Insights from two weeks at the center of global conversations on IEQ and healthy buildings
Over the past two weeks, the global conversation on indoor environmental quality (IEQ) has played out across some of the most influential industry gatherings in the world, from The International Surface Event (TISE) and the Las Vegas Winter Market, to the ASHRAE Winter Conference and the AHR Expo. For the iAIR Institute, these events acted as forums where science, standards, industry, and public health intersect.
As Principal of the iAIR Institute, Dr John McKeon’s schedule in Las Vegas reflected both the breadth and depth of that intersection. Moving between flooring and furnishings, ventilation and air cleaning, and standards development and policy leadership, his engagements over this period reflect a message that sits at the heart of iAIR’s mission: healthy indoor environments are shaped by the whole building ecosystem (materials, systems, behaviour, and governance) not by any single intervention in isolation.
Reframing Surfaces as Active Contributors to Indoor Environmental Quality
Dr McKeon’s week began at The International Surface Event (TISE), where the growing prominence of health, wellness, and indoor air quality across the flooring sector was unmistakable. Education-led programming from the World Floor Covering Association and the Resilient Floor Covering Institute signalled a shift away from viewing floors as passive design elements toward recognising them as active components of indoor environments.
Conversations with industry leaders, including the Tarkett leadership team, reinforced this evolution. For years, Tarkett has engaged in research with the iAIR Institute and participated in the Asthma & Allergy Friendly® Certification Program, building a substantial portfolio of certified products across residential and commercial applications. These long-term collaborations reflect a maturing understanding of material science, from volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions to the role of surfaces in allergen accumulation, persistence, and removal.
In the context of IEQ, floor coverings sit at the intersection of exposure and behaviour. Choices in materials, maintenance, and cleaning practices directly influence the allergenic and microbial burden in indoor spaces. The renewed focus on innovation at TISE highlighted how manufacturers are increasingly engaging with these realities, embedding IEQ considerations into product development rather than treating them as an afterthought.
Home Furnishings, Bedrooms, and the Case for Source Control
From flooring, the conversation expanded naturally into textiles at the Las Vegas Winter Market. Fabrics, bedding, mattresses, and soft furnishings are ubiquitous in indoor environments, particularly in bedrooms, spaces where occupants spend a significant proportion of their lives.
Here, discussions centred on minimizing harmful chemicals, reducing allergenic triggers, and addressing source control at the material level. Many textile and bedding manufacturers have already undergone research with iAIR Labs and achieved certification through the Asthma & Allergy Friendly® Certification Program, demonstrating that meaningful improvements are achievable when health performance is evaluated rigorously.
A recurring theme in these conversations was balance. While engineering controls (improved ventilation, filtration, and air cleaning) remain essential tools, they cannot compensate for poorly chosen materials or behaviours that introduce contaminants at source. A whole-of-house approach requires equal attention to what is brought into indoor spaces, how it is used, and how exposures are managed over time.
ASHRAE: Where Science Becomes Standards
If TISE and the Winter Market highlighted innovation at the product and material level, the ASHRAE Winter Conference represented the system-level backbone of healthy buildings. Dr McKeon’s participation across an exceptionally full agenda reflected iAIR’s longstanding commitment to translating emerging science into robust standards.
A significant milestone during the conference was Dr McKeon’s appointment to the Indoor Environmental Quality Center of Excellence (IEQ CE), a new ASHRAE initiative launched under the leadership of President William McQuade. The IEQ CE aims to accelerate integration across ventilation, air cleaning, energy performance, and human outcomes, precisely the kind of cross-disciplinary alignment that iAIR has long advocated.
Committee work formed the core of this engagement, spanning ventilation standards for residential and non-residential buildings, control of infectious aerosols, environmental health, and advanced air and surface treatment technologies. From SSPC 62.1 and 62.2 to SSPC 241, SGPC 10, and multiple technical committees, these forums are where debates about equivalency, performance, and risk management are actively shaping the future of indoor environments.
Sessions on human-centred IEQ, ventilation equivalency, ultraviolet air and surface treatment, and pollutant source control reinforced a central insight: achieving healthier buildings is not about trading one strategy against another, but about understanding interactions and context. Energy efficiency, decarbonization, and health outcomes must be addressed together, not sequentially.
This perspective was reinforced by Pawel Wargocki’s ASHRAE seminar, “Human-Centered IEQ: Advancing Health and Performance in Modern Spaces,” which highlighted the critical role of humidity in supporting human performance, health, and sleep within modern indoor environments.
Ireland’s Voice in a Global Conversation on Indoor Environmental Quality
Amid the technical intensity of ASHRAE, there was also a strong sense of national and regional contribution. Gathering with ASHRAE Ireland colleagues highlighted the role Ireland continues to play in global discussions on buildings, air, and health, underpinned by leadership in MedTech, DigitalTech, and HealthTech.
Representation on key committees ensures that regional perspectives inform international standards, while also enabling knowledge transfer back into European and Irish contexts. This two-way exchange is so important as buildings face increasing pressures from climate change, urbanization, and evolving public health expectations.
AHR Expo: Convergence in Action
The closing chapter of the trip brought these threads together at the AHR Expo, where the HVACR industry convenes at scale.
Here, discussions ranged from germicidal ultraviolet systems and HVAC cleaning to energy efficiency and airflow optimization. Engagements with leaders from NADCA and academia reinforced the growing recognition that maintenance, commissioning, and operational practices are inseparable from design intent when it comes to indoor air quality.
Across the expo floor and the technical sessions, the dominant narrative was one of convergence — healthier indoor air for people and planet, delivered through collaboration across disciplines that historically operated in silos.
Looking Ahead
Taken together, these two weeks illustrate a clear trajectory for the built environment sector. Surfaces, textiles, ventilation, air cleaning, behaviour, and standards are components of a single, complex system that must be addressed holistically if indoor environments are to support human health, resilience, and sustainability.
For the iAIR Institute, Dr McKeon’s engagements across TISE, ASHRAE, and AHR reaffirm our role at this intersection – bridging science and practice, product and policy, and local insight with global standards. As the industry continues to evolve, iAIR remains committed to advancing evidence-based approaches that recognise the indoor environment as one of the most important determinants of health in modern life.
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External Links
https://www.ashrae.org/conferences/2026-annual-conference-austin