Title: Thermal comfort, indoor air quality and acoustics: a conceptual framework for predicting occupant satisfaction in sustainable office buildings

Authors: Denise A. Guerin; Hye-Young Kim; Jonee Kulman Brigham; SeonMi Choi; Angelita Scott

Addresses: College of Design, University of Minnesota, 1985 Buford Ave., St. Paul, MN 55108, USA. ' College of Design, University of Minnesota, 1985 Buford Ave., St. Paul, MN 55108, USA. ' Center for Sustainable Building Research, University of Minnesota, 1425 University Ave. SE, Suite 115, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA. ' College of Design, University of Minnesota, 1985 Buford Ave., St. Paul, MN 55108, USA. ' College of Design, University of Minnesota, 1985 Buford Ave., St. Paul, MN 55108, USA

Abstract: The authors propose and test a conceptual framework that delineates occupants| satisfaction with thermal comfort, indoor air quality, and acoustics conditions via post-occupancy evaluation (POE). A self-administered, internet-based, POE questionnaire was administered in two office buildings that were designed and operated as county service centres in a Midwestern state. A series of multiple regressions was used to analyse the data. Results suggest that: a) different sustainable design attributes have differential impacts on a sustainable design category; b) different sustainable design categories have differential impacts on occupant satisfaction with the building. Implications for sustainable design practices are provided.

Keywords: workstations; occupant satisfaction; thermal comfort; indoor air quality; IAQ; acoustics; sustainable design; sustainable buildings; office buildings; post-occupancy evaluation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSDES.2011.043290

International Journal of Sustainable Design, 2011 Vol.1 No.4, pp.348 - 360

Published online: 28 Feb 2015 *

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