A comparative field study of indoor environmental quality in two types of open-plan offices: Open-plan administrative offices and open-plan research offices

Lou, Huading; Ou, Dayi

doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2018.11.022

Cited by 52 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…1). [8,47,[89][90][91]. For example, the hierarchical position of employees which is linked to influence, authority and power become critical in estimating IEQ and productivity [89].…”

Section: The Proposed Four Dimensionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impacts of building characteristics, social psychological and cultural factors on indoor environment quality productivity belief

Chen

Yılmaz

Pisello

et al. 2020

Building and Environment

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Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) plays a key role in determining occupants' productivity at work; however, the analyses in the interconnected factors among building physical, attitudinal, social and demographic components in one study are lacking. To link this research gap, this study investigates these interconnected factors' influence on occupants' IEQ-productivity belief, defined as personal subjective evaluation on the linkage between the impacts of five IEQ aspects (the qualities of indoor temperature, air, natural and electric lighting and acoustics) and productivity.A cross-sectional survey data is collected in university offices from six countries (Brazil, Italy, Poland, Switzerland, Taiwan and the U.S.). Results of multiple linear regression model indicate that IEQ satisfaction is the strongest positive predictor of the IEQ-productivity belief; this relationship is stronger in private offices. Country of residence is the second primary predictor.Several attitudinal-behavioral factors, including thermal comfort, perceived ease of controlling indoor environmental features, attitudes toward sharing controls, and are all positively associated with IEQ-productivity belief. Interestingly, the level of control accessibility to light switches has the strongest impact on as opposed to other controls. On the other hand, group norms and conformity intention were not significant predictors. Regarding demographics, men are more likely to perceive the IEQs has positive impacts on their productivity than women without considering other variables in the regression model; on the contrary, women are more likely to consider all IEQs as having positive impacts on productivity than men, after considering other variables. Our findings provide suggestions in helping prioritize wellness in workplaces.

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“…1). [8,47,[89][90][91]. For example, the hierarchical position of employees which is linked to influence, authority and power become critical in estimating IEQ and productivity [89].…”

Section: The Proposed Four Dimensionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impacts of building characteristics, social psychological and cultural factors on indoor environment quality productivity belief

Chen

Yılmaz

Pisello

et al. 2020

Building and Environment

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“…thermal sensation -CO 2 concentration, odour -RH). Lou and Ou (2019) found no significant differences in the subjective evaluation between two types of open-plan offices despite significant difference in the physical measurements of personal space and temperature. The discrepancy between subjective and objective evaluations can be further supported by more recent research aimed to test the relationship between objective IEQ and subjective experiences of comfort (Roskams & Haynes, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 59%

An indoor environmental quality assessment of office spaces at an urban Australian university

Woo

Rajagopalan

Francis

et al. 2021

Building Research & Information

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This paper reports the results of a comprehensive indoor environmental quality (IEQ) evaluation conducted in seven office buildings at an Australian university. A mix of objective and subjective assessments was carried out and a total of 519 staff participated in the survey from various non-academic departments. Three types of buildings were included in this study: 'Heritage listed' (c.1880-1890s), 'Conventional' (c.1960 and 'Modern' (post 2000) office buildings. Although the measured IEQ conditions were relatively good with no significant fluctuation across the selected buildings, the discrepancy between objective IEQ data and subjective occupant evaluations was noted. The Modern building type designed with fully double-glazed façades showed the highest levels of overall comfort and satisfaction and perceived productivity, whereas the Conventional building type constructed during the late 20th-century period, notable for deep floor plates, had the lowest. The heritage listed type buildings had lower window to wall ratios, yet displayed improved occupant satisfaction across all IEQ areas over the conventional type buildings. The results support that building renovation and regular maintenance can improve occupant comfort and satisfaction within offices. The findings could be useful for property managers looking for strategies to improve the performance of their building stock.

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“…In the building sciences, including the areas of indoor air quality [13,19,[24][25][26], dampness and mold [27], thermal comfort [5,[28][29][30][31][32], acoustics [6,33], green buildings [4,34,35], lighting [36,37], and indoor environmental quality (IEQ) [9,[38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48], chamber and field studies are the predominant experimental approaches for conducting human subject research relating measures of physical conditions to human outcomes. Typically, chambers are the dimensions of a small to medium-sized office and are equipped with building systems (e.g., ventilation system, lighting, sound masking) capable of maintaining stable experimental conditions.…”

Section: Experimental Design In Building Sciencementioning

confidence: 99%

The Spatial and Temporal Variability of the Indoor Environmental Quality during Three Simulated Office Studies at a Living Lab

et al. 2019

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The living lab approach to building science research provides the ability to accurately monitor occupants and their environment and use the resulting data to evaluate the impact that various components of the built environment have on human comfort, health, and well-being. A hypothesized benefit of the living lab approach is the ability to simulate the real indoor environment in an experimentally controlled setting over relatively long periods of time, overcoming a significant hurdle encountered in many chamber-type experimental designs that rarely reflect typical indoor environments. Here, we present indoor environmental quality measurements from a network of sensors as well as building system design and operational data demonstrating the ability of a living lab to realistically simulate a wide range of environmental conditions in an office setting by varying air temperature, lighting, façade control, and sound masking in a series of three human subject experiments. The temporal variability of thermal and lighting conditions was assessed on an hourly basis and demonstrated the significant impact of façade design and control on desk-level measurements of both factors. Additional factors, such as desk layout and building system design (e.g., luminaires, speaker system), also contributed significantly to spatial variability in air temperature, lighting, and sound masking exposures, and this variability was reduced in latter experiments by optimizing desk layout and building system design. While ecologically valid experimental conditions are possible with a living lab, a compromise between realism and consistency in participant experience must often be found by, for example, using an atypical desk layout to reduce spatial variability in natural light exposure. Based on the experiences from these three studies, experimental design and environmental monitoring considerations for future office-based living lab experiments are explored.

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A comparative field study of indoor environmental quality in two types of open-plan offices: Open-plan administrative offices and open-plan research offices

Cited by 52 publications

References 58 publications

The impacts of building characteristics, social psychological and cultural factors on indoor environment quality productivity belief

The impacts of building characteristics, social psychological and cultural factors on indoor environment quality productivity belief

An indoor environmental quality assessment of office spaces at an urban Australian university

The Spatial and Temporal Variability of the Indoor Environmental Quality during Three Simulated Office Studies at a Living Lab

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