Air Quality of Private Interiors during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study of Dormitory Interiors as Shared Spaces

COVID-19 was a wake-up call for many researchers and designers that encouraged them to create better interiors. Keeping air quality within safe standards is fundamental and the best strategy to stop the spreading of viruses. Being aware of the severity of indoor transmissions of infections, exploring and understanding how they are spread, and how to avoid them can be critical steps to enhance public health. However, many of the private spaces, residential areas and places where multiple people accommodate together remain unattended, such as dormitory buildings. Since many of them do not have an HVAC system, natural ventilation is the primary method for airing dormitory rooms. Therefore, this study aims to reveal existing ventilation conditions in university dormitories, occupants’ behaviors, disinfection, and air cleaning methods in wintertime. For this, a dormitory complex was selected in Ankara (Turkey), whose climate can be compared to many other cities in the northern hemisphere, as an initial case study to provide insight. Overall, it was found that window-opening behaviors of university students are mostly determined by the density of their rooms. The study findings will raise awareness and motivate further studies in architecture, interior architecture, and design disciplines and provide initial knowledge about the topic.