Education and Culture

There is definitely a correlation between learning environments and how well students and teachers function within them. Therefore, it makes good sense that everyone involved in specifying, operating and maintaining ventilation equipment understand the importance of proper ventilation and noise reduction.

A high level of Indoor Air Quality also needs to be achieved for optimum concentration at university level but, unlike in schools, a lot of learning at university takes place in large auditoriums or lecture theatres with high ceilings and big, open spaces. These things need to be considered at planning stages, whether new build or renovation.

It is important that ventilation systems within nurseries comply with the needed air changes per hour and provide fresh air to children and staff to prevent the spreading of germs and to aid concentration.

Mobile classrooms have the same Indoor Air Quality needs as normal classrooms as concentration is key to learning. The temperature and moisture level in these buildings also needs to be closely monitored to ensure the building remains usable.

The challenge for student accommodation is dealing with intermittent occupation, it is therefore necessary to have a system that is adaptable to changing levels of occupancy and a system that can cope with higher demand in communal areas.

The importance of ventilation design in controlling the environment in which library collections are stored should be clearly understood and take into consideration temperature, humidity and gaseous contaminants.

There are many issues that need to be addresses within theatres e.g. the flexibility of the space and if the seating is fixed or removable, occupancy patterns, stage ventilation and cooling and the assessment of lighting heat gains amongst others.