Examining the Relationship between the Architecture of Workplaces and the Emergence of Health Problems Caused by Noise: Unhealthy Buildings

S  Tabe Afshar; S  Toofan; A  Saghafi Asl

doi:10.18502/tkj.v14i3.11363

S Tabe Afshar PhD. Candidate, Department of Architecture, Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran.
S Toofan Associate Professor, Department of Architecture, Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran.
A Saghafi Asl Assistant Professor, Department of Urban Planning, Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/tkj.v14i3.11363

Keywords: Healthy buildings, Workplaces, Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ), Noise, Architectural evaluation, Physical factors.

Abstract

Introduction: The workplace is one of the most significant environments where people spend most of their time. Lack of acoustic comfort is one of the most important factors that threaten the health and well-being of employees in these workplaces all days. The purpose of this study, while identifying the symptoms caused by noise problems among employees, is to identify the main parameters and investigate the role of architecture in the expansion of unhealthy workplaces.

Method and material: The current study was conducted among the employees of three administrative buildings in Urmia city (Road and Urban Development, Construction Engineering Organization, and Airport). The sample size was 226 out of 309 employees were selected based on Morgan's table.The required data were collected through a questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation) and the Friedman test by SPSS-25 software.

Results: The average ranks of the symptoms showed that fatigue (4.62), hearing problems (6.05), headache (6.30), muscle pains (7.01), high stress (8.41), quick anger (8.55) and distraction and poor concentration (8.58), were among the most symptoms caused by a noise among employees. Also, disturbances caused by other people's conversations (59.22%) and overcrowding and lack of individual speech privacy (41.99%) were among the most parameters, having frequent noise complaints.

Conclusion: The results of the investigation indicated that the inefficient environment design and lack of spaces flexibility, inappropriate placement and lack of acoustic insulation of surfaces inside noisy uses, high environment density and lack of sufficient space for employees, lack of installation systems maintenance, were among the most reasons for frequent noise complaints.