Guide: Indoor climate in Public buildings
Since people in the industrialised world spend nearly 90% of their lives indoors, we normally argue that the indoor climate vital to support peoples’ ability to perform and feel good inside. The time spent in the indoor environments exemplified in this guide, e.g. concert halls and hospitals, could possibly be seen as snap shots of a person’s life, and one may think that they therefore are less important in regards to indoor climate. We think not.
Public buildings are, first and foremost, workplaces for many individuals who deserve a good indoor climate to perform a good job. Furthermore, concertgoers wish to enjoy the performance, hospital patients need to clearly understand the doctor's diagnosis and visitors to an art museum should be able to fully grasp the beutiful piece in front of them. None of these should be disturbed by an unsatisfactory indoor climate.
The indoor climate cannot be either seen or touched. It is made up of a combination of factors, for instance sound, humidity and temperature. At Swegon we know a lot about each and everyone of these but it is complicated to really describe them in words or numbers. To explain how important these are, as well as the balance between them, we will exemplify by looking at a few different kinds of public buildings.
This guide elaborates on the following:
- Sound can be absolutely beautiful, or completely unpleasant and destroy a night at the opera
- Humidity can be the factor that makes it or breaks when it comes to historical findings, old literature or stuffed animals
- Warm or cold - neither is pleasant and both can negatively affect a visit to the hospital, concert hall or library