Post-occupancy evaluation of outdoor spaces on the campus of the Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Brazil

Abstract

PurposeUsing the campus of a Brazilian university as case study, this research aims to identify which aspects of the outdoor spaces are the most significant in attracting people.Design/methodology/approachThis research relies on the application of different post-occupancy evaluation (POE) methods, including user tracking, behavioural mapping and questionnaires, on one plateau of the campus.FindingsThree group of aspects (socialization, proximity and infrastructure) were identified as key elements in explaining the impact of the campus physical characteristics on users’ behaviour. The results indicate that having characteristics of at least one group of aspects in those spaces can guarantee their vitality and, if there is presence of attributes of more than one group, liveliness can be increased.Research limitations/implicationsFurther studies should be conducted on an entire campus to identify other spatial elements in the three groups.Practical implicationsThis research contributes to the planning of future campuses and to solutions to the existed ones, indicating the most relevant spatial characteristics to be considered. Additionally, the combination of different methods may be useful to future research.Originality/valueMost of the investigations on the university campuses focus on the buildings, and little research has investigated the outdoor spaces, although they play a critical role in learning and academic life, where people establish social, cultural and personal relationships. In addition, studies using several POE allowed a consistent and complete diagnostic about the aspects of the campus, giving recommendations for future projects.

Gendered sense of safety and coping strategies in public places: a study in Atatürk Meydanı of Izmir

“…When determining the respondents, the study identified multiple subareas at the Site (see Figure 1), including the Square (1), small squares (2), the large lawn (3), the entrance area to ferry port (4) and the sea promenade with a lawn (5). Determination of subareas was according to their design of physical/natural characteristics, as an alternative method to that with user tracking (see Tourinho et al, 2021). A 10-min observation at each subarea helped to identify people spending this time there by sitting, standing or strolling.…”

Designing Campus Communal Spaces with Student Behavior Pattern Approach

“…Basically, the campus will offer academic life for its residents, which includes correlation between lecturers and students in the knowledge transfer process. Life has an important role in determining the campus's supporting capacity for the formation of social, cultural and personal relationships [10]. Furthermore, to determine the right conditions for campus design, academic facilities and services are needed which can immediately increase the sense of ownership and learning performance [10,11].…”

“…Campus planning must consider the existence of various spaces into an efficient unified whole [12]. In this understanding, the existence of communal space has the most important contribution in improving the quality of life and health of academics, especially students [10,[12][13][14][15].…”