Indoor and Outdoor Air Quality in Densely Populated Areas: Case Studies of High-Rise Social Housing in Kuala Lumpur

Abstract

Air pollution is one factor that contributes to serious health issues in developing countries. The Malaysian Environmental Department has measured that particulate matter in urban areas is significantly higher than other parts of the country. Thus, this study aims to assess the current level of indoor and outdoor air quality in a tropical city—Kuala Lumpur; and to understand the relationship between these two environments in high-rise buildings. Through a fieldwork study on two typologies of social housing in the city, particulate matters of PM10 and PM2.5 were found to be the most common substances in indoor and outdoor spaces. The first typology, which employs a compact design with light-wells, recorded a decrease in particulate matter concentrations, whereas the second, which employs atriums in its design, recorded an increase for the same substance. Therefore, a change in the ventilation concept should be implemented to address the problem of indoor air pollution using an integrated hybrid strategy of passive and low energy consumption techniques that should be explored in greater detail in the future.