title: User centered passive building design
Creators: name: Alzaed, Ali
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2013

description: The full integration of End User Factors (EUFs) into the building design processes environment is still emergent. It has been suggested from other sectors that the integration of EUFs into design can improve work performance and promote the workforce’s physical and mental health. The need for EUFs in the passive design strategies (PDS) (i.e., ventilation, day lighting and thermal comfort) has become a prerequisite condition from clients to enhance the user experience and harmonise their activities with PD performances. MFE (2011) claimed that architects are not fully engaged in the integration of EUFs in design. “The design team should involve future users and facilities management staff in the design process, and develop a building user’s guide to inform occupants of the building’s design intent”. This research has carried out an intensive literature review into user centred design (UCD) methods and factors in the building, engineering and IT industries. The investigation spans from 1955 to date. The literature showed that there are no coherent models in the building industry that capture the total EUFs as portrayed in ISO standards. However, in the IT industry the theory of UCD is well advanced and developed. The methodology that is followed by this research is based on a critical analysis of the literature and prototype modelling. To ensure the appropriate EUFs are selected and integrated into design, the author needs to investigate what are the most relevant EUFs and how to integrate them into various PDs. To carry out this process effectively the author developed a systematic process that captures EUFs in the design processes. First, the research investigated PDs and clustered them under three dimensions, which are passive ventilation, passive lighting and passive heating (PLVT). Second, the investigation sought to understand the difference between users (Us) and end-users (EUs). This has resulted in creating classes of Us and EUs so that the extracted factors are mapped into these classes. Third, the research used ISO 13407 and ISO 9126 standards to develop a conceptual model. The first standard is used to organise the processes of UCD into coherent and dynamic steps. The second is used to systemise PD attributes (ATTs) and sub-attributes (S-ATTs) and map them into the processes that are developed in the previous stage, that is to say, according to ISO 13407. The output from this is the creation of a conceptual user centred passive building design model “UCPBD”. The model aims to assist designers to assess their design for the inclusion of EUFs. The model could be used for both PDs and non PDs. The research has considered 132 EUFs. A questionnaire was used to identify the most influential factors. The questionnaire was distributed among architects’ professionals. The results were analysed using several statistical methods. The analysis shows a disparity of the ranking of the degree of influence and usage among the surveyed groups. The most effective factors were 44 out of 132 EUFs. There was a statistical difference at the p