SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS
‘Building Biospheres’ exhibit to feature CO2 sensors
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The measurement technology company Vaisala has donated some of its leading- edge carbon dioxide sensors to the team responsible for creating a thought-provoking and inspirational exhibit at this year’s Biennale Architettura in Venice, Italy which runs until November 23. One of the key aspirations for the project is to use trees to create an agreeable indoor climate
ommissioned by the Flanders Architecture Institute and curated by landscape architect Bas Smets, the Belgian Pavilion will this year feature an exhibition titled
‘Building Biospheres’. “Climate change and the recent crises that we have faced, are forcing us to rethink the relationship between architecture and nature,” Smets explains. “Historically and traditionally, architecture has isolated itself from the natural world, recreating an indoor climate with heating, ventilation and mechanical tools. As humans we prefer the conditions of a sub-tropical climate, so our project will investigate and demonstrate what happens when sub-tropical plants such as the camphor tree are used to manage the indoor environment.” With its inception in 1895, La Biennale di
Venezia is one of the longest-running cultural festivals in the world, and now features around 30 permanent pavilions established by different countries. In 2025, the goal of the Biennale Architettura will be to eliminate waste, recycle and circulate materials, and regenerate natural systems to demonstrate that the built environment can coexist harmoniously with the natural environment. In November 2024, a prototype of the ‘Building Biospheres’ exhibit was built at the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering at Ghent University, where Professor Kathy Steppe (pictured above left) and her team established a greenhouse facility in which sub-tropical trees are monitored with TreeWatch technology. Prior to the beginning of the Biennale Architettura, all the plants and associated monitoring infrastructure were transported to Venice and re-established within the Belgian Pavilion. Four of the key environmental measurements are light, temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide because these are the factors with greatest influence on indoor human comfort and well-being. Explaining the potential for utilising plants to manage indoor environments, Prof. Steppe says: “In order to maintain optimal conditions inside buildings, it is usually necessary to implement
some form of heating, ventilation and/or air conditioning, but this can be very costly, both financially and from a carbon footprint perspective.” Comparing and contrasting the built and natural environments, she continues, “Plants actively interact with and help regulate their local climate through processes such as photosynthesis and transpiration. This means, for example, that the CO2 produced by humans, other organisms and natural processes can be taken up by plants during photosynthesis, helping to prevent excessive indoor CO2 build-up.” As a greenhouse gas, CO2 levels in the atmosphere are having an impact on climate change. Indoors, CO2 affects the comfort and performance of the people inside a building. Occupied spaces with good air exchange may contain 450-1,000 ppm CO2, but anything above this can induce drowsiness. Levels above 2,000 ppm CO2 cause headaches, sleepiness, poor concentration, loss of attention, increased heart rate and slight nausea. Exposure to very high levels (from oil/ gas burners or gas leaks for example) can even result in fatalities from asphyxiation. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the operations of buildings account for 30% of global final energy consumption and 26% of global energy-related emissions (8% being direct emissions in buildings and 18% indirect emissions from the production of electricity and heat used in buildings). The climate crisis is therefore challenging all sectors, and the building industry in particular, to find ways to lower greenhouse gas emissions. ‘Building Biospheres’ therefore
32 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER SEPTEMBER 2025 Read the latest at:
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