Office Buildings

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xvii

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2. Office and Office Space

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

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   2. The Concept of Office and Office Space

      • Pranab Kumar Nag

      Pages 3-27

   3. Spatial and Behavioural Attributes in Office Design

      • Pranab Kumar Nag

      Pages 29-49

3. Building and Office Work-Related Illness

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 51-51

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   2. Sick Building Syndrome and Other Building-Related Illnesses

      • Pranab Kumar Nag

      Pages 53-103

   3. Musculoskeletal Disorders: Office Menace

      • Pranab Kumar Nag

      Pages 105-126

4. Office Ergonomics

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 127-127

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   2. Fundamentals of Office Ergonomics

      • Pranab Kumar Nag

      Pages 129-148

   3. Ergonomics of Computer Workstation

      • Pranab Kumar Nag

      Pages 149-181

   4. Strategic Office Lighting

      • Pranab Kumar Nag

      Pages 183-214

   5. Visual Performance in Office

      • Pranab Kumar Nag

      Pages 215-239

5. Building Bioclimate—Indoor Environment Quality

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 241-241

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   2. Bioclimatic Approach: Thermal Environment

      • Pranab Kumar Nag

      Pages 243-278

   3. Characteristics of Indoor Environmental Quality

      • Pranab Kumar Nag

      Pages 279-310

   4. Assessing IEQ Performance in Buildings

      • Pranab Kumar Nag

      Pages 311-340

   5. Ventilation in Office Buildings

      • Pranab Kumar Nag

      Pages 341-367

6. Building Energy Systems—Standards and Codes

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 369-369

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   2. Lighting Systems

      • Pranab Kumar Nag

      Pages 371-404

   3. Energy Performance in Buildings: Standards and Codes

      • Pranab Kumar Nag

      Pages 405-432

This book brings together concepts from the building, environmental, behavioural and health sciences to provide an interdisciplinary understanding of office and workplace design. Today, with changes in the world of work and the relentless surge in technology, offices have emerged as the repositories of organizational symbolism, denoted by the spatial design of offices, physical settings and the built environment (architecture, urban locale). Drawing on Euclidian geometry that quantifies space as the distance between two or more points, a body of knowledge on office buildings, the concept of office and office space, and the interrelationships of spatial and behavioural attributes in office design are elucidated. Building and office work-related illnesses, namely sick building syndrome and ailments arising from the indoor environment, and the menace of musculoskeletal disorders are the alarming manifestations that critically affect employee satisfaction, morale and work outcomes. With afocus on office ergonomics, the book brings the discussion on the fundamentals of work design, with emphasis on computer workstation users. Strategic guidance of lighting systems and visual performance in workplaces are directed for better application of ergonomics and improvement in office indoor environment. It discusses the profiles of bioclimatic, indoor air quality, ventilation intervention, lighting and acoustic characteristics in office buildings. Emphasis has been given to the energy performance of buildings, and contemporary perspectives of building sustainability, such as green office building assessment schemes, and national and international building-related standards and codes. Intended for students and professionals from ergonomics, architecture, interior design, as well as construction engineers, health care professionals, and office planners, the book brings a unified overview of the health, safety and environment issues associated with the design of office buildings.

• Worker Health
• Building Ergonomics
• Safety in the Workplace
• Design of Office Spaces
• Building Construction
• Occupational Health and Safety

• School of Environment and Disaster Management, Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda University, Kolkata, India

  Pranab Kumar Nag

Prof. P.K. Nag, Ph.D., D.Sc., is currently associated with the Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda University, Belur Math, Kolkata. Prof. Nag is the former Director of the National Institute of Occupational Health (ICMR) Ahmedabad, and Regional Occupational Health Centers (Bangalore and Kolkata). Since his superannuation, he has been re-employed at the School of Environment and Disaster Management, RKMVU. He specializes in the areas of Ergonomics and Human Factors, Environmental Health and Management, Climate Change, Occupational Health and Safety, and has teaching and research experience spanning four decades. He has written several books and reports and published 175 research articles in the journal of repute. Prof. Nag has professional affiliations with numerous national and international agencies in different capacities.

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