Perceived Indoor Environment and Occupants' Comfort in European "Modern" Office Buildings: The OFFICAIR Study.
Indoor environmental conditions (thermal, noise, light, and indoor air quality) may affect workers' comfort, and consequently their health and well-being, as well as their productivity. This study aimed to assess the relations between perceived indoor environment and occupants' comfort, and to examine the modifying effects of both personal and building characteristics. Within the framework of the European project OFFICAIR, a questionnaire survey was administered to 7441 workers in 167 "modern" office buildings in eight European countries (Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain). Occupants assessed indoor environmental quality (IEQ) using both crude IEQ items (satisfaction with thermal comfort, noise, light, and indoor air quality), and detailed items related to indoor environmental parameters (e.g., too hot/cold temperature, humid/dry air, noise inside/outside, natural/artificial light, odor) of their office environment. Ordinal logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the relations between perceived IEQ and occupants' comfort. The highest association with occupants' overall comfort was found for "noise", followed by "air quality", "light" and "thermal" satisfaction. Analysis of detailed parameters revealed that "noise inside the buildings" was highly associated with occupants' overall comfort. "Layout of the offices" was the next parameter highly associated with overall comfort. The relations between IEQ and comfort differed by personal characteristics (gender, age, and the Effort Reward Imbalance index), and building characteristics (office type and building's location). Workplace design should take into account both occupant and the building characteristics in order to provide healthier and more comfortable conditions to their occupants.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of West Macedonia, Sialvera &amp; Bakola Str., Kozani 50100, Greece. isakellaris@me.com.
Ioannis A
IA
Sakellaris
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of West Macedonia, Sialvera &amp; Bakola Str., Kozani 50100, Greece. dsaraga@ipta.demokritos.gr.|Environmental Research Laboratory, INRASTES, National Center for Scientific Research "DEMOKRITOS", Aghia Paraskevi Attikis, Athens 15310, Greece. dsaraga@ipta.demokritos.gr.
Dikaia E
DE
Saraga
CSTB-Centre Scientifique et Technique du Bâtiment, University of Paris-Est, 84 Avenue Jean Jaurès, Marne-La-Vallée 77447, France. Corinne.MANDIN@cstb.fr.
Corinne
C
Mandin
Chair Indoor Environment, Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Delft University of Technology, Delft 2628 GA, The Netherlands. celine.roda@gmail.com.
Célina
C
Roda
Occupational and Environmental Health Unit, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences "L. Sacco", University of Milan, Via G.B. Grassi 74, Milan IT-20157, Italy. serena.fossati@unimi.it.
Serena
S
Fossati
The Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), Delft 49 2600 AA, The Netherlands. yvonne.dekluizenaar@tno.nl.
Yvonne
Y
de Kluizenaar
Occupational and Environmental Health Unit, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences "L. Sacco", University of Milan, Via G.B. Grassi 74, Milan IT-20157, Italy. Paolo.carrer@unimi.it.
Paolo
P
Carrer
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of West Macedonia, Sialvera &amp; Bakola Str., Kozani 50100, Greece. sanidimi@gmail.com.
Sani
S
Dimitroulopoulou
Cooperative Research Centre for Environmental Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest H-1117, Hungary. vigami72@yahoo.es.
Victor G
VG
Mihucz
Cooperative Research Centre for Environmental Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest H-1117, Hungary. tamas.szigeti@yahoo.com.
Tamás
T
Szigeti
Department of Health Protection, National Institute for Health and Welfare, POB 95, Kuopio 70701, Finland. otto.hanninen@thl.fi.
Otto
O
Hänninen
Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Management, INEGI, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, Porto 4200-465, Portugal. eof@fe.up.pt.
Eduardo
E
de Oliveira Fernandes
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of West Macedonia, Sialvera &amp; Bakola Str., Kozani 50100, Greece. bartzis@uowm.gr.
John G
JG
Bartzis
Chair Indoor Environment, Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Delft University of Technology, Delft 2628 GA, The Netherlands. P.M.Bluyssen@tudelft.nl.
Philomena M
PM
Bluyssen
D000328:Adult; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor; D004526:Efficiency; D004644:Emotions; D004777:Environment; D004780:Environment, Controlled; D005006:Ethnicity; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D005602:France; D006115:Greece; D006801:Humans; D006814:Hungary; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands; D010465:Perception; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011174:Portugal; D013030:Spain; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017132:Workplace / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
comfort; indoor air; indoor environmental quality; layout; light; noise; office buildings; open-plan office spaces; perception; thermal comfort