Purpose Adequacy as a Basis for Sustainable Building Design: A Post-Occupancy Evaluation of Higher Education Classrooms

Abstract

Building design is one of the essential elements to consider for maximizing the sustainability of construction. Prior studies on energy and resource consumption and on indoor environmental quality indicators (IEQs) are increasingly frequent; however, attention has not been focused on design as supporting the function performed within architecture. Educational buildings have specific conditions related to teaching methodologies, including activating students and promoting participation and interaction in the classroom. This manuscript aims to explore whether the social dimension of physical space in educational settings can explain a student’s academic outcome. For this, the Learning Environment and Social Interaction Scale was designed and validated and applied to 796 undergraduate students at the University of Coruña, and multiple linear regression analysis was applied to the academic results. The results display a structure comprising five factors; these include novelties such as the division of conventional IEQs into two groups: the workspace and the classroom environment. In addition, place attachment, the design of the classroom as a facilitator of social interaction, the learning value of social interaction, and the satisfaction of the IEQ demonstrated their influence on the academic result.

Design Framework and Principles for Learning Environment Co-Design: Synthesis from Literature and Three Empirical Studies

“…Both pleasant and unpleasant distractions (sub-study 2; [12,34,109]) may be reduced, e.g., by restricting the use of the Internet (sub-study 2) or providing dimming curtains (sub-study 3) to prevent getting distracted by too much transparency. Study by López-Chao and colleagues [16] also suggest that views from the windows may cause distractions.…”

“…Noise disturbance (substudies 2 and 3; [42]) may be reduced by good soundproofing, acoustic panels, and textiles (sub-study 3). Noise disturbance may also be related to a specific type of learner behaviour [16]. For instance, while learners participating in this study representing two sociocultural contexts generally seemed to value environments free of noise disturbance, more intensive conversational style in Spain in comparison to Finland may require particularly good acoustic design.…”

“…Providing comfortable furniture and spaces, e.g., sofa groups and cushions (sub-studies 2 and 3; [8,65] is likely to foster physical ease in learning environments. Excessive comfort may, however, be unergonomic and even detrimental to learning [16,17]. This calls for the design carefully balancing comfort with health.…”

“…It is important to ensure that spaces are luminous (sub-studies 1-3, [8]), e.g., by designing wide windows, glass surfaces, and good lighting (sub-study 3). Good artificial light control and quantity have been associated to better learning outcomes [16]. Further, the need for good artificial light design is likely to be more important in geographical areas such as Finland with shorter periods of daylight during the winter.…”

“…Studies by Barrett and colleagues [7,15], in turn, have identified a holistic impact of naturalness (light, sound, temperature, air quality, and links to nature), individualisation (ownership, flexibility, and connection), and appropriate level of stimulation (complexity and colour) on learning. Likewise, López-Chao and colleagues [16,17] have identified relationships between learning outcomes and variables such as ventilation, artificial light, noise, Wi-Fi coverage, room size, ergonomics, and connection with nature. Further, López-Chao and López-Pena [18] found that academic results are influenced by the place attachment, the classroom design as a facilitator of social interaction, social interaction in learning, and the satisfaction of indoor environmental quality.…”