Toward a critical assessment of indoor environmental quality standards

Building design and operation requirements regarding indoor-environmental quality (IEQ) are of direct relevance to occupants' needs. In most buildings, occupant-related requirements pertain to the provision of conditions that support optimal task performance and are subjectively perceived as co...

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Main Authors: Ardeshir Mahdavi, Christiane Berger
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: CTU Central Library 2022-12-01
Series:Acta Polytechnica CTU Proceedings
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ojs.cvut.cz/ojs/index.php/APP/article/view/8256
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author Ardeshir Mahdavi
Christiane Berger
author_facet Ardeshir Mahdavi
Christiane Berger
author_sort Ardeshir Mahdavi
collection DOAJ
description Building design and operation requirements regarding indoor-environmental quality (IEQ) are of direct relevance to occupants' needs. In most buildings, occupant-related requirements pertain to the provision of conditions that support optimal task performance and are subjectively perceived as comfortable or pleasant. Codes, standards, and guidelines that specify IEQ requirements are commonly viewed as the main sources of reference for practitioners, who are expected to follow the provisions in these documents and provide corresponding proof of compliance. However, actual code compliance processes are not always accompanied by critical reflections regarding the evidentiary basis of the entailed mandates and recommendations. It is thus necessary to critically scrutinise standards in view of explicit or implicit references to the scientific basis of the entailed mandates. The present contribution explores and details a path toward such a critical assessment. To this end, we considered a number of typical and frequently referenced standards pertaining to thermal, visual, and air quality aspects of indoor environments. The results of this illustrative assessment effort highlight the scope and limitations of the standards' default approaches to the definition of IEQ-relevant requirements. Moreover, they point to considerable gaps in the chain of evidence from standards' immediate content to the underlying factual sources.
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spelling doaj.art-be4ca23423f042f8878e20ab53e87b952023-04-27T09:41:58ZengCTU Central LibraryActa Polytechnica CTU Proceedings2336-53822022-12-013851010.14311/APP.2022.38.00055496Toward a critical assessment of indoor environmental quality standardsArdeshir Mahdavi0Christiane Berger1Department of Building Physics and Building Ecology, TU Wien, Karlsplatz 1040 Vienna, AustriaDepartment of Architecture, Design and Media Technology, Aalborg University, 9000 Aalborg, DenmarkBuilding design and operation requirements regarding indoor-environmental quality (IEQ) are of direct relevance to occupants' needs. In most buildings, occupant-related requirements pertain to the provision of conditions that support optimal task performance and are subjectively perceived as comfortable or pleasant. Codes, standards, and guidelines that specify IEQ requirements are commonly viewed as the main sources of reference for practitioners, who are expected to follow the provisions in these documents and provide corresponding proof of compliance. However, actual code compliance processes are not always accompanied by critical reflections regarding the evidentiary basis of the entailed mandates and recommendations. It is thus necessary to critically scrutinise standards in view of explicit or implicit references to the scientific basis of the entailed mandates. The present contribution explores and details a path toward such a critical assessment. To this end, we considered a number of typical and frequently referenced standards pertaining to thermal, visual, and air quality aspects of indoor environments. The results of this illustrative assessment effort highlight the scope and limitations of the standards' default approaches to the definition of IEQ-relevant requirements. Moreover, they point to considerable gaps in the chain of evidence from standards' immediate content to the underlying factual sources.https://ojs.cvut.cz/ojs/index.php/APP/article/view/8256indoor-environmental qualitystandardsevidence
spellingShingle Ardeshir Mahdavi
Christiane Berger
Toward a critical assessment of indoor environmental quality standards
Acta Polytechnica CTU Proceedings
indoor-environmental quality
standards
evidence
title Toward a critical assessment of indoor environmental quality standards
title_full Toward a critical assessment of indoor environmental quality standards
title_fullStr Toward a critical assessment of indoor environmental quality standards
title_full_unstemmed Toward a critical assessment of indoor environmental quality standards
title_short Toward a critical assessment of indoor environmental quality standards
title_sort toward a critical assessment of indoor environmental quality standards
topic indoor-environmental quality
standards
evidence
url https://ojs.cvut.cz/ojs/index.php/APP/article/view/8256
work_keys_str_mv AT ardeshirmahdavi towardacriticalassessmentofindoorenvironmentalqualitystandards
AT christianeberger towardacriticalassessmentofindoorenvironmentalqualitystandards