Sick Building Syndrome in Apartment Buildings in Jordan

Abstract

The present study was conducted to investigate the concept of sick building syndrome which has recently been receiving attention to improve the indoor environmental quality in housing projects in Jordan. Apartment buildings were selected in three locations in Jordan; Amman, Irbid and Zarqa to represent different climatic regions in Jordan. The methods of enquiries were based on observation(physical architectural and detailed analysis of the buildings),calculations of the environmental factors which affect indoor air quality and healthy environment and questionnaires designed and distributed to investigate occupants’ perception in terms of health and building conditions. The findings revealed that there were significant differences among geographical locations of apartment buildings in Jordan. Zarqa had the most severe condition because of the crowdness in the urban setting and the extreme weather conditions. Moreover, building physical configuration and attributes such as window sizes and types, envelope design, location of the apartment in the building, orientation and building layout had significant effects on the concept of the sick building syndrome.