Healthy Buildings, On Air, and the Damp & Mould Debate: What You Need to Know
Welcome back to Air Quality Matters. This week, it's just me, and I wanted to take some time to discuss a few key topics that have been making waves in indoor air quality. From an exciting new conference in India to a new venture with Air Quality Matters consultancy, and finally, to the ever-relevant issue of damp and mould, there’s much to cover.
Healthy Buildings ISIAC 2025: A Landmark Event in India
First up is the Healthy Buildings 2025 , an event organised by the International Society for Indoor Air Quality (ISIAQ), taking place in Hyderabad, India, from August 18-21, 2025.
This is the first ISIAQ indoor air quality event focused specifically on India, and it promises to be a major milestone in global indoor air quality discussions.
Healthy Buildings has been running since 1989, alternating with the Indoor Air conference. While Indoor Air leans heavily into research, Healthy Buildings bridges the gap between science and practice, bringing together researchers, facility managers, and professionals working on air quality and ventilation solutions on the ground.
The themes for the 2025 conference reflect the breadth of challenges in indoor air quality, including:
Indoor environmental quality monitoring and performance metrics
Sensors and IoT-driven measurement protocols
Ventilation strategies and air cleaning technologies
Airborne infection transmission control
Mould and thermal comfort solutions
Some keynote speakers already announced include. Pawel Wargocki Chandra Sekhar Dusan Licina Marcel Schweiker Marianne Touchie and others I cant find on Linkedin!
Hyderabad, the host city, is a vibrant hub blending historic culture with modern technology. Known as Cyberabad due to its booming IT industry, it’s home to companies like Google, Amazon, and Facebook. For attendees, the conference will not only be a learning experience but an opportunity to explore one of India’s most dynamic cities.
The Air Quality Matters podcast will be on-site, recording conversations with keynote speakers, researchers, and industry professionals. I’m excited to bring you first-hand insights from this event—stay tuned!
A big thank you to DR RANGA REDDY BURRI and especially Vinod Kumar Sekar for organising
Introducing ‘On Air’ – A New Chapter for Air Quality Matters
Next, I want to introduce On Air, a new initiative by the Air Quality Matters. This idea stemmed from my observations of how conference content often disappears after the event.
Think about it—after weeks or months of preparation, thousands spent on venues, and experts traveling long distances, the content generated often evaporates. Conference papers and slides get buried, and social media posts offer only fleeting glimpses of key discussions.
What if we could extend these conversations beyond the conference room?
That’s what On Air is all about. By leveraging the podcast and other digital formats, we create a lasting conversation around key events, ensuring insights reach a wider audience long after the event ends.
In just a few weeks since launching, On Air has already been booked for multiple conferences throughout the year. If you're organising an event and want to capture and share its impact more effectively, get in touch.
Damp & Mould: The Debate Continues
Damp and mould have been dominating headlines again, particularly in the UK. Awab’s Law, set to take effect this autumn, mandates that landlords address damp and mould issues within specific timeframes. This follows the tragic case of Awab Ishak, a two-year-old boy who died due to prolonged exposure to mould in social housing.
Alongside this, a BBC Panorama documentary, Britain’s Mouldy Homes, has reignited debate around the systemic failures in dealing with damp and mould. The programme highlighted severe health risks and landlords' responsibilities, but some argue it lacked depth in providing practical solutions.
Housing Ombudsman Richard Blakeway welcomed Awab’s Law, emphasizing the fundamental right to a safe and healthy home. However, he pointed out that while some landlords have improved their approach, systemic issues remain, with damp and mould still featuring in half of housing complaints.
Housing expert Rosie Wills provided a much-needed critical and nuanced take, emphasising that damp and mould issues are often misunderstood and oversimplified. Many assume mould is always a structural defect, leading to either tenant disputes or expensive (and sometimes unnecessary) remedial works.
The truth is that damp and mould are often multifaceted problems. Poor heating, inadequate ventilation, and insulation defects all contribute, and solutions require more than just quick-fix treatments. Importantly, as she highlights, even the UK government’s guidance is unclear, further complicating the situation.
The Bigger Picture: Ventilation & Indoor Air Quality
One of my main concerns is that damp and mould are just one symptom of poor ventilation. A home with no visible mould can still suffer from inadequate air quality, leading to exposure to harmful pollutants like:
Cooking-related particulates
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
Nitrogen dioxide from combustion sources
Yet, too often, building surveys only check if there’s a fan and if mould is visible, as if that’s a sufficient measure of indoor air quality. The reality is far more complex, and we need a more performance-based approach to ventilation.
A Call for Better Standards
If we’re serious about tackling indoor air quality, we need to move beyond box-ticking exercises. Installing a fan isn’t enough—we need to be able to verify and guarantee its performance. This is an area I work on closely with social housing providers, and it’s something we discuss regularly on this podcast.
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