Volume 1 - NUMBER 12

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CONTENTS F U T U R E C I T I E S M E . V O L U M E 1 N u m b e r 1 2

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"the human being iS the yardStick and hiS/her well-being iS our goal"continuing the discussion on the importAnce And implicAtions of indoor Air quAlity (iAq) we sAt down with experts from trox middle eAst, A recognised globAl leAder in indoor Air technology And world-renowned p&t Architects, to find wAys of setting better stAndArds And improving Air quAlity in the region’s construction projects.

Matthias Kasprowicz: ”The human being is the yardstick and his well-being is our goal.“

These words from our late chairman Heinz Trox have been the philosophy that has guided our company from the start unto this day. We breathe more than 20,000 litres

of air everyday, so no another natural element is more vital to our health and wellbeing. TrOX is involved with two universities in Germany where over a 120 students are working on our

research and development projects related to indoor air comfort, health and sustainability. We have always worked with our customers from the very early stages of design. We are now bringing

this philosophy to the region with our products and working methods. The region has seen a number of high-profile projects where everything we see is of very high quality but behind the scenes quality of

systems is not maintained. To change this mindset

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matthaiS kaSprowicz,MAnAging director, troX Middle eAst,jaSon Shilliday,sAles MAnAger, troX Middle eAstStephan frantzen,Architect And MAnAging PArtner, P&t Architectsahmed moSa,senior Architect | sustAinAbility, P&t Architects harry norman,MAnAging director, FliP FloP MediA FZc

of the air itself may be good with lots of oxygen but how the air is blown and at what temperature determines how comfortable people indoors are. So it’s not just about the quality of the air but also how the air is distributed in the indoor environment.

is the building design Community in the gCC aWare of the affeCts of indoor air Quality?Ahmed Mosa: Yes definitely. The majority of the design community are aware of it, for P&T, we have buildings standing for more than 100 years; it was always and will remain a core issue to address for us. From our opinion, it is not an issue of awareness for most; it is more of unorganised priorities and this make the issue of IAQ more serious. The most common example is Tobacco Smoke Control. Everybody knows and aware of the negative impacts of secondhand smoke but still, we see a lot of places that allows smoking indoors, to attract customers, and do not have proper exhaust facilities; we can see that clearly in the older buildings. IAQ is a major concern worldwide but it shall be even bigger here in Middle East, for multiple reasons, first we tend to spend more time indoors with minimum access to fresh air, then due to the weather, our lifestyle and design of buildings. In other climatic zones, we can often just open the window to improve the air quality, easily and relatively quickly. In our climate, we cannot do that in summer months and sometimes all year because of the type/design of buildings we currently have - particularly skyscrapers where you may not be able to open the windows in the top floors safely due to higher wind speeds - our reliance sometimes is fully on mechanical ventilation to provide the required fresh air, which is then limited by energy consumption aspirations. We believe that projects need a design brief for Indoor Air Quality. Not a generic one but a document that specifies values for each aspect of IAQ such as (VOC, formaldehyde, particulate matters concentrations in indoor air); this can be tested before handover and then tested post construction. We think this is the best way to tie in the architects and the design team post construction towards operations, and that will make good IAQ become a bigger design priority.

Matthias Kasprowicz: We are talking about 24x7 exposure to the air throughout the year in skyscrapers. In normal residential areas in the region, in winter we are fine when we open the windows - we feel better. But for about five months a year we cant open the window. I have hardly seen and air ducting systems in any apartment or villa here where

and bring about a greater awareness of good quality indoor air distribution systems we decided to create the XsmartAir project. The XsmartAir project aims to create healthier and more comfortable levels of indoor air in the UAE and the wider Middle East region at a later stage. We have been in discussions with the Government and see a number of encouraging signs so far.

When We talk about iaQ and the siCk building syndrome What are the aCtual issues We are dealing With here?Jason Shilliday: Air conditioning systems in a building are used for heating or cooling the air within. In the Middle East they are always for cooling. Controlling and cooling air is expensive so one cannot always bring in fresh air from outside and control its temperature. So a large percentage of air within a building is recycled. How that is done determines indoor air quality. The quality

