Journal of Architectural Environment & Structural Engineering Research

Impact of Energy-Consuming Air Conditioning Systems on People's Thermal Comfort and Preferences: Comparative Study of Iraq and Gulf Cooperation Council Countries

Omar Al-Hafith — 2024-03-10

This study investigates the impact of the intense usage of air-conditioning systems on the thermal comfort requirements of building occupants. It compares the thermal comfort requirements of building occupants in Iraq and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Iraqis have limited usage of air-conditioning units, whilst people in GCC countries intensely operate these systems. Research work underpinning this article involved undertaking a year-long thermal comfort survey in Iraq, and an intensive analysis of thermal comfort studies conducted in GCC countries. Results show that, in Iraq, people experience a 2–50 °C annual indoor temperature range, and their annual comfort range is 14–35 °C. In GCC countries, due to the intense usage of air-conditioning systems, the widest recorded annual indoor temperature range is 17.2–31.0 °C, and the widest annual comfort range is 20.0–27.8 °C. These results demonstrate the significant impact of air-conditioning systems on narrowing the thermal comfort limits of building occupants leading to high energy consumption. This study presents a novel comparison between two cases highlighting the impact of air-conditioning systems on the thermal comfort requirements of building occupants. The results of this study can be used to inform the development of thermal comfort standards that better consider people’s adaptation capabilities to help reduce energy consumption for heating and cooling purposes.

Study of Spatial Disorientation and Wayfinding Challenges in Buildings Using Axial Analysis: A Case of Hospital Buildings in Nigeria

Akubue Jideofor Anselm — 2024-03-10

All living creatures rely on spatial orientation to navigate through familiar environments. For humans, everyday activities depend on spatial orientation for navigating routes from outside locations to final destinations. The study suggests that the larger buildings get, the more the challenges of spatial orientation for their users. Likewise, building forms and configurations impact significantly on the course of wayfinding. In the case of hospitals, spatial configuration has been identified as significant in influencing human movements, performances of users and efficiency of services. This paper analyses the layout configurations of selected large hospital buildings in Nigeria using axial lines and relates the analysis with spatial orientation and wayfinding process. The aim of the study was to identify the extent of the impact of building layout configuration on spatial orientation and wayfinding process. The three large-sized hospitals selected for the study presented different scenarios which identified simplicities and complexities of building layout configurations as significant in the process of wayfinding. A comparative summary of the three hospitals in the study suggests that the less complex hospital layout presented the least spatial disorientation effect. This is mostly due to the linear sightlines utilized in the layout configuration design with fewer turns that enable visual connectivity to destination points thus indicating lesser challenges for wayfinding.