People spend much of their lives indoors, and the rise of hybrid working has increased the importance of indoor environmental quality in residential buildings. Homes have become both living and working environments. This study examines how thermal and acoustic comfort influence workspace preference during the transition to remote work. An online survey of 1513 participants across T & uuml;rkiye assessed perceived comfort in home and office environments. Descriptive statistics and machine learning methods, including classification and regression trees and gradient boosting machine, were used to identify the main determinants of workspace preference. The results show that thermal and acoustic comfort jointly shape workspace choice, with thermal comfort generally having a stronger influence. Age, housing type and individual tolerance also affect preferences. Lower noise levels strengthen the influence of thermal comfort on working from home, whereas office preference is more common among apartment residents. Thermal comfort emerges as the primary factor governing workspace preference.
Universities, having the responsibility of educating and leading the public, also strive to internalize sustainability agendas globally. Among the tools for evaluating universities regarding sustainability indicators, UI GreenMetric system gained notable recognition and widespread adoption in academia. This study conducts a critical analysis of this system using Berlin Principles as the primary evaluative framework, which is explicitly referenced in the tool's development. Non-conformities among them were identified by examining its guidelines and questionnaires. Identified gaps were assessed compared to globally recognized green certification systems, LEED and BREEAM, as benchmark models, with LEED also noted for its declared influence on the tool's initial design. Key misalignments are transparency and scientific rigour in methodology, comprehensiveness of indicators for holistic framework, robustness of auditing mechanisms and verified data use, and involvement of stakeholders and methodological quality assurance. Utilizing the findings, the study proposes revision recommendations to better promote sustainability performance of participating institutions.
Hospital environments often promote sedentary behaviour, despite physical activity being essential for recovery. This study explored patients' perspectives on how the physical hospital environment supports physical activity after cardiothoracic surgery. A cross-sectional survey study was conducted among patients, who underwent elective cardiothoracic surgery, using a self-developed questionnaire. Descriptive statistics ranked barriers, facilitators and potential supportive features, while Spearman correlations explored associations of barriers/facilitators with participant characteristics and hospital factors. Of 221 eligible patients, 106 (48%) responded, with 70% being male, a median age of 65 years and a median hospital stay of seven days. Main barriers included medical devices, while main facilitators included convenient layout, comfortable furniture and information about physical activity. Greater support from healthcare professionals was associated with fewer barriers and more facilitators. The results showed that the physical hospital environment should promote physical activity, with a key role for healthcare professionals to help patients leverage these opportunities.
Conventional campus lighting relies on static illumination, causing energy inefficiency and safety concerns. To address this, this study proposes a smart lighting framework integrating Space Syntax analysis with computer vision and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies for real-time pedestrian sensing. Using National Taipei University of Technology (NTUT) as a case study, pathway accessibility values were combined with pedestrian density to develop a dynamic control model using a cloud-based microservice architecture that supports data processing, adaptive dimming, and visualization. Field experiments demonstrate that lighting allocation based solely on spatial integration reduces energy consumption by approximately 27%. Incorporating pedestrian flow dynamics achieves an additional 9% to 12% reduction without compromising visual requirements or perceived safety. The results indicate that spatial configuration provides a robust quantitative basis for adaptive strategies, extending Space Syntax to infrastructure control while integrating human-centered design, energy efficiency, and smart city technologies in campus and urban environments.
This study introduces Daytime Intrusive Artificial Light (DIAL) to describe the penetration of high-luminance digital outdoor advertising displays (DOADs) into indoor environments. Following an initial screening of eleven corner-type DOADs in Seoul, detailed measurements and an occupant survey were conducted at a representative high-risk site. Although all surveyed DOADs complied with nighttime regulations, the representative office recorded a peak indoor luminance of 4,077 cd/m(2) during daytime. Over 97% of occupants reported persistent visual discomfort, while individual mitigation like blinds was largely ineffective. To address this regulatory gap, the study proposes a practical screening framework based on the geometric relationship between display size and distance. Findings demonstrate that fa & ccedil;ade-mounted DOADs significantly degrade indoor visual comfort, highlighting the need for evaluation approaches that explicitly address daytime light trespass.
