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An Empirical Study of Visual Comfort in Office Buildings

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Sustainable Design and Manufacturing 2020

Part of the book series: Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies ((SIST,volume 200))

Abstract

Visual comfort is an important indicator of both occupant satisfaction and work performance. The main goal of this study is to present the visual comfort-related factors that influence occupant satisfaction. To achieve this goal, a detailed literature analysis was conducted to determine the main factors that can be used to evaluate the effect of visual comfort on the satisfaction of office workers. Afterward, interviews were conducted with 12 facility managers, and related work orders created by the facility management teams were investigated to determine visual comfort-related complaint types. Based on the collected data, a hierarchical structure of visual comfort factors was created. Finally, 308 office workers were surveyed to determine (1) the number of respondents with complaints related to each visual comfort factor, (2) the level of importance of the visual comfort related factors, and (3) office worker’s satisfaction levels for each factor. The findings reveal that the largest gap between the perceived importance and satisfaction appears in daylighting and visual privacy. The designers, facility managers, and renovators need to think of design strategies to provide more privacy and access to daylight to occupants in their working environments.

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) (Grant no: 116M177). Authors would like to thank TUBITAK for their support. Authors also thank Murat Can Özkan and Neziha Yilmaz for data collection in building occupant surveys.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Architecture, Ozyegin University, 34794, Cekmekoy, Istanbul, Turkey

    Isilay Tekce

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, Istanbul Technical University, 34469, Maslak, Istanbul, Turkey

    Deniz Artan & Esin Ergen

Authors
  1. Isilay Tekce
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  2. Deniz Artan
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  3. Esin Ergen
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Correspondence to Isilay Tekce .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany

    Steffen G. Scholz

  2. Bournemouth University, Poole, UK

    Robert J. Howlett

  3. Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK

    Rossi Setchi

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Tekce, I., Artan, D., Ergen, E. (2021). An Empirical Study of Visual Comfort in Office Buildings. In: Scholz, S.G., Howlett, R.J., Setchi, R. (eds) Sustainable Design and Manufacturing 2020. Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, vol 200. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-8131-1_29

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-8131-1_29

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-15-8130-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-15-8131-1

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