Building Healthier Environments Indoors
Addressing the relationship between
population health and the built environment
Why we exist
The UK is entering one of the most significant periods of building and retrofitting in decades. With more than 1.5 million new homes planned in the next five years — and 80% of existing housing stock over 40 years old — the decisions made today will shape population health for generations.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought renewed attention to airborne pollutants and pathogens, particularly within indoor environments. Advances in sensors, filtration, and ventilation technologies have increased awareness of indoor air quality. Yet, despite these developments, there remains a critical gap: comprehensive methodologies and practical tools are still needed to embed health considerations systematically into building design, operation, and retrofit.
Building Healthier Environments Indoors Network (BreatHE IN) was established to ensure that health is not an afterthought, but a central consideration in the transformation of the UK’s built environment.
Our vision and approach
‘BreatHE IN provides a platform and resources to facilitate the interaction between researchers and stakeholders from different disciplines and sectors and to train the new generation of experts to design healthier indoor environments.’
Associate Professor Bruño Fraga
BreatHE IN Project Lead
University of Birmingham
Build a National, Cross-Disciplinary Network
We are creating a UK-wide network that connects engineers, building scientists, public health researchers, data scientists, industry leaders, policymakers, and community stakeholders. By bringing together state-of-the-art expertise, BreatHE IN fosters collaboration across disciplines and sectors to address the complex relationship between indoor environments and population health.
Catalyse Innovative and Sustainable Research
As a collaborative hub, BreatHE IN enables high-quality, forward-looking research that benefits both existing infrastructure and future developments. Through sandpits, pump-priming funding, and cross-sector partnerships, we stimulate innovative, high-impact projects that contribute to healthier, more sustainable built environments — particularly in the context of the UK’s large-scale retrofit and decarbonisation agenda.
Develop a Holistic Framework for Healthy Buildings
We place the built environment at the centre of analysis. Our aim is to develop an integrated framework that recognises buildings as dynamic systems — where ventilation, materials, infrastructure, data, behaviour, and health outcomes intersect. This holistic perspective supports resilient, safe, and adaptable indoor environments across diverse UK building archetypes.
Champion Engineering Solutions for Healthy Indoor Environments
BreatHE IN promotes engineering-led approaches to diagnosing, monitoring, and improving indoor environmental quality. We accelerate the transfer of knowledge between academia, industry, and the public sector to support evidence-based design, operation, and retrofit of buildings that protect and enhance occupant health.
Our funders and partners
