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Impact of Physical Environments on Occupant Comfort

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A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Building Energy, Physics, Environment, and Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2023) | Viewed by 6518

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Zhe Kong

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Guest Editor

School of Architecture, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
Interests: daylighting design and simulation; POE study of daylighting quality; HDR-image technique
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Zheming Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Jangho Architecture College, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110102, China
Interests: indoor environmental quality; thermal comfort; urban microclimate; building energy efficiency; built environment simulation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Yue Wu

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Guest Editor

School of Architecture, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
Interests: soundscape; building environment and health; environmental psychology; indoor environment and health; restorative environment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The physical environments of built spaces of high quality are closely related to occupant comfort and well-being. Conversely, noise, uncomfortable temperature and humidity, dim light, poor air quality, or pungent smells can compromise the quality of life, negatively affect the subjective experience of places, and even result in changes to individual health. Therefore, the goal of this research topic is to highlight the impact of physical environments on occupant comfort within built spaces. The purpose is to discuss the relationship between the built environment and occupant comfort/well-being/health from the perspective of physical environmental quality. Both theoretical and methodological studies are encouraged.

Impact of Physical Environments on Occupant Comfort is a Special Issue of Buildings focusing on fundamental and applied research aimed at designing, understanding, and promoting physical environmental quality. We encourage the submission of cross-cutting, multi-disciplinary research in the areas of:

Impact of built environmental quality (acoustic, visual, thermal, moisture, air quality) on comfort/well-being/health;
Energy efficient, low/zero carbon, and green buildings/communities;
Climate change mitigation and adaptation in built environments;
Environmental footprint accounting and management.

Please refer to the link below for more information: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/buildings/special_issues.

Dr. Zhe Kong
Dr. Zheming Liu
Dr. Yue Wu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Buildings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

quality of built environment
acoustic environment
lighting environment
thermal environment
occupant evaluations
energy consumption
carbon footprint

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 2723 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effect of Length of Service in a Thermal Environment on Thermal Comfort and Mental Stress

by Young-Sub Shin, Jeong-Bae Ko, Dong-An Cha and Jae-Soo Hong

Buildings 2024, 14(1), 99; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14010099 - 29 Dec 2023

Viewed by 555

Abstract

An inappropriate thermal environment negatively impacts workers, causing mental stress and safety accidents. Unskilled workers are more vulnerable to industrial accidents and thermal stress compared with skilled workers due to suboptimal and unfamiliar work. Previous studies have focused on individual characteristics (such as gender, age, and race), with limited emphasis on the thermal comfort sensation. This study identified the preferred thermal environment according to work experience and how mental stress differed between unskilled and skilled workers by examining their thermal comfort sensation. Predicted mean vote (PMV) was used as an indicator of the thermal environment, and five environments were constructed for PMV: −2, −1, 0, 1, and 2. Participants were recruited among current workers and the public. Mental stress and thermal comfort sensation were assessed using heart rate variability and thermal comfort vote, respectively. This study demonstrated that the skilled group experienced higher mental stress and a lower thermal comfort sensation. Contrastingly, in the sensitivity analysis, the unskilled group exhibited greater sensitivity to changes in the thermal environment. Through a comprehensive analysis, this study derived an optimal PMV range for each group. The findings can provide a reference for configuring the optimal thermal environment of the workplace. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Physical Environments on Occupant Comfort)

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14 pages, 1340 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Soundscape on Place Attachment for Historical Blocks: A Case Study of Harbin, China

by Wei Zhao, Qingxuan Rui, Xun Zhu and Hongpeng Xu

Buildings 2023, 13(3), 607; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13030607 - 25 Feb 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1464

Abstract

Sound is a memory carrier in places with rich history and culture, which can invoke place memories and images. The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of soundscape on place attachment in different types of historical blocks. Six historical blocks in Harbin, China, were selected, and a questionnaire survey was conducted to evaluate place attachment and soundscape. The soundscape evaluations of harmony, quietness and nature were significantly higher in residential historical blocks than in tourism historical blocks. The mechanical sound source preference of residential historical blocks was lower than that of tourism historical blocks. The main components of place attachment were place bonding and identity, and place dependence, but in different orders in different types of historical blocks. In tourism historical blocks, the preference of sound source helps to enhance place attachment, especially the sounds of activities and equipment related to the history and culture of the blocks. Soundscapes promote place attachment in tourism historical blocks and are positively correlated with place satisfaction. There was no significant correlation between soundscape and place attachment in the residential historical blocks surveyed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Physical Environments on Occupant Comfort)

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22 pages, 7145 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on the Preferred Illuminance in Office Environments Based on EEG

by Li Tong, Nian Liu, Songtao Hu, Mingli Lu, Yuxi Zheng and Xiaohui Ma

Buildings 2023, 13(2), 467; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13020467 - 8 Feb 2023

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2167

Abstract

The quality of the indoor light environment in buildings directly influences the emotional state, health condition, and work efficiency of people. The application of EEG to indoor light environments is beneficial to further reveal the neural mechanisms of light comfort. In this study, the absolute power of spontaneous EEG was calculated as an objective physiological index, and its trend with the illuminance level of the task area was analyzed. Then, the absolute power of the band, which has the strongest correlation with subjective evaluation and task performance, was selected as the characteristic value. The subjective and objective parameters were validated to explore the preferred illuminance choices for subjects’ comfort and efficiency during the rest stage and the task stage, respectively. The results showed that the power of the δ band and β band at partial channels in the parietal region had statistically significant differences under five illuminance levels in the resting state. The total logarithmic power of EEG and the logarithmic power of the δ band at the Cz channel were negatively correlated with the subjective evaluation. The total logarithmic power of EEG was relatively low when the subjective evaluation was comfortable. There was no statistical difference in the total EEG logarithmic power among the five illuminance levels in the task state, but the subjects had the highest performance indicator and the best cognitive task performance at 500 lux and 750 lux conditions. This research may provide a design reference for the selection of task area illuminance levels for staff during high-intensity mental work and rest. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Physical Environments on Occupant Comfort)

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Review

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32 pages, 2904 KiB

Open AccessReview

A Review of Thermal Comfort Evaluation and Improvement in Urban Outdoor Spaces

by Zheming Liu, Jin Li and Tianyu Xi

Buildings 2023, 13(12), 3050; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13123050 - 7 Dec 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1768

Abstract

Urban outdoor space is an important activity place for residents, and its thermal environment directly affects residents’ quality of life and physical and mental health. Due to global climate change and the acceleration of urbanization, the outdoor thermal comfort of urban residents has seriously declined, causing more and more scholars to pay attention to this problem and to carry out research. This paper summarizes the development history and evaluation principles of outdoor thermal comfort evaluation indices and sorts out the methods for achieving outdoor thermal comfort. This paper reviews the effects of urban climate, local microclimate, physiological, psychological, social, and cultural factors on outdoor thermal comfort. In addition, strategies for improving thermal comfort in urban outdoor spaces are discussed from the aspects of urban geometry, vegetation, surface materials, and water bodies. Finally, the existing problems and development directions of current urban outdoor space thermal comfort studies are pointed out. This review paper can provide a reference for the scientific planning and construction of urban outdoor spaces to improve people’s thermal comfort. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Physical Environments on Occupant Comfort)

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