04.

Building Biology

VOCs/Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ)

Design/Regional Building Materials

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Learning outcomes.
By the end of today’s class, you will gain a better understanding of:

◎ Building Biology
◎ VOCs
◎ Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) Design
◎ Regional Building Materials

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Building biology.

“Building biology is defined as the study of holistic

interrelationships between humans and their living
environment.

It is a synonym for the environmentally friendly and

pollution-free development of buildings, which are, at
the same time, able to meet the occupants’
requirements for a comfortable and healthy living
environment” (Khouli, 18)

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Protection of public health.

◎ Building biologists work as consultants to provide advice on how to improve the health of
indoor spaces, in addition to the conservation of natural resources and promoting
responsible approaches to nature.
◎ Their research his often concerned with assessing possible health hazards caused by
noise, pollutants, mould, radon and electric magnetic fields.
◎ Building biology addresses three main types of indoor loads:

1. Biological Load Indoors: prevent indoor mould, fungi and bacteria growth;
reduction of allergens
2. Chemical Load Indoors: reduction of pollutants
3. Physical Load Indoors: reduction of low and high-frequency electric and magnetic
fields, and radon levels

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Healthy environments.

Comfort: wellbeing through aspects related to the living and working environments.

◎ Involves assessing the impact of indoor air and surface temperatures, air humidity or the
colour and light concepts applied within the building and affecting the occupants

Wellbeing: physical and psychological health

◎ Analysis of biological, chemical and physical loads indoors

◎ Taking measurements of pollutant emissions deriving from construction materials (VOCs)
◎ Investigating the concentration of dust and pollutants in indoor air
◎ Surveying rooms for mould infection
◎ Analysis and reduction of hazards caused by radon indoors

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Performance.

◎ Performance = assessment of capacity to do work

◎ An important aspect of building biology is to avoid
“Sick Building Syndrome”, which is generally caused
by indoor air pollution, carelessly maintained air
conditioning units, which can in turn lead to allergies,
headaches, tiredness, infections and asthma.

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Protection of natural
resources.
The protection of natural resources includes the
following aspects:

◎ Conservation of material resources

◎ Conservation and rehabilitation of land and soil
◎ Sustainable management and conservation of
biosphere
◎ Promotion of building materials recyclability.

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Discuss.
What are VOCs? Define VOC and make a list of where they are typically found in buildings.

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Volatile organic
compounds (VOCs).
◎ Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) are carbon-
containing compounds that evaporate readily at
room temperature and are found in many
housekeeping, maintenance, and building products
made with organic chemicals.
◎ In any indoor environment, there can be up to 100
different VOCs in varying concentrations.
◎ Carbon filters can be used to adsorb VOCs, but they
must be replaced regularly, as the odors deplete the
carbon.

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Classes of VOCs.

There are six major classes of VOCs:

◎ Aldehydes (formaldehyde)
◎ Alcohols (ethanol, methanol)
◎ Aliphatic hydrocarbons (propane, butane, hexane)
◎ Aromatic hydrocarbons (benzene, toluene, xylene)
◎ Ketones (acetone)
◎ Halogenated hydrocarbons (methyl chloroform, methylene chloride)

Formaldehyde is the most commonly occurring VOC and is found in many common products
such as paints, wood products and floor finishes.

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Pollutants in buildings.

◎ In order to ensure a harmless environment for occupants, buildings should be completed

with as few pollutants as possible.
◎ When choosing construction materials that are non-hazardous to health, it is important
to understand that some pollutants are incorporated into the building that do not
develop their harmful effect until years later.

Pollutants in buildings can be found in the form of;

◎ Adhesives and Sealants: pose the greatest threat during their application and curing.
◎ Finishes: paints, stains, varnishes,
◎ Particleboard and Plywood: emit VOCs from the UF in adhesives
◎ Floor and Wall Coverings: emit VOCs during installation process
◎ Insulation and Ceiling Tiles: can be composed of adhesives and fibrous materials that
contribute to VOC and particulate contaminants.

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Ecolabels.

