Monitoring and Assessment of Indoor Environmental Conditions in Educational Building Using Building Information Modelling Methodology

Abstract

Managing indoor environmental quality (IEQ) is a challenge in educational buildings in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Adequate indoor air quality is essential to ensure that indoor spaces are safe for students and teachers. In fact, poor IEQ can affect academic performance and student comfort. This study proposes a framework for integrating occupants’ feedback into the building information modelling (BIM) methodology to assess indoor environmental conditions (thermal, acoustic and lighting) and the individual airborne virus transmission risk during teaching activities. The information contained in the parametric 3D BIM model and the algorithmic environment of Dynamo were used to develop the framework. The IEQ evaluation is based on sensor monitoring and a daily schedule, so the results show real problems of occupants’ dissatisfaction. The output of the framework shows in which range the indoor environmental variables were (optimal, acceptable and unacceptable) and the probability of infection during each lecture class (whether or not 1% is exceeded). A case study was proposed to illustrate its application and validate it. The outcomes provide key information to support the decision-making process for managing IEQ and controlling individual airborne virus transmission risks. Long-term application could provide data that support the management of ventilation strategies and protocol redesign.

The contextual information requirements for collection and use of occupant feedback in BIM-enabled FM

“…2.2 Use of occupant feedback in building information modelling-enabled facility management BIM is a promising platform for representing occupant feedback in 3 D models, which allows for visual representation of occupant feedback, querying, and detecting problems and related components in a rapid way. Several studies represented occupant satisfaction rate or the number of issues in colour coding in the BIM model (Hua et al, 2014;Göçer et al, 2015;Patlakas et al, 2017;Pin et al, 2018;Alavi et al, 2021;Aguilar et al, 2022). Other studies collected thermal comfort-related data (e.g.…”

Critical Review of the Literature on Thermal Comfort in Educational Buildings: Study of the Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Therefore, it cannot be assumed that the thermal comfort requirements of university students are the same as those of office workers [159,281]. Several authors also observed that university students preferred a warmer indoor environment during colder seasons when classrooms were naturally ventilated [240,241]. It was also found that the range of thermal dissatisfaction was wider than that of cold dissatisfaction.…”

A Sensing-Based Visualization Method for Representing Pressure Distribution in a Multi-Zone Building by Floor

“…The IEQ can be described as a combination of indoor thermal parameters, indoor air pollutant parameters, as well as lighting, acoustic, and spatial factors [18,19]. Among these parameters, indoor thermal parameters [20] and air quality-related parameters [21] are typically applied to monitor the variation of IEQ inside buildings. In particular, comprehensive IEQ monitor systems have recently been developed for inspecting variations in multiple indoor environmental parameters.…”