Healthy Residential Buildings in the Lake Constance Region - Analysis for Harmonization and Further Development of Standards for the Planning and Assessment of Healthy Residential Buildings

Abstract Emissions from building materials can adversely affect indoor air quality in residential buildings. To prevent this, various assessment systems, labels, and planning tools for pollutant-free construction materials emerged. However, these diverse planning tools and certification systems often vary in content, comprising different definitions, test specifications, measurement criteria, and limit values. Particularly, in border regions like the Lake Constance region, where Germany, Austria, and Switzerland intersect, these differences can hinder the development of a shared internal market for low-pollutant building materials. Harmonizing the requirements for building materials and collectively advancing the different planning tools and certification systems present an excellent opportunity to promote across-the-board pollutant-free buildings. As part of the research project “wohngesund,” funded by the Interreg V Alpenrhein Bodensee Hochrhein program, criteria for pollutant-free residential building standards established in the Lake Constance region were investigated. This research not only analysed the different product requirements but also explored the evolution, relevance to product labels, and quality assurance methods of the building standards under investigation. Methodical approaches were developed to discern the variances and similarities of these standards. After an extensive review of the literature on the current state of scientific knowledge, legal requirements, and recent product developments, significant pollutant-related issues were spotted, ultimately laying the groundwork for a joint effort in evolving the criteria catalogues. Based on studies of existing criteria catalogues, some topics currently absent from the catalogues but deemed highly relevant were recognized: synthetic nanomaterials, human and ecotoxic substances not addressed by REACH, and the dispersal of microplastics from the construction sector into the environment.