enhances the visual appeal of indoor spaces.

Remember that while these plants can help improve indoor airflow, they should not be relied upon as the sole method of air purification in environments with high pollution levels. Proper ventilation and other airflow measures may also be necessary for more effective results.

What are the best case studies showing the benefits of indoor plants in creating a healthy workplace?

While numerous case studies and research findings demonstrate how indoor plants contribute to creating a healthy office environment, a few notable examples are frequently cited to illustrate the positive impact of plants on workplace well-being. Here are some of the most commonly referenced case studies:

1. NASA Clean Air Study: While not specifically an office environment, this seminal study conducted by NASA in the late 1980s identified a range of houseplants that effectively remove indoor air pollutants. It laid the foundation for using indoor plants to improve air quality in various settings, including offices.

2. Texas A&M University Study (2010): Researchers at Texas A&M University conducted a study examining indoor plants’ effects on employee well-being and productivity in a controlled office environment. The findings indicated that the presence of plants significantly increased productivity and reduced stress levels among employees.

3. Ambius “The Power of Plants in the Workplace” (2014): Ambius, a leading provider of interior landscaping services, conducted a comprehensive study that surveyed over 7,600 office workers across 16 countries. The research found that office plants positively impacted airflow, reduced stress, and improved overall well-being and productivity.

4. University of Exeter Study (2014): Researchers at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom conducted a study investigating the effects of office plants on worker productivity. They found that introducing plants into the office environment led to a 15% increase in productivity.

5. The WELL Building Standard Case Studies: The WELL Building Standard, a performance-based system for measuring and certifying building features that impact health and well-being, includes numerous case studies highlighting the benefits of incorporating plants into office designs. These case studies showcase how plants contribute to improved ventilation, reduced stress, and enhanced workplace employee satisfaction.

6. IKEA’s “The Green Cube” (2016): IKEA created a temporary office space in Milan, Italy, known as “The Green Cube.” The office was filled with indoor plants designed to demonstrate greenery’s positive effects on employee well-being and productivity. The project received significant attention and is a practical example of biophilic design in the workplace.

These case studies, among others, provide valuable evidence of the positive impact of indoor plants on ventilation, employee health, and workplace productivity.

They demonstrate the potential benefits of incorporating greenery into office environments and offer practical insights for interior designers and employers seeking to create healthier and more productive workspaces.

Top Case Studies on Indoor Plants for a Healthy Home

University of Technology Sydney Study (2015)

Researchers at the University of Technology Sydney conducted a study investigating indoor plants’ impact on perceived air quality and well-being in residential settings. The results showed that indoor plants can effectively reduce pollutants and improve perceived air quality.

University of Reading and Royal Horticultural Society Study (2015)

This research examined the impact of indoor plants on well-being and airflow in homes. The study found that houseplants can remove significant indoor air pollutants and contribute to a sense of well-being and happiness among residents.

RMIT University Study (2016)

Researchers at RMIT University in Australia studied the benefits of indoor plants in residential environments. The findings suggested that indoor plants can improve airflow, reduce stress, and enhance home cognitive function.

Ambius “Global Impact of Biophilic Design in the Home” (2016)

This study conducted by Ambius, a provider of interior landscaping services, explored the impact of biophilic design elements, including indoor plants, in residential settings. It found that plants contribute to improved air quality and home well-being.

Bayer Environmental Science Study (2020)

Bayer’s “Global Green Spaces” research initiative examined the role of green spaces, including indoor plants, in urban environments. The study emphasized the importance of indoor plants in enhancing air quality and well-being within homes.