Building Biology Magazine

In August 2024, nine years after the last edition, a new Standard of Building Biology Testing Methods (SBM) was completed, largely without its original initiator and developer Wolfgang Maes. The Building Biology Evaluation Guidelines for Sleeping Areas underwent a thorough revision, and new tools for assessing additional indoor risk factors were introduced for some Standard points. Furthermore, we revised the Testing Conditions, Instructions and Additions and Guiding Principles that supplement the Building Biology Standard and Guideline Values.

Most people find the smell of fresh wood pleasant. It is even assumed that wood has positive health effects according to research and experience. But does this always apply? Even after an indoor installation of solid wood and composite wood materials such as particleboards or OSB boards?

After more than thirty years in Neubeuern, we moved to our new IBN building in Rosenheim in September 2014. This flagship project allows us to demonstrate what building biology is all about and what healthy and sustainable building practices are possible and meaningful. After ten years, it’s time for a progress report: What worked? What didn't work? What would we do differently today?

Most people talk about healthy and sustainable living. But what about workplaces, home offices and other high-use areas? Is everything okay in these areas from a building biology perspective?

Why electrohypersensitivity (EHS) is a biologically expected reaction to harmful radiation.

Katharina Gustavs is a Building Biology Testing Specialist IBN, nutritionist, and translator on Vancouver Island / Canada. From there, she has for many years been promoting building biology in the English-speaking world. She also supervises and translates the English version of the Building Biology Correspondence Course IBN. In this interview she talks about her background and what inspires her about building biology.

For decades, the conditions around high-voltage power lines have been fairly stable, the structure and type of power grids have hardly changed, and it has been well established what types of electromagnetic fields to expect and how to measure relevant exposure levels. This is about to change now and in the future.

Everybody is talking about 5G. The electrosmog debate has been stirred up again and all those concerns about the exposure to electromagnetic fields as well. The industry in particular, but also many other people would like to have faster and more powerful data networks. Yet others are concerned about radiation risks and data security. So what can building biology contribute to the solution, what do we know so far, and what do we have to expect from the future development of our ambient wireless environment?