Post-Occupancy Evaluations + Building Performance Data Gathering
December 8, 2021 | 12:00pm-1:30pm PT
Speakers:
Lindsay Graham | Research Specialist, Center for the Built Environment
Architects’ services on many Projects now go beyond final inspection, the Certificate of Occupancy, and hand-off to the owner/operator. Firms track and/or assess building performance Post-occupancy for multiple aspects of the design. Successful Post-occupancy Evaluation (POE) typically begins with clarity of design intent around operational performance and how the design aims to deliver occupant comfort and indoor environmental quality (IEQ).
Clarity about performance goals and targets, typically included in the Owner’s Project Requirements (OPR), helps shape the questions asked in a POE and bound the scope of the effort. Tracking operational energy use via utility data is one way to assess whether performance targets have been achieved. Occupant surveys are another invaluable tool that can be used to assess building performance aspects of IEQ and to refine and improve building operations. Surveys can objectively gauge which building services and design features are or are not working, and help prioritize steps needed to improve occupant satisfaction and workplace productivity.
The Center for the Built Environment (CBE) at University of California, Berkeley has developed a cost-effective, web-based occupant survey that takes approximately ten minutes to complete. The survey has been implemented in over 1,000 buildings around the world, with responses from over 100,000 people. Originally developed as a research tool, the survey has become widely used as a way to receive feedback from employees. CBE survey results have demonstrated the value and importance of focusing on the human element of buildings, and how occupant perception can affect energy consumption.
Lindsay Graham, a Research Specialist at the Center for the Built Environment, will discuss the role of post-occupancy evaluation with a focus on occupant surveys. She will discuss recurring occupant concerns and the broader building performance issues CBE has identified from implementing their occupant survey in hundreds of buildings. Ms. Graham will also describe options for architecture firms interested in collaborating with CBE to employ the survey in their own nonresidential building projects.
Earn 1.5 LU | HSW for attending live.