This paper explores the use of passive design strategies for indoor thermal comfort in kampungs. A prototype is developed to represent typical kampung houses. Based on literature review and the climate analysis of Jakarta, eight passive design strategies are investigated via building simulations regarding their impact on indoor thermal comfort . The results show that natural ventilation, cool roof, green walls, and cool exterior walls are all effective strategies, each reducing the number of hours not meeting the adaptive thermal comfort requirement per ASHRAE Standard 55 by more than 10%. When integrated into a comprehensive package-combining full-day natural ventilation (>= 11 air changes per hour), cool roof, cool exterior walls, wall insulation, and single-pane reflective glazing-passive design can decrease discomfort hours by 57%, from 8035 h in the base case to 3433 h annually. The findings can be used to develop passive house standards aimed at improving living conditions in Indonesia .
In high-density urban campuses, the link between classroom activities and building electricity consumption complicates energy management. Taking Macau University of Science and Technology as a case, this study examines how classroom attendance, building characteristics, functional layout, and usage density affect electricity consumption. Field survey data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation matrices, and segmented regression. The results show that teaching and laboratory areas are the main drivers of total electricity use, with a correlation coefficient of 0.995. Classroom attendance has a significant nonlinear effect: when attendance exceeds 3,059.50, electricity consumption increases at an accelerated rate. Modern buildings exhibit lower energy consumption per unit area than traditional buildings; for example, Building R consumes 83.36 kWh/m & sup2;, far below Building B at 271.43 kWh/m & sup2;. These findings provide a basis for energy-saving optimization and campus energy management.
Hospital interiors are complex environments where spatial configuration, circulation hierarchy and visibility conditions influence how users perceive and navigate healthcare facilities. This study examines how five hospital floor plan typologies (E-type, H-type, L-type, square and courtyard-based plans) relate to variations in interior accessibility. Space Syntax is adopted as the primary analytical framework, supported by Visibility Graph Analysis (VGA) and graph-theoretical measures. Integration, connectivity, depth and visibility fields are analyzed to identify typology-related accessibility patterns. The results indicate that H-type plans tend to provide higher spatial accessibility, whereas E-type and L-type plans exhibit more fragmented circulation structures. Square and courtyard-based layouts show stronger central orientation but lower accessibility toward peripheral zones. The study proposes a multi-method framework supporting evidence-informed hospital design and offering transferable insights for improving spatial legibility and accessibility in complex healthcare environments.
Tehran's densely populated urban environment presents substantial challenges in balancing daylight access and visual privacy in residential buildings. This study proposes a computational-perceptual framework for evaluating and optimizing living-room window configurations in mid-rise apartments in District 3 of Tehran. Three performance indicators were assessed simultaneously: Useful Daylight Illuminance (UDI), Daylight Glare Probability (DGP), and an Improved Potential Visual Exposure Index (I-PVEI). Simulations were conducted under a controlled opposing-building condition, representing two mid-rise residential blocks facing each other at a fixed 15 m distance. Eight common window configurations were identified through field documentation and Delphi surveys, simulated at three window-to-wall ratios (20%, 30%, and 40%), and optimized using the NSGA-II, resulting in 24 configurations. Ten Pareto-optimal solutions were identified. Centrally located vertically proportioned windows with a 20% opening ratio (W-03A and W-04A) achieved the most favourable overall performance. A survey of 193 residents confirmed consistency between simulation outcomes and user preferences.Abbreviations: UDI: Useful Daylight Illuminance; DGI: Daylight Glare Index; NSGA-II: Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II; WWR: Window-to-Wall Ratio
This study investigates the capacity of text-to-image (T2I) artificial intelligence models to reproduce the morphological characteristics of vernacular architecture across culturally distinct contexts. Focusing on Turkey, Japan, and Mexico, a comparative framework is developed based on a standardized prompt system and a visual morphological analysis matrix. The study integrates expert evaluation with the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to assess form typology, material articulation, roof configuration, spatial organization, openings, and symmetry. Results reveal that while contemporary T2I models can successfully approximate dominant formal and material cues, they often simplify deeper spatial and cultural logics embedded in vernacular traditions. Among the evaluated platforms, Leonardo.Ai demonstrates the highest level of morphological fidelity, followed by DALL & centerdot;E 3, while other models show increasing reliance on stylistic generalization. The findings position generative AI as a selective mediator of architectural knowledge and propose a replicable framework for evaluating cultural fidelity in AI-generated design outputs.
