Indoor Air as a Material: Elevating Wellness in Building Design

How often do you think about the air your projects are asking people to breathe?

In this episode of I Hear Design, host Robert Nieminen unpacks why indoor air quality (IAQ) has become a frontline design issue—from post-pandemic health concerns and wildfire smoke to rising expectations for healthier workplaces. Unpacking insights from articles published in interiors+sources and BUILDINGS, along with recent research, Robert walks through breakthrough initiatives like ARPA-H’s BREATHE program and Mayo Clinic’s HAIQU project, as well as the new Global Commission on Healthy Indoor Air launched at the United Nations, and explains what they mean for architects, interior designers, and facilities professionals.

You’ll learn practical strategies for improving IAQ across planning, building systems, interiors, and existing building retrofits along with real-world scenarios and key questions to bring to your next client meeting. If you’re looking to connect wellness, resilience, and performance in your projects, this episode is your IAQ playbook.

Key Moments in This Episode

00:05 – Setting the Stage: Why IAQ Matters Now
Robert opens the episode by reframing indoor air as a critical but often invisible design issue, noting that people spend over 90% of their time indoors and that IAQ has long taken a backseat to aesthetics and energy efficiency.

01:52 – Rising Expectations for Healthier Workplaces
A review of survey data on office workers’ concerns about IAQ, including how many are “very” or “extremely” worried, why they now see IAQ as a core workplace expectation, and the pressure this puts on building owners and employers.

03:39 – Aging Buildings, Outdated Systems, Real Risks
Robert highlights research on older commercial buildings where indoor air can be two to five times more polluted than outdoor air, unpacking how outdated HVAC, leaky envelopes, and “tight building” strategies contribute to sick building symptoms and lost productivity.

05:03 – Inside ARPA-H’s BREATHE Program and Mayo’s HAIQU Project
An overview of the federal BREATHE initiative and Mayo Clinic’s HAIQU research, including real-time biosensors, AI, and smart filtration systems that treat indoor air more like drinking water with continuous monitoring and automatic responses.

07:44 – The Global Commission on Healthy Indoor Air
Robert explains how the International WELL Building Institute’s new Global Commission is elevating indoor air to a global public health priority, framing clean indoor air as a fundamental human right and outlining a global framework for action.

09:09 – The Designer’s Role: Air as a Design Material
A shift from policy to practice, as Robert positions architects and designers at the intersection of occupant expectations, owner needs, policy changes, and emerging technologies and introduces the idea of treating air as a core design material.

10:32 – Designing for Measurement, Transparency, and Equity
Practical guidance on embedding IAQ into the concept phase: planning for sensors and data display, making IAQ visible to occupants, and recognizing that polluted indoor air disproportionately affects vulnerable communities.

12:15 – IAQ in Four Phases: Planning, Systems, Interiors, Existing Buildings
A tactical walkthrough of IAQ strategies across the project lifecycle—from setting explicit performance goals and upgrading filtration to selecting low-emitting materials, planning for cleaning practices, and addressing IAQ in legacy buildings.

16:00 – Five Steps to Improve IAQ in Existing Buildings
Robert translates a step-by-step IAQ roadmap for aging infrastructure: start with data, optimize existing systems, tighten the envelope, refine ventilation, and supplement with localized HEPA-based purification where a full mechanical overhaul isn’t feasible.

17:39 – Smart Air Management and AQM Systems
A look at Air Quality Management systems that integrate sensors and purification equipment with building management systems, enabling automated, demand-based IAQ control that supports both health goals and ESG targets.

18:08 – Scenario 1: Rethinking the Emergency Department
Robert imagines a future-ready hospital expansion designed around biosensors and smart filtration, where patient bays and staff areas can shift into higher protection modes during respiratory virus surges.

19:00 – Scenario 2: Fixing the 1970s Office
A pragmatic scenario focused on a dated office building with tight budgets, showing how IAQ assessments, filter upgrades, duct cleaning, zoning changes, and portable HEPA units can dramatically improve health outcomes without a full system replacement.

19:51 – Scenario 3: IAQ as a Talent and Brand Strategy
Robert connects IAQ directly to recruitment, retention, and employer brand, underscoring how employees are willing to act—up to changing jobs—when employers don’t take indoor air quality seriously.

20:21 – Six Questions for Your Next Project Meeting
A concise checklist of strategic questions design teams can use with clients, from “What story is this building telling with its air?” to “Which standards and frameworks are we aligning with?”

21:34 – Closing Thoughts: The Story Your Air Is Telling
Robert closes by reminding listeners that while occupants may never see the air, they absolutely feel its effects, and that designers have both the opportunity and responsibility to quietly protect people with every space they create.