Post occupancy evaluation of contemporary educational buildings in Ghana. A case study of the KNUST/IDL Building at Kwabenya
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Date
NOVEMBER, 2018
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Abstract
The general notion in most public buildings is that occupants are comfortable with their indoor
environmental conditions so long as they report to work and carry out their assigned duties.
Such a notion has led to failure to consider it necessary to monitor and evaluate occupants’
perception of comfort in their respective working environments. Essentially, the value of
systematic learning from Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE) is primarily to identify additional
benefits that can be obtained from the evaluation allowing for the fine tuning to enhance the
performance of future buildings. The study adopted POE and its rationale as a building
feedback mechanism. The aim of the study was to conduct a POE of contemporary educational
buildings in Ghana. The study narrowed down to the particular case of the KNUST/IDL
building at Kwabenya in Accra. The objectives were to evaluate the performance of the case
study building and to identify areas of improvement of contemporary educational buildings in
Ghana. The study adopted qualitative research approach to evaluate the subjective responses
of occupants in the case study building. Instruments for data collection included interviews,
observation and case study approach. 94 respondents out of a population of about 658
participated in the study. Data was presented in the form of descriptive and explanatory
narrations using content analysis for analyzing the data. Results showed that extensive use of
glazing permit high penetration of solar radiation and heat gain leading to poor indoor
environmental conditions. Results also showed that extensive use of glazing has led to the
heavy integration of HVAC systems to achieve human comfort in contemporary educational
buildings in Ghana. The study concluded that dissatisfaction with the built environment has
negative effects on the health, comfort and productivity of occupants. The study recommended
that passive design strategies which are sustainable, economical and environmentally friendly
can be used to achieve human comfort.
Description
A dissertation submitted to the Department of Construction Technology and Management,
College of Art and Built Environment
in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of
Master of Science.
Keywords
Post occupancy, Evaluation, Educational buildings, KNUST/IDL building