Healthy aging involves physical, mental, and self-rated health, with environment as a critical factor. However, most research concentrates on urban areas or single health dimensions, ignoring rural regions. Using 2024 survey data of 1,084 rural elderly from 124 villages in Sichuan Province, this study adopts structural equation modelling and propensity score matching to explore how rural landscape environments and leisure spaces affect holistic elderly health through physical activity and neighbourhood interactions, and identify age-related differences. Results reveal that elderly health declines with age, particularly in physical function. Rural landscape environments (total effects: 0.285) and leisure spaces (0.319) both significantly promote elderly health with distinct pathways: the former acts directly and via neighbourhood interactions, while the latter is positive through neighbourhood interactions (0.149) but negative via physical activity (-0.024). Their effects also vary across age groups. These findings support rural health intervention strategies and the construction of a differentiated environmental system, contributing to rural revitalization and healthy aging in China.
Thermal comfort plays a vital role in supporting wellbeing, satisfaction, and productivity in indoor spaces, particularly since over 90% of the population in hot and arid countries, such as Kuwait, spend their time indoors. Therefore, this study examined the thermal preferences and comfort and clothing styles of male and female students studying in the Australian University in Kuwait, while considering various hybrid air-conditioned modes [i.e. controlling alternating natural and air conditioning (AC) ventilation]. The survey participants comprised 325 male and female students aged 18-24 years. The experiments involved male and female students in three different indoor environments (i.e. classrooms, laboratories, and workshops). This research used independent samples t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), Mann-Whitney U test, Welch test, and regression analysis to test the relationships. After ANOVA, a post-hoc test was conducted to identify the statistically significant groups. The study found that gender and clothing styles significantly influenced thermal comfort preferences.
This research intends to incorporate LCA into initial design stages employing a parametric approach, developing a workflow to investigate the impact of buildings morphology and attributes, material selection, and surrounding urban context on carbon performance. It examines the trade-offs between embodied and operational carbon. The study uses a parametric workflow, defined in Grasshopper, and examines 54 building morphologies across four cardinal directions, with dimensions derived from a statistical analysis of 154 residential apartment buildings in Tallinn. While the roof, floors, internal walls, and windows have fixed specifications, the external walls offer three material variations. Results indicate that a courtyard building oriented towards the North, with a WWR of 30%, CLT external wall, Env/Vol of 0.19 which was 7 floors high, exhibited the lowest CF of 820 kgCO2e/m2 with EC and OC contribution proportions of 21% and 79% respectively. The highest CF of 1,411 kgCO2e/m2 with EC and OC percentages of 29% and 71% respectively, was observed in a rectangular building with East orientation, WWR of 70% AAC external wall, 5 floors, and Env/Vol of 0.33. Moreover, optimal building shapes vary with orientation, reduced window-to-wall ratio (WWR) improves carbon performance, and more compact buildings with lower envelope-to-volume ratios enhance carbon efficiency.
Older adults' nighttime residential movement patterns increase fall risk under low-light conditions. Current guidelines emphasize photopic illuminance and spectrum but overlook mesopic adaptation, luminance distribution and uniformity that shape perceived brightness and obstacle detection. This study proposes and validates an HDR-based, mesopic-adjusted on-site methodology to evaluate nighttime lighting in senior homes. HDR photography at 2 lx with red and amber LEDs demonstrated luminance accuracy within 5% using a high-ISO RAW image workflow. Field measurements in a bedroom revealed that red LED lighting installed per the recommended 2 lx photopic guidance appeared 39% dimmer under mesopic conditions, compared to 7% for amber light. Luminance distribution analysis showed substantial non-uniformity, with 98% of the adaptation field under red light falling below obstacle detection thresholds. Findings indicate that photopic illuminance recommendations alone inadequately characterize nighttime visual conditions, particularly for low S/P sources, and should incorporate mesopic performance and luminance distribution considerations to support safe navigation.