AIr CONDITIONING SySTEMS IN A BUIlDINGArE USED FOr HEATING Or COOlING THEAIr WITHIN. IN THE MIDDlE EAST THEy ArEAlWAyS FOr COOlING. CONTrOllING ANDCOOlING AIr IS EXPENSIVE SO ONE CANNOTAlWAyS BrING IN FrESH AIr FrOM OUTSIDEAND CONTrOl ITS TEMPErATUrE.jAson shillidAy

special focus: indoor air quality

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the return air is not going into the supply air and the supply air is not sourced from the rooms themselves. So there is almost no external source of air for the building. In this room where we are sitting, for example, there are two supply vents and two exhaust vents. The exhausts usually just go into the false ceiling and not a duct. This air above the ceiling is then sucked in by a fan coil unit back into supply vent. This endless recirculation of the same air gives rise to a number of respiratory ailments and other diseases. We have a couple of studies, which scientifically prove the effects of bad air systems because there is no sufficient supply of fresh air and unsufficient air treatment. There are adverse effects on students in schools. There is a study by a professor from Berkeley University called William Fisk and it has proven that in a working environment productivity will increase by 4% if there is a proper supply of fresh air. Now convert that in GDP terms we are talking of increased productivity in billions of dirhams only in the UAE. There is another study on room satisfaction, which shows that with only 5% supply of fresh air you have a dissatisfaction level of 55% among the occupants of the building. If supply of fresh air is increased to 25% the dissatisfaction levels will drop to just 8%. A satisfied staff in the office will drop levels of absenteeism due to ill health by over 30% thus increasing productivity and again increasing the GdP. We are talking health, but for others it’s also talking money in the same context.

do you think the government is aWare of the eConomiC benefits of good iaQ?Matthias Kasprowicz: That’s a very good question. They are starting to become aware and are creating

regulatory systems to improve air quality. But we are still at the beginning of a long process.

one of the key mandates of a ProjeCt is initial Cost and often Costs for regularly testing air Quality over a Period of time Post ConstruCtion are negleCted. is that a Common trend here? What are your thoughts on this?Ahmed Mosa: Any given project will have different stakeholders whom sometimes include non-technical members that are concerned mainly by cost related matters, most of the time they will ask questions with focus on initial costs, and you may get disqualified immediately if the initial budget of the project is exceeded, even if the project saves, and generates revenue on the longer term. On that subject, we like to highlight that if we look at the costing of a building over period of fifty years, the initial cost will not exceed 25% and the rest will be operational. But it is only this 25% that is focussed on in the planning stages and that leads to wrong decisions. you can buy a cheap product, get the initial testing approved, but after one or two years of operation, no one knows about its functioning. Initial cost is indeed very important but operational cost must also carry its own weight in a project’s cost considerations, therefore we shall always look at the life Cycle Costs (lCC).

Matthias Kasprowicz: I 100% agree with that. The problem here is that we have mainly design and build projects, so developers have a very limited view and they don’t really care about operations.

Ahmed Mosa: But this is the case in most global cities, short period for return on investment is always a key objective. Therefore, I

I 100% AGrEE WITH THAT. THEPrOBlEM HErE IS THAT WE HAVEMAINly DESIGN AND BUIlDPrOjECTS, SO DEVElOPErS HAVE AVEry lIMITED VIEW AND THEy DON’T rEAlly CArE ABOUT OPErATIONS.mAtthiAs kAsprowicz

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personally believe that change, especially for long term benefits, can be brought about with financial incentives or extra allowable leasable areas to the developer/design team and with simplification of the topic further to the public. When it comes to the later, I think comparing Air quality issues to Water Quality is the key as both goes inside our body and crucial to our wellbeing. Imagine if you gave someone contaminated coloured water to drink. Nobody would touch it because they know they would get sick immediately. The problem with low IAQ is that sometimes we cannot see or smell how bad it is, its effects are generally noticeable only over an extended period time such as Asthma. We hear about improved IAQ so far largely in the context of green buildings only, instead IAQ should be a core factor, like clean water, in the primary MEP considerations of any building project.

Matthias Kasprowicz: The problems caused by bad air-conditioning are now self-evident - especially, in the Middle East where we spend more time indoors than elsewhere. As I mentioned earlier we breathe more than 20000 litres of air every day. By contrast

we drink only two or three litres of water and eat about a kilogram of food. So you can imagine how important breathing good air is - both outdoors and indoors.

Jason Shilliday: From the first cost point of view in terms of mechanical and engineering design it’s a lot cheaper to install an air flow system with a very low fresh air flow rate because the actual cooling capacity required of the coil is a lot less - in villas especially. Most developers almost never factor in good IAQ supply in initial costs.

so aCCordingly you, What PerCentage of fresh air in an indoor system’s CirCulation is Considered healthy?Jason Shilliday: In the UK, for homes about 10 to 12 litres per second per person is considered good. It also depends on the size of the room and the application or activity it is being used for.

