Send us a text

What distinguishes a truly healthy building from one that simply meets minimum code requirements? In this conversation with Sarah Gudeman, Principal and Practice Lead at Branch Pattern, we explore the critical intersection where engineering expertise meets human-centered design in the pursuit of better built environments.

Sarah brings a refreshingly practical perspective to the often theoretical world of indoor air quality and sustainability. As she explains, "Code compliant is just not illegal. It's the lowest bar we can design to." This fundamental truth underscores the gap between what's legally acceptable and what's truly optimal for human health and wellbeing in our buildings.

The conversation looks into the challenges practitioners face when implementing healthy building strategies. From establishing clear guiding principles at project outset to navigating the complex dynamics of project teams, Sarah reveals how the "peopling" aspect of consulting work often proves more challenging than the technical engineering. Her insights on building psychological safety within teams highlight how admitting knowledge gaps creates space for collaborative problem-solving rather than siloed thinking.

Particularly fascinating is Sarah's discussion of the evolution in air quality monitoring, where point-in-time testing is increasingly supplemented by continuous monitoring systems. Yet this technological advance brings its own challenges: "You've got this dashboard with sensors flashing green and red at you. When do you know who to call and what kind of skill set should they have?" The question cuts to the heart of building operations, where even the most sophisticated technology requires human interpretation and action.

Whether you're a building professional seeking to elevate your approach, a facility manager trying to make sense of air quality data, or simply someone who cares about the spaces where we spend 90% of our lives, this conversation offers valuable perspective on creating environments that truly enhance human health and experience.

Sarah Gudeman - LinkedIn

Branch Pattern

Sarah Gudeman

Support the show

Check out the Air Quality Matters website for more information, updates and more. And the YouTube Channel

The Air Quality Matters Podcast is brought to you in partnership with.

Eurovent Farmwood 21 Degrees Aereco Aico Ultra Protect InBiot

The One Take Podcast is brought to you in partnership with.

SafeTraces

All great companies that share the podcast's passion for better air quality in the built environment. Supporting them helps support the show.

Send us a text

Ever wondered why you sometimes struggle to focus when working from home? We dive into fascinating new research that connects the invisible elements of our home environments to how well our brains function during remote work.

This episode explores groundbreaking 2024 research fromAnna s. Young and colleagues who monitored over 200 remote workers for an entire year, tracking how their home's air quality and temperature affected their thinking abilities. The findings reveal a surprising "Goldilocks zone" for optimal brain performance – with temperatures around 23°C (73°F) proving ideal for creative thinking and cognitive speed. Too warm or too cold, and our mental performance measurably declines. We also examine how carbon dioxide levels, even when relatively low compared to crowded offices, might still subtly impact our ability to think clearly and solve problems.

The implications extend far beyond personal comfort. As remote work becomes a permanent fixture in our professional landscape, these findings challenge us to reconsider what makes a truly productive home office environment. It's not just about ergonomic furniture and fast internet – the quality of air you breathe and the temperature you sit in could be making or breaking your workday. Could simple adjustments like opening a window or tweaking your thermostat give you a cognitive edge? Listen to discover practical insights for optimizing your home workspace for better thinking, focus, and creativity. Your brain (and your productivity) will thank you!

Home indoor air quality and cognitive function over one year for people
working remotely during COVID-19

Support the show

Check out the Air Quality Matters website for more information, updates and more. And the YouTube Channel

This Podcast is brought to you in partnership with.

Eurovent

Farmwood

21 Degrees

Aereco

Aico

Ultra Protect

InBiot

All great companies that share the podcast's passion for better air quality in the built environment. Supporting them helps support the show.

Send us a text

What if the air you breathe at work is silently shaping your performance, creativity, and health? Harvard's Dr. Joseph Allen has become the leading voice connecting building science with human potential - showing how something as simple as better ventilation can transform productivity while protecting health.

In this wide-ranging conversation, he reveals why healthy buildings remain a financial no-brainer, pointing to his research demonstrating that even small improvements translate to substantial bottom-line returns. "If you do the cost-benefit analysis, the benefits are 10x over the cost," Joe explains, sharing how forward-thinking companies leverage building performance to attract employees back to offices.

The pandemic fundamentally shifted how building air quality is perceived, elevating these decisions to C-suite conversations. Today, we're witnessing what he calls a "flight to quality", where buildings with superior air quality command premium rents while others struggle. Yet making these improvements isn't just for showcase headquarters - he demonstrates how modest investments can dramatically improve even challenging buildings.

Allen also shares fascinating insights from his research following the Los Angeles wildfires. As climate events intensify, buildings must increasingly serve as shields against environmental threats—a protection that depends entirely on our design decisions today.

This episode offers unprecedented clarity on the connection between our built environments and human flourishing. Whether you're responsible for workplace strategy, building management, or simply care about optimizing your own environment, you'll gain actionable perspectives on creating spaces where people truly thrive.

