Ismaeel, W S E; Mohamed, F and Elakkad, N (2021) Scenarios of occupational capacity for high educational buildings in the time of COVID. In: Scott, L and Neilson, C J (eds.) Proceedings of 37th Annual ARCOM Conference, 6-7 September 2021, Online Event, UK.
Abstract
The study investigates different scenarios for the occupational capacity of educational spaces in the time of the COVID pandemic. A whole system thinking approach is used to consider the integration of physical and tactical parameters. The former accounts for ventilation rates and furniture settings while the latter accounts for occupational densities. The research method started with a qualitative step: collecting data and information about the current situation and standards of spaces as well as local building codes for high educational buildings during pandemic outbreaks. Then, computer simulation programs were used to study indoor ventilation requirements inside an educational space (design studio) with varying occupational densities of 25%, 50%, 75% compared to a reference case of 100%. The result showed that occupation densities of 50% (IDA 2) and 75% (IDA 3) provide medium and moderate indoor air quality, respectively. Nevertheless, the latter can increase risk scenarios with the increase of carbon dioxide concentration level above 1000ppm. This requires increased airflow and the rate of air change by a rate of 40% above normal levels.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | COVID pandemic; high educational building; indoor air quality; ventilation; whole system thinking |
| Index terms: | integration, building code, program, computer simulation, indoor air quality, outbreak, occupation, density, pandemic, educational building, design studio, ventilation, carbon dioxide |
| Subjects: | analytical methods, organizational analysis, air quality, regulatory law, environmental health, climate science, construction type, sociology, modelling and simulation, health risk and incident analysis, design practice, software systems |
| Topics: | Legal Issues, Urban Studies, Health and Safety, Sustainability, Engineering Principles, Design Practice, Roles and Professions, Construction Technology, Digital Applications, Organizational Design |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCA |
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