THE DEVELOPMENT OF BUILDING EVALUATION METHODOLOGIES: FORGOTTEN IDEAS AND THE STATE OF THE ART.

For a long time, sustainable design of buildings has focused on reducing energy consumption. This has taken architectural design away from understanding the wider variety of factors that affect the building during its lifetime. This paper summarizes the findings of the most influential Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) methods that have been published during the past 60 years. It aims to monitor the changes that have occurred to the methodology and create an understanding of the different issues they have explored. Current building evaluation methods are not widely applied due to barriers that have originated from reasons that are no longer applicable. The UK building legislation recommends Post-Occupancy Evaluations in buildings but seems unable to demand it. Contemporary evaluation methods offer benefits but fail to create a framework that would follow the building throughout its life cycle as they are investigating a limited amount of factors that affect its performance. Consequently, there is a need for a more generalised approach to building design that would take into consideration factors like occupant opinion, architectural design together with energy consumption. The Soft Landings framework offers a simple and easy to use method but is designed primarily for non-domestic buildings. The paper proposes the further research for a POE method, appropriate for domestic buildings, which constitute a large fraction of the built environment. This method would aim to include the users in the design process and educate and inspire them about the efficient use of their home, throughout its lifetime.

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