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August 27, 2026
Moisture remains one of the most persistent and challenging risks affecting building performance, indoor environmental quality and asset outcomes, particularly in tropical and subtropical climates.
These issues will be a key focus of AIRAH’s Indoor Air Quality Conference (IAQ26), where A.G. Coombs Advisory’s John Bourne will contribute as a site tour leader, presenter and panellist. The conference will bring together industry professionals to explore the theme From Pathways to Outcomes: Evidence, Buildings, and Human Impact.
Site inspection highlights tropical moisture management
John, Senior Engineer and Leader – Sustainability at A.G. Coombs Advisory, will lead the James Cook University Cairns Tropical Enterprise Centre (CTEC) site inspection. The recently completed 3,500m² facility is the first mass timber commercial building constructed in North Queensland and provides a valuable case study in moisture management for tropical construction. Delegates will explore the building’s HVAC design, moisture management strategy and lessons learned from delivering a high-performance building in a hot-humid climate.
Sharing practical lessons from managing moisture risk
John will also present Wet Hard, a session examining the gap that can exist between design assumptions, standards and operational reality when managing moisture risk in buildings.
He will then join industry peers for the closing panel discussion, Moisture Max: Fury Road, exploring what needs to change across standards, building enclosure design and project delivery to improve moisture resilience and long-term building performance.
Further reading on moisture and mould
Many of the issues being discussed at IAQ26 are also explored in Silent Threat, published in the latest edition of Building Efficiency – BE Magazine, and in the A.G. Coombs Advisory Note Mould in Buildings and HVAC Systems. Together, these resources examine the causes, impacts and management of moisture and mould in the built environment.
A.G. Coombs is pleased to support the ongoing exchange of knowledge that helps create healthier, more resilient and better-performing buildings.
Learn more
To discuss any of the topics being explored at IAQ26, including moisture management, mould prevention, commissioning, indoor environmental quality and building performance, contact John Bourne from A.G. Coombs Advisory.
You can also explore these issues in greater detail through the A.G. Coombs Advisory Note Mould in Buildings and HVAC Systems and the BE Magazine feature article Silent Threat.
