Purpose Adequacy as a Basis for Sustainable Building Design: A Post-Occupancy Evaluation of Higher Education Classrooms

Vicente López-Chao and Vicente López-Pena
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Vicente López-Chao: Architectural Graphics Department, School of Architecture, Campus da Zapateira, Universidade da Coruña, 15008 Coruña, Spain
Vicente López-Pena: Department of Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Design, Faculty of Engineering, Campus de Puerto Real, Universidad de Cádiz, 11003 Cádiz, Spain

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 20, 1-16

Abstract: Building design is one of the essential elements to consider for maximizing the sustainability of construction. Prior studies on energy and resource consumption and on indoor environmental quality indicators (IEQs) are increasingly frequent; however, attention has not been focused on design as supporting the function performed within architecture. Educational buildings have specific conditions related to teaching methodologies, including activating students and promoting participation and interaction in the classroom. This manuscript aims to explore whether the social dimension of physical space in educational settings can explain a student’s academic outcome. For this, the Learning Environment and Social Interaction Scale was designed and validated and applied to 796 undergraduate students at the University of Coruña, and multiple linear regression analysis was applied to the academic results. The results display a structure comprising five factors; these include novelties such as the division of conventional IEQs into two groups: the workspace and the classroom environment. In addition, place attachment, the design of the classroom as a facilitator of social interaction, the learning value of social interaction, and the satisfaction of the IEQ demonstrated their influence on the academic result.

Keywords: architecture; building evaluation; functional adequacy; human-centered; IEQ; learning space; place attachment; social interaction; social participation; sustainable building (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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