Research
Facilitating cross-disciplinary research on healthy buildings through our pump-priming projects and collaborations.
Healthy Buildings Network Leeds
Hyper-local to global
Welcome to the Healthy Buildings Network Leeds, where we collaborate on research, innovation, and education for healthier, more sustainable buildings and their environments.
Born out of a Horizons Challenge Network at the University of Leeds, we empower collaborations across disciplines and between academia, industry, and the public.
8
Funded Projects
500+
Network Members
12+
Partner Organisations
20+
Events Hosted
What We Do
We connect experts, practitioners, and community members to explore how buildings impact health and well-being. Our activities include seminars, funded research projects, and collaborative initiatives to make indoor environments better for everyone.
What Are Healthy Buildings?
Mental & Physical Health
Healthy buildings enhance physical and mental well-being by fostering supportive social, economic, emotional, and environmental indoor climates.
Sustainability
Buildings that minimise environmental impact while maximising occupant comfort through efficient resource use and smart design.
Innovation
Embracing new technologies and approaches to create spaces that actively contribute to occupant health and environmental stewardship.
Design
Design through careful understanding of the end-user with inclusive, safe and collaborative approaches to suit.
People
Empowering people with knowledge and means to act around healthy buildings through education and communication.
Our Projects
Explore our funded research projects that are advancing knowledge in healthy and sustainable building environments.
Our Funded Research
We have funded eight projects across two rounds: four pump-priming projects exploring indoor environments from new angles, and four ECR-led projects that brought research directly to the public through workshops and events.
4
Pump-Priming
Projects
Projects
4
ECR-Led
Projects
Projects
11+
Departments
Involved
Involved
20+
Researchers
& Investigators
& Investigators
Events
Seminars, workshops, and sandpits bringing together researchers, practitioners, and lived-experience experts.
Upcoming
Registration open
6 Nov
2026 · 12–1.15pm
Online
Round Table
Five networks
World Ventilation Day Round Table 2026
Five networks. One motion. You decide. HBN, HESTIA, Air Hub, BreatHE IN and UKIEG each get three minutes to argue the case on indoor air quality, and you vote before and after.
19
Nov 2026
Burning for warmth
Dr Kathy Davies and Dr Rebecca Wright on health, coal, gas and the fight for Britain's living rooms. 12–1pm, Leeds and online.
Recent
Concluded · 17 Sept 2026
Design for Safety: Jenny McLaughlin, Heathrow
Inclusive design, the agency pyramid, and what happens when you try to score something nobody can see.
NIHR Sandpit
Housing, Place & Ageing
Concluded · 8 Sept 2026
NIHR Sandpit: Housing, Place and the Built Environment for an Ageing Population
A half-day of flash talks, themed tables and proposal building, run with Reimagine Ageing to seed applications to the NIHR Public Health Research call.
Concluded · 6 Jul 2026
Seminar: Airborne Infection Transmission, Prof. Yuguo Li (HKU)
A new particle-based framework for modelling airborne infection risk, co-hosted with the Leeds Institute for Fluid Dynamics.
Our Affiliations & Collaborations
EPSRC Networks & Partner Hubs
Research networks and EPSRC-funded hubs working in overlapping areas of built environment, indoor air quality, and healthy homes.
From the Blog
Event write-ups, research spotlights, and perspectives from across the network.
Events
What is the agency score of the air?
Jenny McLaughlin of Heathrow can score a building's inclusion in five photographs. We asked how the same scale copes with something nobody can see.
Read the write-up
Projects
Sonic Belonging: Sound, Space, and What Makes a Building Feel Like Home
Dr Lijun Zhang on how music and acoustic design shape cultural belonging in the built environment, and the project's fusion performance at the Wellbeing Hub.
Read the story
Events
Airborne Infection Risk: Prof. Yuguo Li on a New Way to Model Transmission
A write-up of Prof. Li's (University of Hong Kong) visit to Leeds, covering particle deposition, the branching-process model, and what it means for building ventilation.
Read the recapJoin Our Network
Whether you're a researcher, industry professional, policymaker, or community member, we welcome your involvement in creating healthier, more sustainable building environments.