Joseph Allen - LinkedIn

Healthy Buildings Book

Joseph Allen - Harvard

Support the show

Check out the Air Quality Matters website for more information, updates and more. And the YouTube Channel

This Podcast is brought to you in partnership with.

Eurovent

Farmwood

21 Degrees

Aereco

Aico

Ultra Protect

InBiot

All great companies that share the podcast's passion for better air quality in the built environment. Supporting them helps support the show.

Send us a text

Imagine a technology that could silently work in the background, destroying harmful microbes in the air we breathe without harming us. That's the promise of Far-UVC light at 222 nanometers, and groundbreaking room-scale research just brought this closer to reality.

Hospital-acquired infections alone cost the NHS £2.7 billion annually and affect hundreds of thousands of patients. While proper ventilation remains our first defense against airborne pathogens like TB, influenza, and COVID-19, the harsh truth is that many buildings struggle to meet modern ventilation standards. Retrofitting these structures often proves prohibitively expensive or physically impossible, creating an urgent need for complementary solutions.

Far-UVC technology stands out because, unlike traditional ultraviolet light, current evidence suggests it doesn't harm human skin or eyes when used properly. This means it could potentially operate in occupied rooms—a massive advantage over conventional UV systems. The University of Leeds study demonstrated remarkable results in a hospital room-sized chamber, with bacterial reductions of up to 97.8% using five Far-UVC lamps. Most impressively, the technology showed greatest benefit in poorly ventilated spaces, exactly where alternative solutions are most needed.

The research tested various scenarios, changing ventilation rates and airflow patterns while continuously introducing aerosolized bacteria to simulate a person shedding pathogens. Even at low ventilation rates of 1.5 air changes per hour, bacteria levels dropped to barely detectable amounts with five lamps. While further research is needed to test effectiveness against viruses in real-world settings, these results paint a promising picture of Far-UVC as a powerful new tool in our infection control arsenal. Could this technology transform how we protect vulnerable spaces like hospitals, schools, and nursing homes? The evidence suggests the future looks bright—or should we say, ultraviolet.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0360132325002161

Subscribe to our podcast to stay updated on the latest advances in air quality science and technologies that could reshape how we create healthier indoor environments.

Support the show

Check out the Air Quality Matters website for more information, updates and more. And the YouTube Channel

This Podcast is brought to you in partnership with.
21 Degrees
Aereco
Aico
Ultra Protect
InBiot

All great companies that share the podcast's passion for better air quality in the built environment. Supporting them helps support the show.

Send us a text

What happens when a pediatrician who codes and a psychologist studying technology acceptance walk into a built environment conference? Sometimes the most illuminating perspectives come from the margins.

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Olivia Swan, a pediatric infectious disease consultant and data scientist, and Dan Bowers, head of Psychology at the University of South Wales, to explore the fascinating intersection of human behaviour, health, and our built spaces.

Livvy shares how her frustration with seeing the same children repeatedly hospitalised with respiratory issues from cold, damp homes drove her to harness data science to find solutions. "Preschool children are like canaries in the coal mine," she explains, with their rapid breathing rates making them particularly vulnerable to poor indoor air quality. These early exposures can set children up for lifelong respiratory problems, yet medical training rarely focuses on housing as a critical health factor.

Meanwhile, Dan reveals fascinating insights from his research on technology acceptance in social housing. What happens when new ventilation or heating systems are installed without adequate tenant engagement? The psychological dynamics of adoption become crucial, especially when residents lack agency in the decision-making process. "It's not just what the technology does," Bowers explains, "but what your neighbours and community think about it that drives acceptance."

The conversation tackles a perplexing question: why doesn't indoor air quality receive the same attention as other comparable health risks like smoking, despite causing similar harm? The invisible nature of air pollution creates a psychological blind spot, especially when many sources of indoor pollutants (cooking, candles, cleaning products) are associated with positive experiences.

This episode illuminates how truly interdisciplinary approaches might finally move the needle on these complex challenges. Whether you're a healthcare professional, work in housing, or simply care about creating healthier living environments, this conversation offers fresh perspectives on putting humans at the centre of the built environment.

Olivia Swann - LinkedIn
Dan Bowers - LinkedIn

Homes, Heat and Healthy Kids Study

Support the show

Check out the Air Quality Matters website for more information, updates and more. And the YouTube Channel

This Podcast is brought to you in partnership with.
21 Degrees
Aereco
Aico
Ultra Protect
InBiot

All great companies that share the podcast's passion for better air quality in the built environment. Supporting them helps support the show.

Send us a text

We explore a paper examining the future of residential air quality and its environmental justice implications. This research highlights how poor indoor air quality disproportionately affects disadvantaged communities, creating a "triple jeopardy" of higher exposure, greater health burdens, and limited resources to address the problem.

