“What do we want?” An evaluation of building occupants’ own critical factors for successful, comfortable, controllable and therefore satisfying buildings.

The successful applicant will contribute to the Faculty Research Centre for Low Impact Buildings (CLIB) and have the opportunity to study under the supervision of key researchers, practionners and industry standards groups regarding soft landings, post occupancy evaluation and building user surveys.

Voluntary building user surveys are migrating from single-issue measures for human comfort such as internal temperature and indoor air quality to embrace variables that are essential to occupants’ health, well-being and productivity such as internal/external noise, local environmental room controls, flexibility of space, views from windows, or air movement. Current ‘Building User Surveys’ may measure 40 comfort variables, but how relevant are these to those that actually work in and experience buildings on either a permanent or transitory basis?

Dependant upon the successful applicant’s proven strengths, this PhD will deliver demonstrable impact, metrics and outcomes for industry standards and knowledge transfer across the architectural, construction and facilities sectors regarding the occupants of commercial or public buildings and their genuine satisfaction. Particular emphasis may be on adaptive comfort, the use of ‘smart’ room controls, or metrics for the preferences that occupants identify.

There will be opportunities to develop or access data from Coventry University’s campus and our diverse partner organisations, so that this PhD informs immediate development of industry practices and standards.

The studentship will contribute to research led teaching, high quality publications, and engage with the research strategy of the Faculty in Low Impact Buildings.

The postholder will contribute to research led teaching, high quality publications, and engage with the research strategy of the Faculty and University.

The Centre for Low Impact Building’s (CLIB) aim is to become an academic and industry partner of choice in delivering real solutions and standards to close the design versus in-use performance gap in the built environment. This PhD will support our research theme on owner and occupant responses, their perception of comfort and satisfaction, and consequently the energy and in-use performance of a building. The continuing understanding and development of strategies for adaptive comfort and health in terms of buildings (occupants, fabric, technology) and skills (technical and behavioural) across all key stakeholders remains a significant challenge, particularly in reflecting occupants actual responses and preferences, rather than those of interest to designers and researchers of the built environment.

Other research themes of CLIB include the:

• dynamic performance of materials and building elements
• low carbon energy and technologies
• whole life-decision making and performance.

CLIB staff enjoy a vibrant environment of collaboration across academic disciplines, other higher education institutions, practionners and industry to ensure that our research has proven impact on the global challenge for sustainability of the built environment.

Enquiries may be addressed to:

Elise Smithson - e.smithson<στο>coventry.ac.uk
07974 984836