01
Wanted: building respirators
While several green building accreditation schemes exist to assess the eco-friendly and sustainable status of structures, much less attention has been afforded to Indoor Environmental Quality (IAQ). Initial research on the subject began in the early 1970s, says Elia Sterling, President of Theodor Sterling Associates and Director of Green Building Services Ltd at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce's Sustainable Buildings Master Class Series seminar last November. Increased exposure of Sick Building Syndrome in the US, which is said to be a contributing factor to respiratory disease, asthma and allergies, triggered IEQ research. In Hong Kong, buildings account for 80 percent of electricity usage, says Sterling, 50 percent of carbon emissions are produced from the built environment. Issues specific to Asia include its outdoor air quality, permission of smoking in buildings, prolonged humidity and heavy reliance on air-conditioning. Ken Yeang, Principal Architect of TR Hamzah & Yeang Sdn Bhd in Malaysia, also emphasised the indoor and outdoor benefits of a verdant urban landscape. Singapore is cooler and cleaner than Hong Kong and Macau since it uses lots of trees and plants. He adds, We need to relearn how to design buildings that are non-reliant on air-conditioning.