ZEMCH 2019 International Conference Proceedings April.2020 | Page 363
3.
Results and discussion
This section presents the findings of the review of methods and techniques used to survey .The
review has revealed that in order to understand the barriers, drivers, and roles of stakeholders in
occupant centric design practice, the following research questions need to be answered:
(1)
How do the stakeholders define high‐performance buildings?
(2)
What occupant‐related assumptions do the stakeholders collect and share? Do occupants’
behavior and comfort play a key role in design assumptions and sharing information among
stakeholders?
(3)
What tools or methods the stakeholders use to share information on occupants?
In order to answer these questions, a thorough understanding of the design process including the
role of each stakeholder, the information exchange mechanism and timing in which every design task
take place. To do so, a number of methods are required including a detailed literature review, surveys,
interviews with stakeholders and analysis of cases studies.
3.1 Literature review
A comprehensive literature review needs to be conducted to understand occupant‐centric
communication and sharing among the stakeholders. The review should focus on the following
categories:
Design stakeholders and stages including identifying the relevant stakeholders, building design
stages, drivers behind design decisions like energy or comfort, concerns, and perceptions of
stakeholders in residential and commercial buildings.
Occupant‐centric knowledge: In this section, understanding of occupant‐related factors or data
including occupants in high‐performing buildings.
Communication, design tools, and methods: Here, evaluation is required for the tools and
techniques used in practice to understand information sharing among stakeholders.
Gaps and challenges in high‐performance: It elucidates the need for understanding stakeholder
needs, difficulties in implementation, and the standardized way of effective communication.
3.2 Surveys
A web survey among different stakeholders is a powerful technique that can demonstrate the
general trends of practice. Surveys should focus on stakeholders’ occupant‐centric knowledge and data
sharing among them. The survey should cover a wide range of design disciplines including the key
stakeholders such as owners, architects, energy modellers and mechanical engineers. It also considers
the different geographical locations and the different organizational structures of surveyed design
firms.
3.3 Case studies
Documenting Case studies enables access to stakeholders working on the same projects.
Interviews with stakeholders are useful tools to access details and to explore the interpersonal
relationships among design stakeholders. Interviews can take the form of open‐ended questionnaire to
understand the design workflow and to identify the barriers and challenges in sharing occupant‐related
data throughout the design process.
4.
Conclusion and future work
Designing buildings for real occupant and to be energy efficient requires understanding of the
design process and its challenges including the stakeholders involved in the process. In this paper, we
highlighted the ongoing efforts to understand the occupant‐centric design process including the
Understanding the Needs and Challenges of Occupant-centric Building Design
among Stakeholders: A Review
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