Building Performance

Post Occupancy Feedback

Since the completion of the building monitoring by the client and the architect has taken place to identify the issues raised by the building design and to obtain feedback from the users. Dr David Rowe from the University of Sydney in conjunction with Simon Carter from Bligh Voller Neild Sydney has carried out a user survey and an energy assessment. Further work on the thermal performance issues is under way through a PhD study in the Department of Architecture, The University of Queensland.

User Survey

The post occupancy questionnaire was carried out using a questionnaire to staff in the Faculty of the Arts Building (Bligh Voller Neild 2001). This questionnaire is based on the internationally recognised tool for measuring comfort and sick building syndrome (Vischer, J.1989.) To help understand these issues more fully a database of building performance is held by the University of Sydney.

Occupants Issues

The survey found higher level of satisfaction for the classrooms most indicators as compared to the academic offices. The academic offices on the other hand report problems with under heating in winter due to excessive ventilation. This is surprising since the normal issues with this type of building are associated with over heating in summer. The summer conditions present difficulty with the use of equipment, which have sensitivity to humidity.

With regard to sick building syndrome both classrooms and offices fared well; the low scores on the spider graphs indicate the satisfaction with this aspect of the building

Strategies for improving the winter heating issues have been suggested to reduce the ventilation through higher control of the louvre system.

Offices, lower scores are better indicators for lack of sick building syndrome.

Class room and laboratories, lower scores are better indicators for lack of sick building syndrome.

Operational Energy Use

Method of assessment

The energy consumption in the Faculty of the Arts building was assessed using two methods. A comparative study was established with other buildings on Campus. The energy bills for the period 9 February 1999 to 9 November 1999 were collated and the gross energy cost cumulated over this period. It is acknowledged that this method of assessment is crude and that a more exhaustive assessment is warranted. There are assessment systems available such as the Building Greenhouse Rating system. This is an absolute method, relating energy consumption to industry standards and giving a Star rating (www.adgr.com.au). Alternatively the Green Building Challenge tool could be used, this is relative and could be used to compare buildings on campus as a operational management tool (www.greenbuilding.ca).

Energy issues

The comparative study shows that the building has the least energy consumption of the five new buildings on campus. It should be acknowledged that the other buildings have varying degrees of air conditioning and different activities. For example the Library is air-conditioned, the Science building also has air conditioning of its laboratories and other spaces but the offices are passively ventilated.