Building better environments

We keep an eye on issues around the world that affect people and property in the built environment.

With so much comment and speculation around the post-pandemic return to the workplace – and to offices in particular – it was interesting to read that noise-cancelling windows are now on office tenants’ wishlists. In a recent article for Propmodo, Emily Gallagher·referenced the “office arms …

Over the past few years, the Sonitus Systems team has written extensively about the impact of air pollution and poor air quality on human health and on animals. This week on Air Quality News, Martin Guttridge-Hewitt has written an interesting article about the impact of …

Smart Buildings Sensors One of the most overlooked issues with modern workplaces is noise. While the background hum of a lively workplace is something a lot of people enjoy, certain acoustic conditions can be detrimental not just to productivity, but to the welfare of individuals …

The Environmental Protection Agency’s annual report on air quality was published this week and the findings are mixed. While air quality in Ireland “compares favourably” with many other European countries, there are localised issues that are negatively impacting on air quality in a way that …

Throughout the pandemic, daily health warnings called for greater ventilation of all buildings, from homes to hospitals. However, new research by the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) found that the general call for ventilation ignores the impact of environmental pollution sources surrounding the building, from …

Earlier this week, the World Economic Forum published an article titled: ‘Smarter, healthier workplaces could lure us back to the office’.  You can read this article in full here:   https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/07/offices-workplace-technology-environment/ The above article caught our attention for a number of reasons, particularly, the headline. …

This article was originally written for the Institute of Acoustics Bulletin Magazine (www.ioa.org.uk) by Paul McDonald, Managing Director of Sonitus Systems. Machine learning overview The areas of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have seen rapid advances in recent years. These advances, coupled with …

While we may all be getting used to the idea of green buildings that help tackle climate change, another key factor in creating sustainable environments is to look at the human side of things. Healthy workplaces and spaces are environments that are conducive to human …