The role of feedback in building design 1980–2018 and onwards

This is a paper updating the paper I wrote on this topic for BSERT in issue 1 volume 1 in 1980. The original paper set out the causes of failure in building design as being due to various issues such as an inadequate brief, lack of data, poor communication, inadequate analysis or synthesis, quirks of human behaviour which could all contribute. Systematic appraisal – now referred to as post-occupancy evaluation – of buildings in use provides feedback which helps us to understand why theory and practice do not always agree and also gives evidence for improved building economics. It concluded that we have to involve users more in the design of buildings, and for the next generations, we need a much broader based education of building designers. This paper continues the theme by considering the latest methods of measurement and assessment which provide feedback data for sustainability but focusing more on health and wellbeing rating assessments

A conceptual approach to determine optimal indoor air quality: A mixture experiment method

Achieving good air quality in large residential and commercial buildings continues to be a top priority for owners, designers, building managers and occupants. The challenge is even greater today. There are many new materials, furnishing, products and processes used in these buildings that are potential source of contaminations and pollutants. A common problem to the indoor and outdoor environments is that of exposure to mixtures of air pollutants. Researchers and practitioners tend to focus on single pollutants (e.g. CO2, PM2.5) ignoring the mixtures combined effect. Fashion dictates to study the pollutant most thoroughly talked about. Distinguishing the effects of such co-pollutants is difficult. The conclusions about which component of a mixture is actually producing a given effect are sometimes less soundly based than could be wished. It is especially important in considering the indoor mixture of air pollutants as this mixture may be entirely different from those found outside. Exposures to raised levels of air pollutants can damage health, for example carbon monoxide can cause death and significant lasting disability. Controlling levels of indoor air pollutants is therefore important, as good indoor air quality is essential to health. There are three strategies for achieving acceptable indoor air quality: ventilation, source control and cleaning/filtration. Depending on the building and the specific characteristics of the location, these strategies can be used singly or in combination. However, mixture experiment would throw more light and understanding into indoor air composition and interaction properties and the combine effects it has on human health. Mixture experiments have been used extensively in other industries, for example the pharmaceutical industry and the agrochemical industry, for the production of tablets and the control of plant diseases and pests. Developing a mixture model for the internal microclimate for a particular building type and/or location may help us in developing better indicators, standards and policy document in the near future, when the levels of pollutants concentration can be successfully predicted

Understanding the indoor environment through mining sensory data - a case study

A wireless sensor network (WSN) is a group of sensors linked by wireless medium to perform distributed sensing tasks. WSNs have attracted a wide interest from academia and industry alike due to their diversity of applications, including home automation, smart environment, and emergency services, in various buildings. The primary goal of a WSN is to collect data sensed by sensors. These data are characteristic of being heavily noisy, exhibiting temporal and spatial correlation. In order to extract useful information from such data, as this paper will demonstrate, people need to utilise various techniques to analyse the data. Data mining is a process in which a wide spectrum of data analysis methods is used. It is applied in the paper to analyse data collected from WSNs monitoring an indoor environment in a building. A case study is given to demonstrate how data mining can be used to optimise the use of the office space in a building

Work performance, productivity and indoor air

Temperature, relative humidity, and air quality all affect the sensory system via thermo receptors in the skin and the olfactory system. Air quality is mainly defined by the contaminants in the air. However, the most persistent memory of any space is often its odor. Strong, emotional, and past experiences are awakened by the olfactory sense. Odors can also influence cognitive processes that affect creative task performance, as well as personal memories and moods. Besides nitrogen and oxygen, the air contains particles and many chemicals that affect the efficiency of the oxygenation process in the blood, and ultimately the air breathed affects thinking and concentration. It is important to show clients the value of spending more capital on high-quality buildings that promote good ventilation. The process of achieving indoor-air quality is a continual one throughout the design, construction, commissioning, and facilities management processes. This paper reviews the evidence

Emotional distress, resilience and adaptability: a qualitative study of adults who experienced infant abandonment

