ACHIEVING EFFECTIVE VENTILATION IN AN EVENT CENTRE

ABSTRACT Building design has a great influence on the operation of natural ventilation for the comfort level of the occupants of such building. In the south-western part of Nigeria, buildings are designed without taken into cognizance the climatic conditions of the region. The region experiences warm-humid weather during the wet period while the weather tends to be of higher temperature in the dry period. Most of the vent sizes are smaller in proportion to the rate of heat emitted by the interior surfaces (floor, ceiling and wall) of the building. Therefore, the weather conditions were mainly considered for this research work. A study was conducted by direct observation of the occupants’ comfort level in respect to environmental parameters – air temperature, skin temperature, mean radiant temperature, air humidity and air velocity. It was observed that during the wet weather majority of the occupants voted for a ‘no change’ option for the window opening size and preferred the opening size to be increased for more influx of air in the dry weather.