ASSESSMENT OF THE INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY OF THE SEMINAR ROOMS IN SCHOOL OF DESIGN AND ENVIRONMENT BUILDINGS

Abstract

Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) refers to all impacts of the indoor environment on human health and performance, including indoor air quality, day lighting and views, and visual and thermal comfort. The increasing emphasis of IEQ can be seen in Singapore, whereby the government set up guidelines and standards to achieve good IEQ. This is evidenced by the recent emergence of BCA Green Mark for Existing Schools Version 1.0. This study aimed to investigate the IEQ of the seminar rooms (SR) located at the School of Design and Environment (SDE) in National University Singapore (NUS) and compare the results with the current local established standards and guidelines. Objective and subjective measurements were carried out in SR 12 and SR 4 of SDE. The objective measurement includes measurement of operative temperature, relative humidity, Total Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOC), particulate matter, total mould and bacterial counts, air velocity, concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) and carbon monoxide (CO), lighting and the sound level of the SRs. The Subjective measurement includes interviews and questionnaire survey. The operative temperature, air velocity and bacteria counts were found to fail to meet the threshold level during the experiment. Results from the subjective assessment revealed the top three sick building syndromes experienced are dry or irritated throat, dry eyes and block or stuffy nose. In addition, a small number of the respondents felt worse for the symptoms they experienced during their stay in the seminar rooms In conclusion, majority of the respondents were satisfied with the IEQ in the seminar rooms based on the respondents’ perception on the overall satisfactory level for the thermal comfort, indoor air quality, lighting and sound level of seminar rooms. Recommendations to improve the IEQ of the seminar rooms have also been made.