Completing the missing link in building design process: Enhancing post-occupancy evaluation method for effective feedback for building performance

Abstract

This paper provides a review of the improvements in the evaluation of building performance and introduces a new method for post-occupancy evaluation (POE) to complete the missing link in the building design process. Existing studies were reviewed to understand the possible reasons for the missing link of “building performance feedback”. The intention of this paper is to set out a new vision for how future post-occupancy evaluation can close the building performance feedback loop to better inform building design. The spatial mapping method adopted extends the use of building information modeling (BIM), which has shown great potential for the future of the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry, and uses geographical information systems (GIS), which is a powerful tool for analyzing and visualizing relationships between geographical units and their data. This study explores how to establish a communication platform for different stakeholders in order to engage them in the collaborative effort of continuous building performance improvement by using the results of POE embedded into BIM. In this paper, the experiences of a POE study of a LEED® Platinum building and a historical building on a university campus are reported as examples to illustrate the proposed new method.