DOHA: Little research has been done about indoor air quality in Qatar, despite the fact that people here tend to spend over 90 percent of their time inside home or office, a seminar at the Qatar Green Building Council (QGBC) was told.
The seminar titled ‘healthy buildings for healthy people’ discussed the health effects associated with poor indoor air quality, which can cause a wide range of respiratory and infectious diseases. QGBC launched a new group called the Healthy Building Interest Group (HBiG) at the event.
Iigo Satrْstegui, chair of HBiG and Managing Director of Q-Air Global said: “Qatar is currently undergoing enormous growth and this gives it the chance to create healthy indoor environments by using the experiences and best practices utilised worldwide. Through the commitment of developers and the implementation of indoor environmental quality standards, Qatar can become one of the healthiest countries in the world.”
Indoor air quality is an essential part of a green building process. With warm weather year-round, people in Qatar tend to spend over 90 percent of their time inside. Despite this, little research has been done to assess the quality of air in homes, offices, schools, and recreational buildings. Air quality is even more relevant today as it can have an adverse impact on public health and increase the prevalence of conditions like asthma, he added.
Yousef Noman Al Shammari, Head of Occupational Health at Health, Safety, Security and Environment (HSSE) Executive Directorate at Qatar Foundation, said: “Negative health effects of poor indoor air quality are much stronger than outdoor. It can cause a wide range of respiratory and infectious diseases. Indoor air quality can be affected by ineffective control of polluted outdoor air, standing water, moisture and unmaintained furniture.”
Dr Atos Batarra, an Italian architect with over 30 years of experience in design concept, explained the significance of natural light. “Research has shown that sunlight has multiple benefits, such as boosting a person’s energy level and immunity, as well as improving our mood and enhancing mental awareness, concentration and productivity. However, we are deprived of natural sunlight exposure due to our current lifestyle, spending much time in rooms with distorted artificial light,” he said.
According to Dr Batarra, we need to introduce full-spectrum lighting in offices and homes to reproduce natural light frequencies in order to meet our biological needs, which would reduce eyestrain when reading, and counteract drowsiness.
Fahad Ali Khan, Assistant Building Service Manager at Qatar National Convention Centre, stressed the important role building managers have in maintaining sustainability in green buildings. He said: “The latest reports estimate there are nearly $1.17 trillion worth of construction projects across the Middle East and North Africa region over the next decade, increasing the demand for energy which is already growing at between seven and eight per cent per annum. Building managers can play an important role in helping the environment, while at the same time reducing operating costs and creating a workplace that promotes good health.”
The Peninsula