◎ There are various assessment tools to help planners select building materials and
auxiliary building materials that are not hazardous to health.
◎ Type I Environmental Product Declarations are labels and seals of approval certifying
that building products are harmless and safe for use.
◎ They are based on specific tests and identify products which are, within a particular
product group, more environmentally friendly than others concerning specific aspects.
◎ Credible ecolabels offer transparency on the testing procedures involved in awarding
labels, for example by offering a detailed description of the assessment criteria.
◎ They usually include information on the certified products which might be helpful for
reference purposes.
◎ Type III Environmental Product Declarations are based on a life cycle assessment of the
product in question, provide information on potential danger that has already been
identified but not yet proven.

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 product groups
Coating materials, sealants (based on
synthetic materials), wood-based materials,
panel adhesives, mineral building products,
wood and cork flooring products, parquet
flooring, laminate flooring, carpets, resilient
and exterior flooring products
assessment criteria
Emission assessment for formaldehyde, VOC,
TVOC and TSVOC, etc., as well as
assessments of hazardous contents, such as
heavy metals, pesticides, biocides,
plasticizers, etc.

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 product groups assessment criteria
Adhesives, primers, undercoating paints, Emission assessment for VOC, TVOC and
surface fillers, underlays, insulation materials, TSVOC.
parquet varnishes, screed, etc.

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 product groups assessment criteria
Wood/engineered wood products Environmentally friendly, socially beneficial
and economically viable forest management
and maintenance.

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 product groups assessment criteria
Socially, ecologically and economically Socially, ecologically and economically
acceptable wood management. acceptable wood management.

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 product groups assessment criteria
Floor coverings (carpets) The aim is to end child labour, secure
incomes and good working conditions,
awarded worldwide for carpets from India organize social and educational programs
and Nepal and check that minimum environmental
standards are met.

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 Indoor environmental
quality (IEQ).
◎ One of the key goals in the design of high-
performance, green buildings is providing excellent
indoor environmental quality (IEQ).
◎ The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
defines IEQ as, “the quality of the air in an office or
other building environment“ (Kibert, 421).
◎ Aspects that are considered in IEQ are indoor air
quality, lighting quality, daylighting, exterior views,
acoustics, noise and vibration control, thermal
comfort and control, odors, electromagnetic
radiation, potable water monitoring, and ergonomics.

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Indoor environmental factors.

◎ The indoor environment of a building has a complex makeup.

◎ The factors that comprise IEQ include:

1. Chemical: classified according to the form they take at room temperature: vapor,
gas, liquid, or particulate.
2. Physical: problems are traceable primarily to the electrical and mechanical
infrastructure of a building. They include sound/noise transmission, lighting quality,
thermal conditions, and odors.
3. Biological: contaminants include bacteria, fungi, viruses, algae, insect parts, and
dust, which may result in allergenic or pathogenic reactions.

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Building elements affecting IEQ.

Ventilation and performance standards

Operation and Maintenance of the Ventilation system operational routines and schedules
Building Housekeeping and cleaning
Equipment maintenance, operator training
Occupant activities: occupational, educational, recreational,
domestic
Occupants of the Building and Their
Metabolism: activity and body characteristic dependent
Activities
Personal hygiene: bathing, dental care, toilet use
Occupant health status
Equipment: heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC),
elevators
Building Contents Materials: emissions from building products and the materials
used to clean, maintain, and resurface them
Furnishings and appliances

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 Climate, moisture
Ambient air quality: particles and gases from combustion,
industrial processes, plant metabolism (pollen, fungal spores,
Outdoor Environment bacteria), human activities
Soil: dust particles, pesticides, bacteria, radon
Water: organic chemicals including solvents, pesticides, by-
products of treatment process chemical reactions
Envelope: material emissions, infiltration, water intrusion
Building Fabric Structure
Floors and partitions

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Sound and noise
transmission.
◎ The basic premise in creating an acoustically
acceptable indoor environment is to ensure that
sound levels in particular areas of a building are at or
below an acceptable range for the specific
application.
◎ This is achieved through the use of sound absorbing
materials, sound and noise attenuating surfaces,
isolating air handlers and other noisy equipment,
and HVAC systems that are quiet and don’t carry
conversations.
◎ In wall construction, we are concerned with
achieved a specific STC rating between spaces.

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Lighting quality.

