Postoccupancy Evaluation in Buildings: Systematic Literature Review

AbstractThis paper develops a systematic literature review to identify publications that could serve as the basis for understanding how postoccupancy evaluations (POEs) are currently being conducted. The objective is to identify the criteria that are usually assessed, the evaluation methods used, the time spent conducting the research, the types of buildings examined, and the professionals responsible for conducting the evaluations. The research was conducted using four electronic research sources covering journal and conference papers (English and Portuguese) published from 2013 to 2017. Fifty five papers that met the inclusion requirements were identified and examined according to the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How (5W1H) tool logic, the quality tool that allows fast identification of the intrinsic elements of a project. More than half of the research used multiple assessment methods. The most used evaluation methods were questionnaires and on-site physical measurements. The most frequently evaluated criteria were lighting, internal temperature and thermal comfort, and acoustic comfort. All of the studies identified were developed by at least one researcher belonging to the academy and the time spent conducting the POEs varied according to the criteria evaluated and methods used. Finally, since there are multiple variables involved, there is no single solution for building evaluation.