The Right Amount of Technology in School Buildings

Thomas Auer, Philipp Vohlidka and Christine Zettelmeier
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Thomas Auer: Chair for Building Technology and Climate Responsive Design, Faculty of Architecture, Technische Universität München, 80333 Munich, Germany
Philipp Vohlidka: Chair for Building Technology and Climate Responsive Design, Faculty of Architecture, Technische Universität München, 80333 Munich, Germany
Christine Zettelmeier: Chair for Building Technology and Climate Responsive Design, Faculty of Architecture, Technische Universität München, 80333 Munich, Germany

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 3, 1-19

Abstract: What is an adequate school building nowadays and which amount of technology does it need? How high is the indoor comfort in terms of thermal, visual, hygienic, and acoustical comfort? Are there technical aspects that stand out to other solutions? How do users feel and act in the buildings? For this purpose, the Chair compared, in total, twelve selected modern, older, and renovated school buildings from different building age groups. For the comparison, it was essential to intensively analyze each of the twelve schools. This included visiting the schools, talking with the participating architects, specialist planners, builders, and school managers, procuring and analyzing planning documents and, where available, publications and reports, performing simulations and measurements in the classrooms, and surveying the buildings’ users. The predominant energy demand in schools is the energy expenditure for heating and cooling the air, especially for heating the air in the winter. Nevertheless, it turns out that from a purely energy-focused perspective, mechanical ventilation cannot be justified. It is also evident that transmission heat losses play a negligible role in school construction, which is why the “passive house” as a goal for renovations must be called into question.

Keywords: schools; education; technology; comparison; comfort; indoor quality; evaluation; analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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