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Thermal discomfort is one of the main triggers for occupants’ interactions with components of the built environment such as adjustments of thermostats and/or opening windows and strongly related to the energy use in buildings. Understanding causes for thermal (dis-)comfort is crucial for design and operation of any type of building. The assessment of human thermal perception through rating scales, for example in post-occupancy studies, has been applied for several decades; however, long-existing assumptions related to these rating scales had been questioned by several researchers. The aim of this study was to gain deeper knowledge on contextual influences on the interpretation of thermal perception scales and their verbal anchors by survey participants. A questionnaire was designed and consequently applied in 21 language versions. These surveys were conducted in 57 cities in 30 countries resulting in a dataset containing responses from 8225 participants. The database offers potential for further analysis in the areas of building design and operation, psycho-physical relationships between human perception and the built environment, and linguistic analyses.

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Achieving optimal levels of indoor thermal comfort in a warm, humid climate continues to pose a challenge to building occupants in such climatic regions. Buildings are either being retrofitted or designed differently to cater to thermal comfort. As a result, a variety of tactics have been deployed to guarantee optimal thermal comfort for occupants. Some scholars have highlighted the salient contributions of various types of construction materials toward the delivery of different housing types which perform differently under a diverse range of climatic conditions. A plethora of studies suggesting better indoor thermal comfort performance of traditional buildings as compared to contemporary dwellings due to various reasons have been observed. However, limited studies have sought to investigate this suggestion within warm, humid climatic regions. As such, this study engages in an evaluation of indoor thermal comfort qualities of traditional and modern buildings during the dry season with the goal of developing design guidelines for a thermally pleasant environment in a town, Okigwe, which is situated in a warm, humid climatic region in Southeastern Nigeria. Data were collected utilizing a field measurement technique. Throughout the survey period, variables of the indoor environment such as relative humidity and air temperature were recorded concurrently in nine selected buildings, two traditional and seven modern buildings. The fluctuations and differences in relative humidity and air temperature between the two building types were investigated using Z-test statistical techniques. The study’s results revealed that the contemporary structures’ indoor air temperature (29.4 °C) was 0.6 °C higher than traditional buildings’ indoor air temperature (28.8 °C). Therefore, the study recommends that architects and planners should make concerted efforts to integrate methods of passive design into the provision of a comfortable indoor thermal environment rather than relying solely on active design strategies, which whilst lacking in traditional buildings, nonetheless did not prevent such buildings from recording lower air temperature readings compared to modern buildings.

Architectural technology programmes in Nigeria have steadily evolved with focus on enhancing local identity and environmental responsiveness to contextual issues peculiar to the Nigerian fabric. However, there remains continuous controversy as to the suitability and application of the curriculum to the emerging socio-economic and cultural needs of Nigerians. This study examined the academic curriculum contents of professional courses offered in architectural technology programmes in Nigerian polytechnics to ascertain inherent factors that enable implementation of design principles for sustainable built environment. This is imperative since the products of this programme constitute key players in the execution of sustainable, safe and inclusive human settlements and cities. This study is based on survey type of research design; three institutions were selected following a stratified random process and two sets of structured interviews administered to two groups of respondents comprising the Higher National Diploma (HND) graduating class and the teaching staff. The data collected were analysed using percentile, mean scores and regression analysis. The findings revealed a significant awareness and implementation of principles of sustainable design especially at inception stage by the HND students. However, the students’ proficiency with varied CADD software packages was limited as a result of shortfalls in the curriculum and paucity of adequately trained staff. Further findings revealed measures adopted for inclusive and lifelong learning in the programme include the introduction of outdoor learning environment, short entrepreneurial courses in related areas and enhanced digital literacy. The paper concludes that addressing the shortfalls of the academic curriculum will promote high quality learning in the programme required to ensure the creation of sustainable built environments.