People living in urban and industrialized societies, which are expanding globally, spend more than 90% of their time in the indoor environment, breathing indoor air (IA). Despite decades of research and advocacy, most countries do not have legislated indoor air quality (IAQ) performance standards for public spaces that address concentration levels of IA pollutants (1). Few building codes address operation, maintenance, and retrofitting, and most do not focus on airborne disease transmission. But the COVID-19 pandemic has made all levels of society, from community members to decision-makers, realize the importance of IAQ for human health, wellbeing, productivity, and learning. We propose that IAQ standards be mandatory for public spaces. Although enforcement of IAQ performance standards in homes is not possible, homes must be designed and equipped so that they could meet the standards. ... Read more

We are organizing again the workshop on Interdisciplinary Insights into Group and Team Dynamics which is a joint effort between researchers in the the ICMI and INGRoup (Interdisciplinary Network for Group Research) communities. This workshop aims to provide a common destination for researchers to exchange ideas and collaborate. We have found in previous years that instigating interdisciplinary collaborations can be hard. The aim of this workshop is to sustain a joint community to foster continued cross-disciplinary exchange and mutual understanding. ... Read more

Well-being in the built environment is a topic that features frequently in building standards and certification schemes, in scholarly articles and in the general press. However, despite this surge in attention, there are still many questions on how to effectively design, measure, and nurture well-being in the built environment. Bringing together experts from academia and the building industry, this paper aims to demonstrate that the promotion of well-being requires a departure from conventional agendas. The ten questions and answers have been arranged to offer a range of perspectives on the principles and strategies that can better sustain the consideration of well-being in the design and operation of the built environment. Placing a specific focus on some of the key physical factors (e.g., light, temperature, sound, and air quality) of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) that strongly influence occupant perception of built spaces, attention is also given to the value of multi-sensory variability, to how to monitor and communicate well-being outcomes in support of organizational and operational strategies, and to future research needs and their translation into building practice and standards. Seen as a whole, a new framework emerges, accentuating the integration of diverse new competencies required to support the design and operation of built environments that respond to the multifaceted physical, physiological, and psychological needs of their occupants. ... Read more