Built environment

Ecolibrium speaks with Jess Ward, whose experience with mould-related illness led to an extraordinary career change.

Australians own and use an excessive amount of floor space compared to other countries. Laura Timberlake explores how going small can have big benefits for thermal performance, heating and cooling costs, and the embodied carbon of residential buildings.

We look back at the major discussions from AIRAH’s 2025 Indoor Air Quality Conference (IAQ25), which was held in Melbourne from May 26–27.

Sonia Holzheimer, M.AIRAH, reflects on the good, the bad, and the ugly misunderstood aspects of AS 1668.2.

A program in South Australia’s APY Lands is retrofitting housing to study how homes can withstand one of the world’s harshest climates.

Ecolibrium speaks to Yangzhe Hou, part of a research team that recently developed a bioplastic metafilm with fascinating cooling properties.

With a global shortage of copper looming, could aluminium cable be a safe and cost-effective substitute for low voltage underground power supply? Lasath Lecamwasam and Martin Lynch investigate.

When Dr Mali Rezaei moved into a one-bedroom rental in Melbourne’s southeast in 2021, she had no idea how severely her life would be affected by mould.

The Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC) has released a policy roadmap to reduce upfront embodied carbon in the built environment.

Amy Lewis from the Safer Air Project introduces a toolkit for making events safe, accessible, and inclusive for those at risk from poor IAQ.

We’ve all heard the saying “hot air rises”. Daniel Bonatti, M.AIRAH, explains why this phenomenon occurs, how our understanding has evolved over time, and what it means for practical applications in building design.

An important changeover of filter standards is underway in Australia, but industry has so far been slow to move.

Cutting-edge HVAC and BMS design played a huge role in the Canberra Raiders’ redevelopment of their spiritual home at Northbourne Oval. Here’s how the state-of-the-art project unfolded.

After mould-related illness turned Brandon Chappo’s life upside down, he co-founded Change the Air Foundation to do provide a voice for the millions of others affected.

This paper discusses the growing importance of external CFD in evaluating and optimising rooftop mechanical layouts for high-density data centres.

This technical paper provides a systematic review and comparison of existing and next-generation air cleaning technologies.

Clive Broadbent, L.AIRAH, discusses how climate change and increases in surface water temperatures could potentially encourage the growth of bacteria that prefer warm water (mesophiles), including Legionella.

Mark Lommers, M.AIRAH, looks at the repeal of Western Australia’s controversial Sewerage (Lighting, Ventilation and Construction) Regulations 1971, which for more than 50 years required the doubling up of toilet exhaust fans.

Nick Johns-Wickberg discovers how a heat monitoring tool developed by the University of Sydney is playing an important role in local sport.

Building management systems are vital for HVAC performance and efficiency, but if they’re poorly designed or maintained, they can cause serious problems. Chris Stamatis, M.AIRAH, and Trevor Smith, Affil.AIRAH, showed Nick Johns-Wickberg and Mark Vender how these complex systems work in practice.