Buro Happold led CFD modelling for Yale study on plant biofilters that could cut indoor CO2 below outdoor lev…

Buro Happold has published details of its role in a Yale-led study which found that plant-based biofiltration systems could reduce indoor carbon dioxide to levels below those outdoors, and that airflow and lighting design can dramatically change how well such systems perform.

The engineering consultancy said it led the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis for the research, running about 100 simulations to test how different architectural configurations and real-world installation scenarios affect indoor conditions and system performance.

The study was led by the Yale Center for Ecosystems and Architecture (Yale CEA). The paper, titled "Assessing building-integrated bioremediation infrastructure within the context of unsustainable rising atmospheric CO2", was published in the journal Energy and Buildings in 2026 under DOI 10.1016/j.enbuild.2026.118160, according to Yale CEA.

Patrick Pease, Associate Principal at Buro Happold and one of the paper's authors, said: "The collaboration with research and industry is critical to solve climate adaptation challenges over the next 20-30 years."

The findings

According to Buro Happold's release, the researchers found that relatively simple design choices, particularly airflow and lighting design, can dramatically change how well these systems perform. The release said this helps explain why other studies in the field have sometimes been difficult to replicate.

The point for mechanical and ventilation engineers is the limit of dilution. Yale School of Architecture said ventilation can bring indoor CO2 closer to outdoor levels but cannot reduce it below that baseline. Building-integrated plant and microbial systems, which use photosynthesis to remove CO2 directly from the air, are presented in the research as a complementary approach rather than a replacement for mechanical plant.

Buro Happold said atmospheric CO2 is projected to rise over the next 50 years from 420 parts per million today to as much as 936 ppm, and that people in cities spend more than 90 per cent of their time indoors.

Yale CEA describes building-integrated phytoremediation systems as an active and evolving area of research, and says its work harnesses air-shaping and purification to remediate atmospheric pollutants.

Who was involved

Buro Happold said it contributed expertise in building systems design, environmental performance and the integration of new technologies into the built environment. Its release named Yale CEA, NYU, Purdue, YSE and "others" as partners. Yale School of Architecture's own announcement gives a longer list of academic partners that also includes Weill Cornell Medical School and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. NYU Tandon School of Engineering said its Assistant Professor Elizabeth Hénaff contributed to the study.

Yale CEA lists the paper's authors as including Phoebe Mankiewicz Ledins, Christina Ciardullo, Chunxu Huang and Pease. Anna Dyson, who directs Yale CEA, is also a co-author.

Pease is Buro Happold's Building Performance Leader and is based in the firm's Boston office, according to his company profile. He has worked as a mechanical engineer and energy modeller for more than a decade, is a member of ASHRAE and IBPSA, and sits on the ASHRAE 90.1 ECB sub-committee.

Buro Happold was founded in Bath in 1976 and has more than 1,750 staff across seven UK offices, with more than 3,500 people in 37 locations worldwide, the firm said.

Timing

Buro Happold dated its release 21 October 2026 and said the information was originally published by the Yale School of Architecture. Yale's announcement, headlined "Metabolic Architecture: Yale CEA Designs Living Systems That Could Out-Perform Conventional HVAC", said the findings would be presented at Photosynthetic Cities, a Yale CEA-convened programme at AIA New York, on 24 September.