A Japanese company is claiming huge increases in productivity since introducing artificial srriells into the workplace, and more retailers are using odours to try and influence buying decisions. Ewen Rose asks if smells circulated by the air conditioning system can really help us to work harder and better.

 In 1984 the municipality of Frederikshavn in northern Jutland, Denmark initiated a project for the climatic design of a new housing area. The site is particularly exposed to strong winds all the year round and one of the major tasks was to design the overall building site and the buildings so that major improvements in the exterior wind environment were achieved. Furthermore the design brief from the municipality called for an overall climatic design, where low-energy solutions were combined with consideration of the exterior environment near the buildings.

In the EU Joule project Nat Vent one of the work packages was dealing with controlled air flow inlets. During the last conference in Greece and overview was presented on availability, performances and application of controlled air flow inlets. At the presented poster an interactive IAQ computer tool was demonstrated. This tool has been improved and is now available. Some participating countries in the Nat Vent project have carried out special tests with the NatVent IAQ tool. The NatVent participants were asked to design a natural ventilation system according to their national requirements.

Airborne particulate matter is an important form of pollution, which has generated increasing concern in recent years. As well as contributing to poor visibility and surface soiling, airborne particulate matter can have adverse effects on human health. Construction and other civil engineering sites have been perennial sources of nuisance dust (that is, dust deposited on surfaces and generating complaint). However, there is currently no formal advice or Code of Practice for regulating the emission of particles from construction activity.