Healthy Indoor Environments: Air Quality in Sustainable Public and Healthcare Buildings
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Health, Well-Being and Sustainability".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 14 August 2026
Special Issue Editor
Interests: indoor air quality (IAQ); microbiological safety and bioaerosols; sustainable indoor environmental design; HVAC systems and filtration technologies; biological water stability and biofilm formation; microbial risk assessment (QMRA); UV-C disinfection; antimicrobial resistance in the environment; environmental biotechnology; microbial ecology and air–water–surface interactions in built environments
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The quality of indoor air has become a key research and societal issue, especially in the context of sustainable building design, health-oriented architecture, and pandemic resilience. Growing evidence demonstrates that microbiological pollutants, bioaerosols, HVAC system inefficiencies, and building materials contribute to health risks, particularly in public buildings and healthcare facilities. As sustainability standards for indoor environments evolve, interdisciplinary approaches are necessary to improve indoor air quality (IAQ), reduce microbial risk, and align architectural design with public health.
This Special Issue aims to gather original research and review papers addressing the complex interrelations among indoor air microbiology, environmental engineering, and sustainable building practices. The focus is on developing evidence-based strategies for assessing and improving IAQ in various public-use facilities—from hospitals to schools and offices—highlighting both technical and biological perspectives.
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to
- Indoor air monitoring and modeling in diverse building types;
- Microbial communities and airborne microbiomes (bioaerosols);
- QMRA (Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment) methods for indoor exposures;
- HVAC system performance and disinfection strategies (UV-C, filtration);
- Building certification and IAQ-related standards (LEED, WELL, BREEAM);
- Smart IAQ monitoring technologies (sensors, IoT);
- Interdisciplinary designs for health-oriented indoor environments;
- Environmental comfort and its relation to health and productivity.
Original research articles and reviews are welcome.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Agnieszka Trusz
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- indoor air quality (IAQ)
- microbiological risk and bioaerosols
- sustainable design
- building management
- environmental comfort
- indoor air pollutants
- HVAC systems and filtration
- building certification (LEED, WELL, BREEAM)
- healthy buildings
- QMRA methods and microbial surveillance
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