Comfort and well-being are recurring topics in building research, standards and practices. However, within today’s pressing energy efficiency agendas, the achievement of occupant comfort and well-being poses significant design and operational challenges, exacerbated by difficulty in defining robust metrics and models for their measurement and prediction. In fact, there may be large discrepancies between requirements for building energy efficiency, the conditions demanded for comfortable task performance, and what occupants may need over time. Moving away from efficiency targets that are based on neutral acceptability of static indoor environments, the lecture will explore the need for integration of new and diverse knowledge to sustain building performance while offering enriched opportunities for occupant comfort and well-being.
Sergio Altomonte is Professor of Architectural Physics at the University of Louvain, Belgium, where he directs the research group Architecture et Climat. He has held academic appointments in Italy (Rome), Australia (Melbourne) and UK (Nottingham), and visiting positions in Denmark (KADK, Copenhagen) and US (Berkeley). He has been External Examiner of the AA Sustainable Environmental Design programme (2015-18).
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