public building

The environment inside museums such as the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, USA is of utmost importance since permanent damage can be caused to artifacts in the environment is not correctly maintained and controlled. The article describes a longitudinal environmental survey carried out to assess the performance of the facility's HVAC systems and controls. A series of hypotheses was developed and tested to explain deterioration of a number of mammal mounts in the museum's exhibition halls.

Describes the post-construction HVAC system commissioning process done at a new historical museum and archival storage facility. Improper functioning of HVAC was discovered. The building was commissioned after occupation. The paper describes the process of rectifying the problems, and emphasises the importance of employing a commissioning agent throughout the design and construction process.

In order to determine whether high outdoor ozone concentrations are transferred to the indoor climate of museums, a monitoring project was carried out on eleven museums, art galleries, historical houses and a museum library for 38 days over the summers of 1984 and 1985. The differences in indoor ozone levels between the buildings could be explained by differences in building and ventilation system design, and this was verified by a mathematical model. Peak indoor ozone levels were highest in building with no air conditioning but a high rate of air exchange with the outdoors.

Public facilities in Japan were investigated for the presence and distribution of allergenic mites. Dust was analysed from four hospitals, two hotels, two ryokans, one film theatre and four office buildings. Clinically important antigen levels were found in the theatre, and ryokans, but not in the hospitals, hotels or offices.

During September 1998 to April 1999, environmental monitoring was carried out in part of the Djomi Museum, located in the warm humid tropics of Arnhem Land, Australia. An important finding of the study is that in this well sealed building with some thermal mass, internal RH under the influence of the air conditioning was generally higher, and more variable. Importantly for a repository building, in its relatively 'passive' mode the Djomi Museum experienced virtually no combination of conditions likely to lead to major problems with mould.

This paper outlines an environmental design research program on an urban high-rise church complex in Hong Kong. The main focus is on the methodology and process of the integrated design effort of the research team and the project architect during the schematic design and the on-going design development stage. Environmental design concepts and subsequent simulation/evaluation study on the daylighting and ventilation of the main church assembly hall and the progression route are documented.

Recently, the need to control environmental tobacco smoke {ETS) in restaurants and bars has increased. In Finland, a new law prohibiting ETS states that non-smoking areas must be established and the dispersion of tobacco smoke to non-smoking areas must be prevented. Employees' exposure to ETS must also be limited in restaurants to a reasonable level. In this new situation the existing instructions for designing ventilation in the hospitality industry are inadequate.

Nicotine concentration in air has been measured in several restaurants by different measuring techniques. Several problems of the measuring techniques has to be solved before nicotine measurements can be used for approval purposes. For approval purposes, the checking of the ventilation may be more fruitful than nicotine measurements.

This paper gives an outline of the work that has been carried out in developing a positive ventilation chiller. The demand for air cleaning equipment in public areas and work places (especially where smoking is permitted) had previously prompted the development of a highly innovative ventilator, featuring a combination of ventilation, recirculation and filtration of air. A refrigeration system was successfully retrofitted into the ventilation unit. The chiller is aimed at improving the working and living environment where modem air conditioners are beyond affordability.