3.3.2 Exhaust nuisance
‘No building or fixture thereon shall be so constructed that it permits the escape into or over any adjacent footpath or
street at a height of less than 2.5 m of any noxious gases or exhaust from any ventilating system’
- Chapter 123F Building (Planning) Regulation, Regulation 4.
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Besides fulfilling the statutory requirement, kitchen exhaust or exhaust from building services equipment, such as chillers,
cooling towers or generators, must be treated for any possible exhaust nuisance at source.
Considerations for exhaust nuisance:
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The Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (2012). Chapter 123F Building (Planning) Regulation.
Regulation 4 Buildings not to obstruct, endanger or cause nuisances.
Exhausts should be located away from residential buildings, schools, etc. which rely on natural ventilation,
and away from air intake louvers of any buildings.
Exhausts should be properly treated by an odour removal system such as
or
, or by having
the discharge ducted to the roof where practicable to mitigate odour problems.
In designing the façade of shopping malls and shop spaces, it is always advisable to design slightly more than
enough louvers in its elevation to allow for having more food and beverage tenants in the future.
Shop owners and tenants should have proper mechanical ventilation systems and maintain their premises under
negative pressure to avoid unpleasant odours from escaping into the arcade.
Shop owners and tenants should plan the location of kitchen exhausts within the controlled zone according
to the shopping mall’s design and management, and not randomly punching out holes in the walls without
consideration of exhaust nuisance.
3.3
Neighbourhood
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Planning for shopping malls and shop spaces
Hong Kong Green Building Council 79
