Good ventilation is essential for healthy, comfortable, and resilient buildings—but as mechanical systems become more dominant, it's critical to ask: are we designing for long-term wellbeing, or creating new dependencies?

This event explores why ventilation matters—not just for compliance or technical performance, but for occupant health, comfort, and the psychological benefits of environmental control. As buildings increasingly rely on mechanical systems, understanding building physics, material choices, and passive design strategies becomes more important than ever.

Through case studies and discussion, we’ll demonstrate how to design for indoor air quality while considering flexibility as well as ethics. We’ll look at how passive and natural ventilation, and low-impact construction materials can support both regulatory standards and 'passive survivability'—the ability for buildings to remain safe and comfortable during power outages or emergencies.

The session will highlight practical examples from engineering and architectural practice, with a focus on avoiding 'eco-bling' and prioritising real, long-term benefits for occupants. Participants are invited to bring project-specific questions for open discussion.