Exploring issues and solutions on indoor environmental quality for sustainable underground space with human occupancy

Indoor environmental conditions can affect occupants’ performance, health, or satisfaction. In many developed countries, due to the lack of above ground space, more buildings are being constructed below ground to increase useable space. Hence, it is essential to understand Indoor Environment Quality (IEQ) for sustainable living underground. Factors affecting IEQ include thermal comfort, indoor air quality, acoustic comfort and visual comfort (Wong et al., 2009). To provide a sustainable underground space for human occupancy, it is imperative to maintain an acceptable underground indoor environment. The purpose of this study was to understand IEQ for sustainable human occupancy in underground spaces. The experiment was conducted in an air-conditioned office building consisting of a ground and underground floor. To determine the IEQ, thermal comfort parameters like air temperature and relative humidity, carbon dioxide and formaldehyde concentration, and particulate matter (PM) counts were measured over duration of four weeks. The findings of this study found that the underground IEQ was better. The problem associated with working in an enclosed air-conditioned environment includes the risk of suffering from Sick Building Syndrome (SBS). In summary, this study found that a building IEQ is not dependent on the space location, either underground or above ground. Instead, factors like the type of building’s floor material, number of occupants and their activities, CO2 concentration and ambient air temperature would affect the IEQ. However, to better assess the sustainability of underground space with human occupancy, the ambient noise level and luminance should also be measured.Bachelor of Engineering (Environmental Engineering