Honorable Mention: Biome

The nature of work has changed.
We create healthful living spaces that can help reduce the spread of human pathogens.

We make this possible with: Humidified air
● Ambient humidity above 40% is detrimental to the survival of many viruses, including CoVs.1
● Low ambient humidity impairs the body’s barrier function and resistance against influenza.2
● Indoor humidification is uncommon in most HVAC systems due to cost and maintenance.3
● Targeted in-room humidification can deliver benefits without expensive changes to HVAC.4

Renewed air
● Ventilation remains a key design strategy to mitigate the spread of infectious disease indoors.(5)
● Most airborne viruses are attached to particles that are much larger than the viruses
themselves, allowing for filtration.(6)
● Biome’s living walls actively filter air through carbon filters, 24 hours a day.
Diversified indoor microbiome
● Indoor environments contain bacterial communities that are absent or rare outdoors, including
those closely related to human pathogens.(7)
● Increasing the diversity of indoor bacterial and fungal communities can create communities
that are more similar to outdoor-associated microbial communities.(8)
● Biome’s living walls emit beneficial microbes that re-wild the indoors.
Non-antimicrobial
● The CDC finds no evidence that antimicrobial-treated furniture and fabrics reduce infections
and that proper hand washing is the best way to prevent infection.(9)
● Hand soaps that contain antibacterial agents are found to be no more effective than washing
with plain soap and water, and may cause hormone-related health problems.(10)

(1,3,4) 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic: Built Environment Considerations To Reduce Transmission.
(2) Low ambient humidity impairs barrier function and innate resistance against influenza infection.
(5) Role of ventilation in airborne transmission of infectious agents in the built environment – a multidisciplinary systematic review.
(6) Viruses in the Built Environment (VIBE) meeting report.
(7,8) Architectural design influences the diversity and structure of the built environment microbiome.
(9,10) Banning use of antimicrobial agents for infection control. Kaiser, 2015.