• Indoor air can be more polluted than outdoor air, with pollutants coming from building materials, cleaning products, cooking, and outdoor air infiltration
• We spend 90% of our time indoors, with 70% in our homes, making residential air quality crucial to our overall health
• The environmental justice framework examines who is exposed to pollution and why through five dimensions: distributive, procedural, recognition, capabilities, and epistemic justice
• Social inequalities lead to uneven exposure to poor indoor air quality, with lower socioeconomic groups often facing greater health risks
• Climate change will worsen indoor air quality through higher temperatures, humidity, and changing outdoor pollution patterns
• Net zero policies create tensions between energy efficiency and adequate ventilation for healthy indoor environments
• New technologies like air purifiers may create further inequalities if not accessible to all communities

Clean indoor air for everyone is both a technical and social challenge that requires bringing together researchers, policymakers, and communities to develop equitable solutions. See you next week.

Paper

Lead Author - D Booker

Support the show

Check out the Air Quality Matters website for more information, updates and more. And the YouTube Channel

This Podcast is brought to you in partnership with.
21 Degrees
Aereco
Aico
Ultra Protect
InBiot

All great companies that share the podcast's passion for better air quality in the built environment. Supporting them helps support the show.

Send us a text

Have you ever wondered what's really happening in the air around us? In this captivating conversation with Professor John Wenger of University College Cork, we dive into the hidden chemistry that shapes our atmosphere and affects our health in ways most of us never consider.

At the heart of our discussion is the fascinating world of hydroxyl radicals – nature's invisible cleaning crew that exists at just one part per trillion in our air yet drives fundamental atmospheric reactions. These tiny, highly reactive molecules transform pollutants, create ozone, and even influence cloud formation that affects our climate. Professor Wenger shares insights from the groundbreaking EU-funded Radical Project, which developed innovative sensors to detect these previously unmeasurable atmospheric components.

The conversation shifts to real-world air pollution challenges across Ireland, where Professor Wenger's research identified how solid fuel burning creates dangerous particulate pollution spikes during winter evenings. We explore how valleys like Enniscorthy can experience pollution levels rivaling those in heavily polluted global cities, though these spikes typically last just a few hours each evening. The good news? Low-cost sensor networks are revolutionizing our ability to identify these pollution patterns and empower communities with information.

Perhaps most compelling is our discussion about the pandemic's lessons regarding indoor air quality and the ethical questions it raises. Professor Wenger reflects on how vulnerable populations continue to face accessibility challenges in public spaces due to air quality concerns, drawing parallels to other accessibility rights issues. The episode highlights how understanding air chemistry isn't just academic – it directly impacts public health policy, building design, and even questions of social justice.

Whether you're interested in environmental science, public health, or simply curious about what's in the air you breathe, this conversation offers accessible insights into complex chemistry that affects us all. Subscribe to Air Quality Matters for more discussions that bridge scientific understanding with practical solutions for healthier environments.

John Wenger LinkedIn

Radical Project

John Wenger UCC

Support the show

Check out the Air Quality Matters website for more information, updates and more. And the YouTube Channel

This Podcast is brought to you in partnership with.
21 Degrees
Aereco
Aico
Ultra Protect
InBiot

All great companies that share the podcast's passion for better air quality in the built environment. Supporting them helps support the show.

Send us a text

What drives someone to spend two decades studying the air we breathe indoors? In this conversation, I sit down with Asit Kumar Mishra, a research fellow at University College Cork, to explore the fascinating world behind the research that shapes our built environments.

Asit takes us on a journey from his early days as a mechanical engineering student in India to becoming an internationally recognized researcher in building ventilation, thermal comfort, and indoor air quality. Rather than focusing solely on research outcomes, this conversation delves into the process itself – the challenges, motivations, and profound satisfaction that comes from answering questions that directly impact people's health and wellbeing.

"Most of the days, probably 60-80% of the days will not end up as you expected," Asit reveals, highlighting the persistence required in scientific inquiry. Yet it's the human connection that keeps him coming back – whether explaining to worried parents how to protect vulnerable family members during a pandemic or discovering through conversations with schoolchildren that unexplained sensor readings were caused by dancing in the classroom.

The discussion shifts between practical research methods and philosophical reflections on knowledge communication. Asit, who describes himself as naturally introverted, finds unexpected joy in public engagement: "If I cannot explain it to an eight-year-old, then maybe I don't understand it well enough myself." This commitment to clarity resonates throughout his work, especially in his current project, developing classroom designs that can adapt to public health challenges without requiring school closures.

For anyone curious about how research shapes the spaces we inhabit, this episode offers rare insights into both the scientific process and the passionate individuals driving it forward. Tune in to gain a deeper appreciation for the intersection of engineering, public health, and the built environment that affects us all every day.

Asit Kumar Mishra LinkedIn

Support the show

Check out the Air Quality Matters website for more information, updates and more. And the YouTube Channel

This Podcast is brought to you in partnership with.
21 Degrees
Aereco
Aico
Ultra Protect
InBiot

All great companies that share the podcast's passion for better air quality in the built environment. Supporting them helps support the show.