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From Design Intent to Real Indoor Air Quality
One of the highlights of the programme was also the ATREA workshop “From Design Intent to Real Indoor Air Quality”.
Following a series of shorter technical presentations, a 90-minute panel discussion followed, led by our colleague Luděk Špidla. Its main topic was the journey from the original design of the ventilation system to what matters most – whether it actually functions well in the real building and provides its occupants with a high-quality and healthy indoor environment. The workshop scenario itself was based on the idea that high-quality ventilation is not the result of a single product or a single profession, but of the interplay of a whole range of decisions and areas of expertise.
That is why representatives of the entire building development chain came together at one table. The developer and investor perspective was represented by Jan Řežáb from JRD Group, architectural practice by Miroslav Marko from SMF MARKO, HVAC system design by Jiří Petlach from Petlach TZB, technology manufacturing by Daniel Morávek representing ATREA, and implementation and service experience by Pavla Skalická from Luftuj. The academic and research sector was represented by Ing. Daniel Adamovský, Ph.D. from CTU UCEEB, an expert in indoor environmental quality.
The discussion gradually covered practically the entire life cycle of a ventilation system. The panel addressed when the success or failure of a project is determined, what architects and designers need to resolve in the early stages of the design, where the most common differences arise between an ideal design and the final implementation, and what installation errors can have a major impact on the system's performance, noise levels and reliability. Commissioning the equipment was also an important topic, as was the question of who should verify, and how, whether the resulting indoor environmental quality actually corresponds to the original design.
However, the discussion did not stop at the implementation itself. It also covered user behaviour, proper maintenance, smart control and the use of data from CO₂, humidity, VOC and particulate matter sensors. The topic of certifications such as BREEAM, LEED and WELL was also raised, as well as the relationship between the cost and actual value of high-quality ventilation, and finally the question of what building ventilation will look like in ten years.
The open format was precisely what made the workshop most valuable. It was not another series of prepared presentations, but a lively exchange of experience between different professions. Experts from the audience also joined the subsequent discussion – representatives of the academic and research sectors as well as specialists from various countries around the world. This brought different perspectives on the same issues and showed that the path to a high-quality indoor environment lies above all in cooperation, good coordination and sharing experience across the entire industry.
