COVID – MARQ eec

Measuring the “Health” of Buildings

The pandemic has forced us to rethink countless aspects of our lives, including the buildings we spend our days inhabiting. Social distancing requirements and efforts to reduce virus transmission in indoor environments demand that “healthy buildings” be a top priority for the real estate industry. But what constitutes a healthy building, and what are the differences between various building types? And what is the best way to quantify, track and compare the relative health of buildings? Offices spaces, hotels and even residential properties will want to find ways to differentiate themselves and quickly communicate their health and safety attributes to their respective occupants and consumers.

After 2020, Designing For Indoor Air Quality Will Never Be the Same

In a year marked by airborne pathogens and wildfires, how should HVAC systems evolve to protect us from dangers lurking both inside and out?

The calls started coming in immediately after lockdown, clients from as far as two decades back resurfacing to ask whether their HVAC systems needed updating, and a more painful underlying question: If someone breathes the air inside my building today, could they die?

The ‘Healthy Building’ Surge Will Outlast the Pandemic

Because of Covid-19, developers are realizing that incorporating health concerns in a building’s design isn’t just a luxury—it’s a necessity.

Several years ago, Rachel Hodgdon, an expert in green buildings, was touring a new high school in DeKalb County, Georgia, when she asked teachers how they liked their new building. They loved it. The best part, they told her, was that they no longer went home each afternoon with the “2:30 headache.”