Matthias Kasprowicz: This also defined by standards. The DIN EN15251 standard specifies how many litres per second of fresh are required in separate categories - depending on whether it is an office environment, hotel, school, and so on. Another one is DIN 13779 for indoor air that takes into consideration the filtration process and the supply of outdoor air into the room and how often the system needs to be cleaned. Filtration and maintenance is another critical area. A developer or contractor has to get several approvals - including approval for air supply systems - from all kinds of Government agencies in order to construct a building. But one or more years after commissioning those certifications and approvals, particularly for indoor air conditioning systems might not be able to be achieved anymore.

Jason Shilliday: There is quite a lot of research data out there on post occupancy conditions of IAQ and more of that kind of research should be done here as well.

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special focus: indoor air quality

as mentioned earlier, inCentives Can hold the key to Creating better iaQ systems for buildings. Where does attention to that first need to be draWn? is it at the develoPer, ContraCtor level, end user or is at government level?Matthias Kasprowicz: Incentivisation requires a holistic approach that needs to be top down. It must come from the government first. It needs to be formulated as a mandatory policy requirement that will also be monitored throughout the life cycle of a project. There must be a mindset change in the whole construction community including the owners and end users of the building. They should not take a bad air conditioning system for granted. As they don’t take a cheap carpeting for granted they should not tolerate below par air quality standards. And this requires people to be educated and made aware of the risks of a bad indoor air system. It’s not normal to feel cold in one corner of the room and warm in the other. It’s not normal to feel dizzy and lethargic because of excess CO2 or VOCs. “Value Engineering” is often misused to replace high quality systems with sub standard equipment to reduce costs. In public buildings good IAQ is responsibility that governments need to take on if they care about their people’s well being. And its not so difficult if you plan it. Take the capex of a building. Air conditioning is not more than 2% of the total cost. And the cost difference between a low quality and good quality system may be 100% (in the extreme case) at the time of installation. But considering the life cycle cost/benefit analysis of the building this initial investment pays off handsomely in terms of the health and overall productivity of the occupants. This is a point that needs to be emphasized at All levels. Our company, TrOX, has products that solves all these problems and more.

Jason Shilliday: When the governments starts improving IAQ within their own buildings then the philosophy and mindset will start to filter down.

Ahmed Mosa: We definitely do have regulations that cover the percentage of fresh air required indoors, they are aligned with the latest standards from ASHRAE (62.1 & 62.2), but these are minimum to follow. We need and can go a step further by looking at the concentration of different pollutants. When the authorities start

spreading awareness of a better IAQ standards, similar to what’s happening in water, the public will feel its importance and we will start to see faster rate of change in the industry in general and society as a whole.

Jason Shilliday: Due to its regional importance the weightage of lEED points for IAQ should be different here compared to that in other parts of the world.

Matthias Kasprowicz: A good place to spread awareness on the importance of good IAQ is in schools.

but What about existing buildings? hoW We Can Put in PlaCe a system to imProve the air Quality in existing buildings? Jason Shilliday: you can change older buildings. It’s a matter of doing surveys in the rooms of the building to find out what the problems and working backwards to find the solutions at the source of the system. A good maintenance team would be able to do this.

Ahmed Mosa: The task becomes harder in existing buildings, surveys are definitely mandatory to identify problems; the action required can be simple such as more regular maintenance but can end with major retrofit in mechanical systems if it does not provide a good quality air.

Matthias Kasprowicz: This is where good quality systems can be used to create better indoor air quality by optimizing distribution and circulation using high-performance equipment for air-conditioning systems.

The discussions concluded with everyone agreeing that one practical way to effectively spread awareness about the topic would be to set up testing and rating standards for the IAQ of every building in the UAE. The rating could be displayed prominently at the entrance of all buildings. So everybody knows exactly what they are “getting into”. just like energy and environment ratings are displayed on labels of products, similar ratings for air quality can be displayed on buildings. Schools would be a very good place to start this practice. l

THE TASK BECOMES HArDEr IN EXISTINGBUIlDINGS, SUrVEyS ArE DEFINITElyMANDATOry TO IDENTIFy PrOBlEMS; THEACTION rEQUIrED CAN BE SIMPlE SUCH ASMOrE rEGUlAr MAINTENANCE BUT CAN ENDWITH MAjOr rETrOFIT IN MECHANICAl SySTEMSIF IT DOES NOT PrOVIDE A GOOD QUAlITy AIr.Ahmed mosA

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