The post COVID era and rethinking ventilation in sustainable buildings: a review

Roya Bamzar; Asifa Iqbal; Petra Norlund; Ehsan Noroozinejad Farsangi

doi:10.1007/978-981-96-8769-5_8

The post COVID era and rethinking ventilation in sustainable buildings: a review

Roya Bamzar, Asifa Iqbal, Petra Norlund, Ehsan Noroozinejad Farsangi

Western Sydney University

University of Gävle

Research output: Chapter in Book / Conference Paper › Conference Paper › peer-review

Abstract

A building is not sustainable unless it contributes to improving the health of the occupants. By the end of August 2022, more than 600 million people have been infected, and about 6.5 million have died from COVID-19. An immense number of studies have been conducted and published in the fields of General Internal Medicine and Public Environmental and Occupational Health. However, little attention has been paid to the physical characteristics of the built environment where all the interactions between people and in particular airborne transmission of COVID-19 take place. This article aims to conduct a review of the effects of ventilation and air conditioning on the spread of COVID-19 worldwide. The paper makes a review of the building design solutions for infection prevention in the history of architecture and discusses the scientific evidence on the effectiveness of air conditioning on the prevalence of COVID-19. This review puts together the available empirical evidence to explain why there is a need to reconsider the building design approaches in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a post-COVID era.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Construction Applications of Virtual Reality, Volume 3: Select Proceedings of CONVR 2024
Editors	Ehsan Noroozinejad Farsangi, Aso Haji Rasouli, Nashwan Dawood, Greg Morrison
Place of Publication	Singapore
Publisher	Springer
Pages	123-132
Number of pages	10
ISBN (Electronic)	9789819687695
ISBN (Print)	9789819687688
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-8769-5_8
Publication status	Published - 2025
Event	International Conference on Construction Applications of Virtual Reality - Sydney, Australia Duration: 3 Nov 2024 → 5 Nov 2024 Conference number: 24th

Publication series

Name	Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering
Volume	685 LNCE
ISSN (Print)	2366-2557
ISSN (Electronic)	2366-2565

Conference

Conference	International Conference on Construction Applications of Virtual Reality
Abbreviated title	CONVR
Country/Territory	Australia
City	Sydney
Period	3/11/24 → 5/11/24

Keywords

Building ventilation and COVID-19
COVID-19 and indoor environment
COVID-19 and ventilation

Access to Document

10.1007/978-981-96-8769-5_8

Cite this

Bamzar, R., Iqbal, A., Norlund, P., & Farsangi, E. N. (2025). The post COVID era and rethinking ventilation in sustainable buildings: a review. In E. Noroozinejad Farsangi, A. H. Rasouli, N. Dawood, & G. Morrison (Eds.), Construction Applications of Virtual Reality, Volume 3: Select Proceedings of CONVR 2024 (pp. 123-132). (Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering; Vol. 685 LNCE). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-8769-5_8

Bamzar, Roya ; Iqbal, Asifa ; Norlund, Petra et al. / The post COVID era and rethinking ventilation in sustainable buildings : a review. Construction Applications of Virtual Reality, Volume 3: Select Proceedings of CONVR 2024. editor / Ehsan Noroozinejad Farsangi ; Aso Haji Rasouli ; Nashwan Dawood ; Greg Morrison. Singapore : Springer, 2025. pp. 123-132 (Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering).

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abstract = "A building is not sustainable unless it contributes to improving the health of the occupants. By the end of August 2022, more than 600 million people have been infected, and about 6.5 million have died from COVID-19. An immense number of studies have been conducted and published in the fields of General Internal Medicine and Public Environmental and Occupational Health. However, little attention has been paid to the physical characteristics of the built environment where all the interactions between people and in particular airborne transmission of COVID-19 take place. This article aims to conduct a review of the effects of ventilation and air conditioning on the spread of COVID-19 worldwide. The paper makes a review of the building design solutions for infection prevention in the history of architecture and discusses the scientific evidence on the effectiveness of air conditioning on the prevalence of COVID-19. This review puts together the available empirical evidence to explain why there is a need to reconsider the building design approaches in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a post-COVID era.",

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Bamzar, R, Iqbal, A, Norlund, P & Farsangi, EN 2025, The post COVID era and rethinking ventilation in sustainable buildings: a review. in E Noroozinejad Farsangi, AH Rasouli, N Dawood & G Morrison (eds), Construction Applications of Virtual Reality, Volume 3: Select Proceedings of CONVR 2024. Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, vol. 685 LNCE, Springer, Singapore, pp. 123-132, International Conference on Construction Applications of Virtual Reality, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 3/11/24. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-8769-5_8

The post COVID era and rethinking ventilation in sustainable buildings: a review. / Bamzar, Roya; Iqbal, Asifa; Norlund, Petra et al.
Construction Applications of Virtual Reality, Volume 3: Select Proceedings of CONVR 2024. ed. / Ehsan Noroozinejad Farsangi; Aso Haji Rasouli; Nashwan Dawood; Greg Morrison. Singapore: Springer, 2025. p. 123-132 (Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering; Vol. 685 LNCE).

Research output: Chapter in Book / Conference Paper › Conference Paper › peer-review

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AB - A building is not sustainable unless it contributes to improving the health of the occupants. By the end of August 2022, more than 600 million people have been infected, and about 6.5 million have died from COVID-19. An immense number of studies have been conducted and published in the fields of General Internal Medicine and Public Environmental and Occupational Health. However, little attention has been paid to the physical characteristics of the built environment where all the interactions between people and in particular airborne transmission of COVID-19 take place. This article aims to conduct a review of the effects of ventilation and air conditioning on the spread of COVID-19 worldwide. The paper makes a review of the building design solutions for infection prevention in the history of architecture and discusses the scientific evidence on the effectiveness of air conditioning on the prevalence of COVID-19. This review puts together the available empirical evidence to explain why there is a need to reconsider the building design approaches in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a post-COVID era.

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PB - Springer

CY - Singapore

Y2 - 3 November 2024 through 5 November 2024

ER -

Bamzar R, Iqbal A, Norlund P, Farsangi EN. The post COVID era and rethinking ventilation in sustainable buildings: a review. In Noroozinejad Farsangi E, Rasouli AH, Dawood N, Morrison G, editors, Construction Applications of Virtual Reality, Volume 3: Select Proceedings of CONVR 2024. Singapore: Springer. 2025. p. 123-132. (Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering). doi: 10.1007/978-981-96-8769-5_8

The post COVID era and rethinking ventilation in sustainable buildings: a review

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Keywords

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