BACKGROUND: There is very little insight into the emotional effects of adult survivors of infant abandonment. The rate and reasons for abandonment differ by country, region and economic background. Depending on country, age and era, abandoned children may be cared for by a series of alternative arrangements, ranging from care homes, institutions, foster care, alternative care environments or even reside as street children. As abandonment is relatively rare in the UK, formal procedures, documentation, provision and handling are often overlooked in policy guidance. METHOD: A qualitative study was conducted with 16 adult survivors of infant abandonment drawn from a UK sample. Participant interviews were recorded verbatim and transcribed. The full transcripts were coded for emerging (n = 14) and then higher order (n = 3) themes. RESULTS: Higher order themes suggest that interpersonal issues relating to relationship formation and personal emotional coping were key factors. Both positive and negative emotions and actions were documented at the personal and interpersonal levels. Of specific note were effects resulting from formal health and welfare systems as they navigated through documentation, medical encounters and contact with agencies. Their recollections encompassed extensive internal grief over the course of many years. Yet, for many, there were simultaneous threads of resilience and adaptation. CONCLUSIONS: Support pathways are wanting and these findings suggest a number of potential interventions and/or provision required from an early age to ameliorate or obviate such emotional strain. Given the rarity of abandonment, this insight may assist in policy change, especially with regard to support provision. Documentation needs to be maintained for the longer term - with the current practice of five-year limits unhelpful to this group. It may be many years after the abandonment that they embark on searches for information. Lessons for adoptive parents regarding the unique situation of abandoned babies may also be of benefit

Exploring the role of design quality in the Building Schools for the Future programme

The Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme represents the biggest single UK government investment in school buildings for more than 50 years. A key goal for BSF is to ensure that pupils learn in 21st-century facilities that are designed or redesigned to allow for educational transformation. This represents a major challenge to those involved in the design of schools. The paper explores the conceptualizations of design quality within the BSF programme. It draws on content analysis of influential reports on design published between 2000 and 2007 and interviews with key actors in the provision of schools. The means by which design quality has become defined and given importance within the programme through official documents is described and compared with the multiple understandings of design quality among key stakeholders. The findings portray the many challenges that practitioners face when operationalizing design quality in practice. The paper concludes with reflections on the inconsistencies between how design quality has been appropriated in the BSF programme and how it is interpreted and adopted in practice

Cognitive appraisals affect both embodiment of thermal sensation and its mapping to thermal evaluation

The physical environment leads to a thermal sensation that is perceived and appraised by occupants. The present study focuses on the relationship between sensation and evaluation. We asked 166 people to recall a thermal event from their recent past. They were then asked how they evaluated this experience in terms of 10 different emotions (frustrated, resigned, dislike, indifferent, angry, anxious, liking, joyful, regretful, proud). We tested whether four psychological factors (appraisal dimensions) could be used to predict the ensuing emotions, as well as comfort, acceptability, and sensation. The four dimensions were: the Conduciveness of the event, who/what caused the event (Causality), who had control (Agency), and whether the event was expected (Expectations). These dimensions, except for Expectations, were good predictors of the reported emotions. Expectations, however, predicted the reported thermal sensation, its acceptability, and ensuing comfort. The more expected an event was, the more uncomfortable a person felt, and the less likely they reported a neutral thermal sensation. Together, these results support an embodied view of how subjective appraisals affect thermal experience. Overall, we show that appraisal dimensions mediate occupants' evaluation of their thermal sensation, which suggests an additional method for understanding psychological adaption

Sustainable building solutions: a review of lessons from the natural world

The realisation that much of conventional. modern architecture is not sustainable over the long term is not new. Typical approaches are aimed at using energy and materials more efficiently. However, by clearly understanding the natural processes and their interactions with human needs in view, designers can create buildings that are delightful. functional productive and regenerative by design. The paper aims to review the biomimetics literature that is relevant to building materials and design. Biomimetics is the abstraction of good design from Nature, an enabling interdisciplinary science. particularly interested in emerging properties of materials and structures as a result of their hierarchical organisation. Biomimetics provides ideas relevant to: graded functionality of materials (nano-scale), adaptive response (nano-, micro-. and macro-scales): integrated intelligence (sensing and actuation at all scales), architecture and additional functionality. There are many examples in biology where emergent response of plants and animals to temperature, humidity and other changes in their physical environments is based on relatively simple physical principles. However, the implementation of design solutions which exploit these principles is where inspiration for man-made structures should be. We analyse specific examples of sustainability from Nature and the benefits or value that these solutions have brought to different creatures. By doing this, we appreciate how the natural world fits into the world of sustainable buildings and how as building engineers we can value its true application in delivering sustainable building