Towards Environmentally Responsive Educational Buildings: A Framework for User-Centered Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE)

Marwa N. Charkas, Mohamed A. Ibrahim, Tarek A. Farghaly

Post occupancy evaluation (POE) is defined as the process of evaluating building systematically and comprehensively after user occupied. What makes this process differs significantly from other conventional surveys is that it uses the direct, unmediated experiences of building users as the basis for evaluating how a building works for its intended use. Focusing mainly on building users and their needs, provides them with the opportunity to participate in the evaluation process, and this makes them take more ownership in the building. This paper reviews approaches used in carrying out post occupancy evaluation process in educational buildings. It focuses on evaluating the environmental aspects as the core interest of users. It develops a framework for user-centered post occupancy evaluation that correlates a combined set of environmental assessment aspects, to evaluation methods and techniques classified as either qualitative or analytical. Finally, another dimension is added to this framework by ranking the evaluation methods and techniques regarding the degree of user involvement.