Traditional and listed housing in Scotland is widely recognized for poor thermal efficiency. Deep energy retrofits are increasingly proposed to reduce energy demand, with Passive House offering an independent standard for high-performance buildings. This study investigates the feasibility of retrofitting a 1960s B-listed dwelling in Scotland to the EnerPHit standard using a case-study approach. A baseline model of the existing building was created using the Passive House Planning Package, and three retrofit strategies were assessed. The results show that the internal wall insulation (IWI) strategy met EnerPHit requirements. However, this approach generated higher CO2 emissions than the external wall insulation (EWI) strategy, which, while performing less well thermally, produced fewer emissions and may be more practical. A third strategy using natural materials performed the poorest. Given the building's listed status, EWI is identified as the most achievable option.
Indoor visual quality, especially regarding light Colour temperature, is crucial for environmental well-being. To address the lack of integrated subjective-objective analysis and the oversight of Colour-temperature-spatial synergy, this study combined semantic differential surveys, Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), and eye-tracking. Experiments with 25 participants in residential/public spaces under 2700K, 4200K, and 6000K lighting analyzed these interactions, leading to a Warmth-Colour-Spatial Interaction (WCSI) model. Key findings include: (1) complex correlations between subjective scores and eye-tracking metrics; (2) larger pupil diameter at 2700K (relaxed state) and smaller at 6000K (alert state); (3) higher WCSI scores indicate better synergy, with fa & ccedil;ades and furniture as primary visual interest areas. The study proposes design strategies for optimizing Colour-temperature-spatial synergy, offering theoretical and practical guidance for lighting design.
The personalized comfort model (PCM) offers a promising approach to improving building energy efficiency by integrating individual physiological differences. However, sex-based variability in thermal perception remains insufficiently understood. This study investigated subjective thermal sensation votes (TSVs) and electroencephalogram (EEG) responses of male (n = 16) and female (n = 16) participants during transitions between warm - cool (PMV +2 -> -2) and cool - warm (PMV -2 -> + 2) environments. Significant sex differences (p < 0.05) in TSVs were observed 3-15 min after transitioning from warm to cool conditions. Despite being in the same thermally neutral - cool environment, males (TSVm = -1.15) and females (TSVf = -2.15) reported approximately a one-unit difference on the TSV scale immediately after entry. EEG analysis revealed significant sex differences (p < 0.05) in the right lateral beta (RLB), right medial beta (RMB), and sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) bands - frequency ranges associated with subjective thermal sensation - with distinct sex-specific activation observed in the occipital region. The correlation between TSV and EEG further confirmed that EEG activity reflects subjective thermal perception. These findings demonstrate that EEG can serve as a physiological indicator of thermal comfort and underscore the importance of sex-specific approaches in developing personalized thermal comfort models.
This study investigates how lighting colour, brightness and spatial form shape fear responses in horror-themed escape rooms, advancing understanding of how indoor environmental and architectural factors elicit emotion. Using Unity3D, 18 virtual scenarios were developed by combining three lighting colours (red, green and white), two brightness levels (low and high) and three spatial forms (narrow, semi-open and open); physiological measures were analysed alongside subjective ratings. Red light produced stronger and more sustained fear, whereas green light generated the greatest initial subjective impact. Low-brightness conditions evoked higher fear than high-brightness settings. Regarding spatial form, semi-open spaces elicited the most pronounced fear responses, followed by open spaces. These findings provide empirical evidence for the roles of lighting colour, brightness and spatial form in designing fear-evoking environments, and inform the design of immersive architectural settings intended either to create or to avoid horror atmospheres, depending on design objectives.
