Strategies for Planning Mould Free Air Conditioned Buildings in Tropical Climates

Abstract

Buildings constructed in tropical climatic conditions must be designed to have a very low carbon foot print that will need the buildings to be used as free running while ensuring adequate thermal comfort with passive means. However, there could be certain instances when the use of active means of thermal comfort like air conditioning will be inevitable due to special requirements. Hospital buildings or buildings with special equipment would need lower indoor temperature like 15 – 18 oC compared to the ambient temperature in tropical climates. Thus, the growth of mould on the building elements such as walls and floors of the surrounding areas will be inevitable unless special planning provisions have been used with strategically placed buffer zones that will have normal air conditioning which maintains indoors with relatively lower levels of moisture content. Mould created on various building elements can produce spores, air-borne particles and gases which are harmful to the humans and built environments. In order to identify the magnitude and the causes for mould growth, a comprehensive research was carried out with a case study in a hospital building planned without attention to much detail and hence led to a severe growth of mould, where several concerns were raised by the occupants of the building, related to sick building syndrome. This will shed light on special planning precautions that must be taken by the architects and engineers who plan buildings with specially air conditioned spaces in large buildings located in countries with tropical climatic conditions.