An Investigation of Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) affecting the health of occupants in Western Maharashtra, India.

This paper highlights the problems caused due to lack of planning in designing the building envelope for a building. In recent years, as construction technology advances, designers are focusing on decreasing the weight of buildings for high-rise constructions. Also, the trends in the market are to plan buildings with extensive use of mechanical ventilation systems. So, in this regard, a study was done to find out the symptoms that are found in such types of buildings by restoring to more mechanical ventilation. It is a structured questionnaire-based study to discover the common symptoms of sick building syndrome (SBS). The locations which we chose for the survey included mixed environments like Dry climate, humid climate, hot climate, etc. Regions such as Karad, Kolhapur, and Vita had dry climates, while areas like Lonavala, Mumbai, and Airoli, had humid climates. Commonly found symptoms affected by the occupants were headaches, difficulty breathing, and concentration. The most significant factors are dust, glare, and light. Also, complaints of hay fever were given by the occupants. Headache, Difficulties in concentration, fatigue and cough are the prominent factors observed in the three months by the occupants. So it can be concluded that the mechanical ventilation should be aided with good recovery of the natural air inflow. Also, location-wise climatic conditions should be considered when planning the ventilation systems.