◎ The ideal healthy indoor light environment is one

that allows natural light indoors or whose lighting
system replicates natural light as closely as
possible.
◎ Poor lighting also has effects on mood. The eye is
most comfortable with natural sunlight, which
changes in intensity and color throughout the day.
◎ Flickering and glare can also cause irritation and
health problems.
◎ Daylighting has enormous health benefits as it
contributes directly to human health and can
provide energy savings when well designed.

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Thermal conditions.

Thermal comfort for building occupants is a major

objective of most high-performance building projects
and involves the interplay of several parameters:

◎ Air speed
◎ Temperature
◎ Humidity
◎ Radiant Temperature

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-

Conditioning Engineers’ (ASHRAE), is the basis for
thermal comfort for buildings in the United States.

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Odors.

◎ Odors can be difficult to address because they are

subjective.
◎ Typical sources of odors in the indoor environment
include tobacco smoke, human body odor, and
cleaning and personal grooming products.
◎ Off-gassing of building materials is another common
source of smells.
◎ Some building spaces should be negatively
pressurized and isolated from other spaces, in
addition to being exhausted directly to the
building’s exterior.

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Radon.

◎ Radon, a colorless and odorless gas, is the product

of the decay of the radium isotope that results from
the disintegration of uranium-238.
◎ Radon daughters form compounds that bind to dust
particulates in the atmosphere. When inhaled, these
particles can lodge in the respiratory system and
cause damage due to the alpha particle radiation
they emit.
◎ In buildings, radon occurs primarily through diffusion
from the underlying subsoil into the building
structure.

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Combustion by-
products.
◎ Combustion by-products are created under
conditions of incomplete combustion.
◎ The primary sources of combustion by-products
that contribute to the contamination of indoor air
are gas, wood, and coal stoves; unvented kerosene
space heaters; fireplaces under downdraft
conditions; and tobacco smoke.
◎ The major by-products include carbon dioxide
(CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide
(NO2 ), sulfur dioxide (SO2 ), and particulates.
◎ Their health effects can vary, depending on the type
of by-product produced (Kibert, 427).

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◎ Carbon Dioxide (CO2): colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas. Although it is a by-product
of combustion, it is relatively harmless; it is a natural product of respiration.
◎ Carbon Monoxide (CO): colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas, but it must not be
confused with CO2. The effects of high-level CO exposure can range from nausea and
vomiting to headaches and dizziness to coma and death.
◎ Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2): Concentrated NO2 is a dark-brown gas with a strong odor.
Exposure can cause irritation of the skin and eyes and other mucous membranes.
◎ Sulfur Dioxide (SO2): is a colorless gas with a suffocating odor. The primary physical
effect of SO2 exposure is bronchoconstriction, which begins at considerably lower levels
for people with asthma.
◎ Combustion Particulates: Particulates produced by combustion can affect lung function
directly. The smaller the particulates, the more deeply they penetrate the lungs and thus
the more dangerous they become (Kibert, 427-428).

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Water quality.

◎ The building water system should be designed to

provide the appropriate quality of water for all
purposes.
◎ Potable water is needed for drinking, kitchen sinks,
water fountains, lavatories, and dishwashers, and its
quality should be monitored to ensure that it does
not contain inappropriate levels of various metals
and bacteria. Good-quality water that does not
meet potable water standards can be incorporated
into the building for uses such as flushing toilets and
urinals and for landscape irrigation.

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Sick building syndrome.

◎ Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) is a “condition in which at least 20 percent of the building
occupants display symptoms of illness for more than two weeks, and the source of these
illnesses cannot be positively identified” (Bas 1993).
◎ Typically, SBS is diagnosed when the affected employees’ symptoms disappear almost
immediately on leaving the building.
◎ Most of the structures that fall victim to SBS are modern office buildings of the last two
decades that are tightly sealed, with few operable windows.
◎ Symptoms of SBS may include headache; fatigue and drowsiness; irritation of the eyes,
nose, and throat; sinus congestion; and dry, itchy skin.
◎ Some occupants relate SBS to stress-like headaches, coughs, and the inability to
concentrate, while others experience dry skin or rashes (Bass 1993).

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Integrated IEQ design.

