Detailed monitoring of the Canning Crescent Centre, London.

The Canning Crescent Centre was monitored as part of the European NatVent™ project to provide a case study of the performance of a naturally ventilated building located in an urban area. It was chosen for investigation because it incorporates a specially designed natural ventilation strategy as a result of its location on a polluted high street in London where external air and noise pollution levels are perceived to be high. Traditionally, for buildings located in such areas mechanical ventilation is recommended in the belief that it can provide a 'cleaner' and a more consistent quality of air. However, studies (Morris (1985) and Kukadia et al (1996)) have shown that there is little distinction between the two ventilation strategies in providing adequate indoor air quality, in terms of externally generated pollutants. The objective of this study was to determine the performance of the ventilation strategy in providing adequate indoor air quality for metabolism (removal of carbon dioxide) and thermal comfort all year round. Minimisation of the ingress of external pollution (in particular from vehicular traffic) into the internal environment was also an important consideration. The monitoring protocol developed by the NatVent™ Consortium was used as a basis for the measurements. The following parameters were measured: air change rates, temperature, relative humidity, air velocity, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and Sulphur dioxide. The airflow through the room inlet grille and the ingress of traffic noise into the building were also studied. This report gives details of the measurements carried out together with results, conclusions and any recommendations for improvement of the ventilation strategy and its operation.