Post-Occupancy Evaluation of an educational building: Case study of the ETS-UESC Building

Abstract

The physical and environmental conditions of educational institutions are determining factors for occupant comfort. The Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) presents itself as a methodology for verifying environmental aspects in full use, considering the technical criteria and the users' perception. This article discusses the particularities of the ETS-UESC building, in Brazil, applying POE with an emphasis on the environmental comfort of the classrooms. For this, an exploratory research was carried out where the users' perception of ambience was verified, through the application of targeted forms and on-site measurements of the thermal and lighting conditions using a thermohygrometer and a lux meter, and natural ventilation conditions by design analysis, in the light of current regulations. The opinions were compared with the environmental measurements to identify the limitations of the building and to find the dissonant points. About 85% of users are bothered by the thermal conditions where they are exposed to high daily temperatures, above 30 ºC. In spring and summer, room temperatures are above those recommended by NR 17 standard. The quality of natural lighting is questioned by approximately 80% of users, even having illuminance above the recommended limit of 300 lux in the daytime cycle. How thermal and lighting conditions restrict the use of spaces was proven, making it necessary to discuss active or passive technical solutions to mitigate these problems. Therefore, some factors and technical solutions were pointed out that will assist in the suitability of the project in question.