◎ The complex range of IEQ issues warrants an integrated approach to the design of
buildings to maximize the quality of human occupied spaces.
◎ Specifying materials that contain zero or low VOCs and entryway systems that remove
chemicals and dust particles from people entering the building are examples of materials
and product specifications that can contribute to good IEQ.
◎ Designing an integrated daylighting/lighting system often involves CAD design and the
selection of windows that can both facilitate good daylighting and minimize solar thermal
heat gains in the building.
◎ The construction phase of the project is important in ensuring a high-quality indoor
environment because best practices can eliminate possible future causes of indoor
environmental problems.
◎ The operations and maintenance phase is key to good long-term IEQ.

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The Whole Building Design Guide (www.wbdg.org) provides an overview of integrated IEQ
design and suggests that good IEQ in buildings is achieved by:

◎ Facilitating good design, construction, and operating and maintenance practices.

◎ Making value aesthetic decisions i.e., importance of views and the integration of natural
and man-made elements.
◎ Providing thermal comfort with a maximum degree of personal control over temperature
and airflow.
◎ Supplying adequate levels of ventilation and outside air for acceptable IAQ.
◎ Preventing airborne bacteria, mold, and other fungi through building envelope design that
properly manages moisture sources and with HVAC system designs that effectively
control indoor humidity.
◎ Using materials that do not emit pollutants or are low emitting.
◎ Ensuring acoustic comfort through sound absorbing material and equipment isolation.
◎ Controlling disturbing odors through contaminant isolation and removal.
◎ Creating a high-performance luminous environment through integration of natural and
artificial light sources.
◎ Providing quality water.

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Regional materials.

◎ When selecting construction materials, it is extremely important to increase demand for

building materials and products that are extracted and manufactured within the region.
◎ This promotes the use of indigenous resources and reduces the environmental impacts
resulting from transportation.
◎ LEED allocates two possible points to Materials and Recourses MRc5 for using regional
materials.

To achieve this credit, a project must:

◎ Use building materials or products that have been extracted, harvested or recovered, as
well as manufactured, within a specified distance of the project site for a minimum of 10%
or 20%, based on cost, of the total materials value.
◎ If only a fraction of a product or material is extracted, harvested, or recovered and
manufactured locally, then only that percentage (by weight) must contribute to the
regional value.

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Option 1
◎ All building materials or products have been extracted, harvested or recovered, as well as
manufactured within a 500-mile (800 kilometer) radius of the project site.

Option 2
◎ Building materials or products shipped by rail or water have been extracted, harvested or
recovered, as well as manufactured within a 500 mile (800 kilometer) total travel
distance of the project site using a weighted average determined through the following
formula:

(Distance by rail/3) + (Distance by inland waterway/2) + (Distance by sea/15) + (Distance by

all other means) ≤ 500 miles [800 kilometers]

◎ Mechanical, electrical and plumbing components, and specialty items such as elevators
and equipment cannot be included in all calculations. Include only materials permanently
installed in the project. Furniture may be included if it is included consistently in MR.
Credit 3: Materials Reuse through MR Credit 7: Certified Wood.

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Homework.
◎ Participate in the Weekly Brief: IEQ Design on LMS.

◎ Complete the assigned readings before next class.

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References.
Kibert, C. J. (2016). Sustainable Construction: Green Building Design and Delivery, 4th ed. Chapter 13: Indoor Environmental Quality.
(pp.421-464) John Wiley & Sons.

Khouli, S. E., John, V., & Zeumer, M. (2015). Sustainable Construction Techniques: From Structural Design to Interior Fit-out:
Assessing and Improving the Environmental Impact of Buildings. Environmental objectives, criteria, and assessment methods
(pp.16-36) Ed. Detail Green Books.

LEED v4.1 for Design and Construction: Indoor Environmental Quality. (n.d.). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2akSxlgECVg

MikeHolmesOnline. (2021, March 31). The ultimate healthy home | The Holmes on Homes Podcast with Mike Holmes | EP01.
YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_H6IWI98PmA

Regional materials. U.S. Green Building Council. (n.d.). https://www.usgbc.org/credits/new-construction-schools/v2009/mrc5

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