IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i11p5041-d1668790.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Improving Indoor Air Quality in a Higher-Education Institution Through Biophilic Solutions

Author

Listed:
  • Maria Idália Gomes

    (Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa—ISEL, Polytechnic Institute of Lisbon, Rua Conselheiro Emídio Navarro, 1, 1959-007 Lisboa, Portugal
    CERIS, Department of Civil Engineering, NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA FCT—NOVA University Lisbon, Campus de Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal)

  • Ana Maria Barreiros

    (Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa—ISEL, Polytechnic Institute of Lisbon, Rua Conselheiro Emídio Navarro, 1, 1959-007 Lisboa, Portugal
    UniRE—Unit for Innovation and Research in Engineering, Rua Conselheiro Emídio Navarro, 1, 1959-007 Lisboa, Portugal)

  • Iola Pinto

    (Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa—ISEL, Polytechnic Institute of Lisbon, Rua Conselheiro Emídio Navarro, 1, 1959-007 Lisboa, Portugal
    Center for Mathematics and Applications (NOVA Math), NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA FCT—NOVA University Lisbon, Campus de Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal)

  • Alexandra Rodrigues

    (Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa—ISEL, Polytechnic Institute of Lisbon, Rua Conselheiro Emídio Navarro, 1, 1959-007 Lisboa, Portugal
    UniRE—Unit for Innovation and Research in Engineering, Rua Conselheiro Emídio Navarro, 1, 1959-007 Lisboa, Portugal)

Abstract

Schools are vital infrastructures where students acquire essential skills and foster social values. Indoor air quality (IAQ) is of paramount importance in schools, given that students spend a considerable amount of time indoors. This study examines the influence of a natural green structure (NGS) on IAQ in an Eco-Campus classroom. The IAQ of a classroom with an NGS was compared to that of an adjacent classroom without an NGS. The thermal conditions were monitored, including air temperature (T) and relative humidity (RH), as well as indoor pollutants, including carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and particulate matter (PM 2.5 and PM 10 ). The findings indicated a substantial improvement in indoor air quality in the classroom where the green structure was installed. This study lends support to the incorporation of biophilic solutions as sustainable approaches to fostering healthier learning environments, which in turn can lead to improvements in student performance and well-being.

Suggested Citation

  • Maria Idália Gomes & Ana Maria Barreiros & Iola Pinto & Alexandra Rodrigues, 2025. "Improving Indoor Air Quality in a Higher-Education Institution Through Biophilic Solutions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-24, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:11:p:5041-:d:1668790
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/11/5041/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/11/5041/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Simone Ohlwein & Ron Kappeler & Meltem Kutlar Joss & Nino Künzli & Barbara Hoffmann, 2019. "Health effects of ultrafine particles: a systematic literature review update of epidemiological evidence," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 64(4), pages 547-559, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Roman Vasilevich & Mariya Vasilevich & Evgeny Lodygin & Evgeny Abakumov, 2023. "Geochemical Characteristics of the Vertical Distribution of Heavy Metals in the Hummocky Peatlands of the Cryolithozone," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-20, February.
    2. Fabio Boccuni & Riccardo Ferrante & Francesca Tombolini & Sergio Iavicoli & Pasqualantonio Pingue, 2025. "Opportunities Arising from COVID-19 Risk Management to Improve Ultrafine Particles Exposure: Case Study in a University Setting," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-25, May.
    3. Greta Gerlach & Markus Braun & Janis Dröge & David A. Groneberg, 2022. "Do Budget Cigarettes Emit More Particles? An Aerosol Spectrometric Comparison of Particulate Matter Concentrations between Private-Label Cigarettes and More Expensive Brand-Name Cigarettes," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-11, May.
    4. Dusan Jandacka & Matej Brna & Daniela Durcanska & Matus Kovac, 2023. "Characterization of Road Dust, PM x and Aerosol in a Shopping–Recreational Urban Area: Physicochemical Properties, Concentration, Distribution and Sources Estimation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-18, August.
    5. Katherine L Thayer & Kevin Lane & Matthew C Simon & Doug Brugge & Christina H Fuller, 2022. "An exploratory analysis of sociodemographic characteristics with ultrafine particle concentrations in Boston, MA," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(3), pages 1-12, March.
    6. Monika A. Zielinska & Jadwiga Hamulka, 2019. "Protective Effect of Breastfeeding on the Adverse Health Effects Induced by Air Pollution: Current Evidence and Possible Mechanisms," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-29, October.
    7. Enrico Pisoni & Philippe Thunis & Alexander De Meij & Bertrand Bessagnet, 2022. "Assessing the Impact of Local Policies on PM2.5 Concentration Levels: Application to 10 European Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-14, May.
    8. Vesna Viher Hrženjak & Andreja Kukec & Ivan Eržen & Dalibor Stanimirović, 2020. "Effects of Ultrafine Particles in Ambient Air on Primary Health Care Consultations for Diabetes in Children and Elderly Population in Ljubljana, Slovenia: A 5-Year Time-Trend Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-19, July.
    9. Gyeyoung Choi & Yujeong Kim & Gyeongseon Shin & SeungJin Bae, 2022. "Projecting Lifetime Health Outcomes and Costs Associated with the Ambient Fine Particulate Matter Exposure among Adult Women in Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-14, February.
    10. Ondrej Machaczka & Vitezslav Jirik & Viera Brezinova & Adela Vrtkova & Hana Miturova & Petra Riedlova & Andrea Dalecka & Barbara Hermanova & Hana Slachtova & Grzegorz Siemiatkowski & Leszek Osrodka & , 2021. "Evaluation of Fine and Ultrafine Particles Proportion in Airborne Dust in an Industrial Area," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-14, August.
    11. Markus Braun & Rawya Al-Qaysi & Doris Klingelhöfer & Ruth Müller & David A. Groneberg, 2020. "High Particulate Matter Burden of Cigarettes from the United Arab Emirates and Germany: Are There Country-Specific Differences?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-12, April.
    12. Fabio Boccuni & Riccardo Ferrante & Francesca Tombolini & Sergio Iavicoli & Armando Pelliccioni, 2021. "Relationship between Indoor High Frequency Size Distribution of Ultrafine Particles and Their Metrics in a University Site," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-15, May.
    13. Yang Ni & Wang Song & Yu Bai & Tao Liu & Guoxing Li & Ying Bian & Qiang Zeng, 2021. "Years of Life Lost (YLL) Due to Short-Term Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution in China: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-17, October.
    14. James C. Matthews & Chalida Chompoobut & Panida Navasumrit & M. Anwar H. Khan & Matthew D. Wright & Mathuros Ruchirawat & Dudley E. Shallcross, 2023. "Particle Number Concentration Measurements on Public Transport in Bangkok, Thailand," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(7), pages 1-14, March.
    15. Lu Zhou & Yingmin Tao & Xiaozhen Su & Xiyin Chen & Liang Li & Qingyan Fu & Juan Xie & Renjie Chen, 2022. "Short-Term Associations between Size-Fractioned Particles and Cardiopulmonary Function in COPD Patients: A Panel Study in Shanghai, China, during 2014–2021," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-12, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:11:p:5041-:d:1668790. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.