Perception of Indoor Environmental Quality of the Residents of High-Rise Buildings in Bulgaria

Recent research with relatively high percentage suggesting that occupants of high-rises are generally satisfied with their indoor environment is available. However, a detailed investigation of the perception of residents in countries in Eastern Europe of their indoor quality in high-rise buildings is missing in the literature. The methodology of this research incorporates 100 respondents in 23 tall buildings. Questionnaire surveys on indoor environmental quality were carried out in the Sofia and Kozlodui, Bulgaria in December 2014. The factors taken into consideration when choosing the buildings were location, materials, height (between 12 and 20 storey) and social mixture (elderly people, families with children, younger working couples, singles). The findings clearly indicate the great quality of the buildings with levels of satisfaction accounting for 77% for the air cleanness, 93% for thermal conditions, 86% for sound conditions and 87% for the visual comfort in the flats. 42% report dust in the air, 91% claim that they find the natural ventilation feasible but 66% of the respondents report that they prefer air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation. This indicates the good preconditions of these buildings such as design, orientation and materials and implies that their characteristics could guide future construction with minor corrections.