Book Description

With increasing levels of pollution in urban areas, the need to improve the quality of the air we breathe becomes more important. In response, local authority planning and environmental health departments are increasingly demanding that those who specify, design or construct buildings should minimise pollution emitted during construction and as a consequence of the building's subsequent use, and should consider what may infiltrate the building in use.

This guide is an introduction to some of the issues that the building design project team will need to be aware of when considering building developments, both new and refurbishment projects.

Standards, legislation and policy (the National Air Quality Strategy) are covered.

The impact of urban layout and building form on the concentration and dispersion of pollutants is discussed. For large or complex urban structures, mathematical and wind tunnel models may be needed to assess the impact of a development on local air quality.

Outdoor air pollution has an impact on indoor air quality and designers of buildings in urban areas need to take this into account when considering natural ventilation for a new building or when siting intakes for air conditioning systems. Filters in mechanical ventilation systems are usually designed to remove particles; removing gaseous pollutants can be complicated and costly, so obtaining better quality air is to be preferred if possible.

The report gives some guidance on how to address air quality issues during building construction and demolition. (Other BRE publications cover this in more detail). Methods of reducing dust on site (the use of water sprays, for example) are briefly covered.

52 pages.