Two large and detailed field studies of the effect of office environment parameters on aspects of environmental and job satisfaction were conducted. The first study focused on open-plan offices in nine conventional buildings, whereas the second encompassed open-plan and private offices in 24 buildings (12 green and 12 conventional). The data collection for these studies was separated by approximately a decade, but the data collection methods, contexts and analysis procedures were very similar. This offered the opportunity to compare the results of the studies at the workstation level, with the goal of identifying parameters consistent in affecting occupant satisfaction, and of exploring the effects of office type (open-plan versus private) and building type (green versus conventional). Satisfaction with acoustics and privacy was most strongly affected by workstation size and office type; satisfaction with lighting was most strongly affected by window access and glare conditions; and satisfaction with ventilation and temperature was most strongly affected by pollutant concentration. Occupants of green buildings rated all aspects of environmental satisfaction more highly. Finally, job satisfaction was most strongly affected by pollutant concentration and office type.

The interaction of energy and buildings institutes a complex socio-technical system that influences the eudemonic well-being of the occupants. Understanding these drivers become even more necessary in impoverished areas where occupants struggle to avail essential energy services. The literature indicates that energy injustice can be addressed through provisioning of comfort, cleanliness, and convenience (3Cs) as critical cultural energy services in low-income areas. This study investigates the socio-architectural influence for slum rehabilitation housing (SRH) on cultural energy services that can promote distributive justice. The methodology adopts an empirical route using data from 200 household surveys from SRH in Mumbai, India, and João Pessoa, Brazil. A model between the 3Cs and socio-architectural elements was established using Firth’s binary logistic regression. The survey results showed that the SRH in Brazil had twice the appliance ownership as compared to the Mumbai SRH. There were distinct energy service preferences in the study areas, despite common poverty burdens. The empirical results showed that the lack of socio-architectural design elements like open spaces, privacy, and walkability in the study areas demanded specific comfort and convenience appliances as a counter-response. A critical policy implication drawn was on the need for socio-architectural inclusive energy planning for distributive justice in poverty. Mitigating rising energy demand through appropriate built environment design of slum rehabilitation housing can contribute to fulfilling the UN’s SDG 7 (clean and affordable energy) and 11 (sustainable cities and communities) goals.

Social House (SH) residents usually make spatial adaptations. With no technical guidance, these modifications often compromise building performance. This article investigates the dynamics of modifications made to low-income houses and their consequences for habitability conditions. The data were obtained through on-site spatial mapping and a semi-structured interview. The study found modifications that expand the built area and a tendency to occupy the total area of the lot. The type of expansion with the greatest impact on the environmental quality of a house was predominant in the row houses (89.2%). The need for more space is confirmed by houses that have grown more than 30.0% up to over 70.0%. The study also identified a large number of removed windows, and expansions that confined rooms. Besides thermal discomfort, many rooms bear signs of unhealthiness, such as mold, lack of ventilation and sunlight, which have a negative impact on residents’ health. Extreme cases were found (G=12.1%), in which the access gate to the house is the only way of contact with the outside. Spatial adaptations in SH are recurrent and cannot be disregarded as they significantly compromise the health conditions in the houses under study.

A cidade de João Pessoa, na Paraíba, vem sendo submetida, nos últimos anos, a um forte crescimento urbano. Nesse contexto, este trabalho verificou entre as décadas de 1980 e 2000 variações climáticas significativas que possam ser correlacionadas com o crescimento urbano. Para tanto, utilizaram-se imagens de satélite nos anos de 1977 e 2009 para o cálculo da área edificada, bem como foram utilizadas séries de dados das variáveis climáticas: precipitação pluviométrica e temperatura do ar, colhidas em duas estações instaladas na malha urbana, e uma terceira, tomada como estação de referência, fora da malha urbana. Para a caracterização do crescimento da cidade, utilizaram-se dados quantitativos da população residente constantes dos censos demográficos de 1872 a 2009. Para a verificação do ritmo do comportamento da série temporal de temperatura e precipitação foram gerados gráficos da temperatura média e do acumulado mensal dos meses correspondentes aos trimestres mais quentes e menos quentes do período de 1984 a 2008. Dos resultados obtidos do tratamento e análise dos dados pode-se verificar que a temperatura do ar da cidade aumentou nos últimos 26 anos, havendo-se detectado que as temperaturas do ar sofreram elevações mais expressivas nos meses do trimestre mais quente, fato que pode ser correlacionado com a expansão da malha urbana.

Resumo Este trabalho tem como objetivo analisar a obstrução do céu no meio urbano e seu impacto na iluminação natural e no ofuscamento. Ambientes internos em um edifício residencial multipavimentos inseridos em um clima quente e úmido foram analisados. O desempenho da iluminação natural e do ofuscamento nos ambientes de análise foi obtido com o emprego da simulação dinâmica da luz natural, com o programa Daysim e o aplicativo Evalglare.Foram analisados 120 ambientes, resultantes da combinação das variáveis: (a) obstrução do entorno;(b) refletância das superfícies do entorno;(c) proteção solar nos edifícios do entorno;(d) altura do pavimento; e (e) orientação geográfica. Os indicadores de desempenho da iluminação natural e do ofuscamento empregados foram: a iluminância útil (UDI); a iluminância excessiva (eUDI); e a probabilidade de ofuscamento da luz natural (DGP). Entre os principais resultados destacam-se: (a) redução da iluminância útil (aUDI) no percentual de área iluminada de 21,5% no cenário de máxima obstrução e de 40%nos ambientes localizados no térreo; (b) aumento da área iluminada em 8,5%, com um coeficiente de reflexão elevado, porém com impacto menor no pavimento térreo, de apenas 3%; (c) diminuição da probabilidade de ofuscamento nos cenários com obstrução do entorno; (d) redução das iluminâncias excessivas e do ofuscamento com o sombreamento causado pelos elementos de proteção solar horizontal inseridos nos edifícios do entorno; e (e) chances de ofuscamento e refletividade das superfícies verticais do entorno como variáveis diretamente proporcionais.