An assessment of users’ satisfaction with a smart building on university campus through post-occupancy evaluation
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to present the post-occupancy evaluation (POE) of a smart building on a university campus.
Design/methodology/approach
Literature review was conducted to report on the smart building concept and POE. A total of 49 performance indicators, classified according to the technical, functional and behavioral elements, were investigated. A case study of a smart building in a university campus was selected to assess the users’ satisfaction through POE. A total of 90 users from the academic and administrative staff of the building were contacted through a Web-based questionnaire survey, while 35 usable responses were obtained.
Findings
The findings revealed that the occupants were satisfied with several aspects of the building performance indicators; however, issues related to ventilation, control of thermostats, amount of natural lighting through low-E windows and privacy were identified. Ultimately, the study reveals that, although the adoption of smart technologies has the potential to provide an excellent and comfortable work environment, the efficient selection and/or maintenance of the adopted technologies is crucial.
Originality/value
The concept of smart buildings is perceived to be the future of the industry. Despite this growing need for “smartization,” the performance of a building ultimately depends on how it satisfies the needs of those who use them. The value and implication of this study is inherent in its emphasis on the satisfaction of buildings users in futuristic designs of buildings. The study shows that POEs can be used to assess the satisfaction of users of smart buildings to understand what works, as well as what needs redesign or improvement.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the support provided by the Deanship of Scientific Research (DSR) at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) for funding this work through project No. SB191051.
Citation
Hassanain, M.A., Sanni-Anibire, M.O. and Mahmoud, A.S. (2022), "An assessment of users’ satisfaction with a smart building on university campus through post-occupancy evaluation", Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEDT-12-2021-0714
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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