The influence of façade and space design on building occupants’ indoor experience

Existing research on user’s satisfaction at the workplace have shown that occupants’ perceived comfort depends on a number of environmental and non-environmental factors and that forgiveness, meant as the indulgent attitude towards inadequate indoor environmental conditions, becomes an essential element in the ultimately rated level of appreciation of the indoor space. The aim of this study was to determine to what extent the building and façade design may affect a workplace as far as its occupants’ perceived comfort and satisfaction are concerned. Data collected in an extensive post-occupancy evaluation conducted in four Swiss office buildings were used to specifically question the impact of their respective façade and space design. Despite sharing an equivalent environmental performance, these buildings differ substantially in terms of envelope designs, resulting in a heterogeneity of façade appearance and operability and thus a diversity of atmospheres inside the offices. Results revealed that aesthetical and emotional contribution brought by building design does indeed influence perceived comfort and satisfaction even when formal comfort-related environmental factors are the same. By introducing the concept of ‘seasonal Forgiveness Factor’, we could observe that higher ratings of the space and of the façade were strongly correlated with a higher level of tolerance towards possible criticalities of IEQ factors. The outcomes presented in this paper are expected to bring new insights and understanding to the multifaceted field of comfort and user satisfaction, while providing useful inputs to the façade and design industry.