About the project
This ongoing study was conducted over a period of several years through several EU funded and self-funded projects.
This research aims to investigate the performance and occupant perception of buildings employing various combinations of Passive Downdraught Evaporative Cooling (PDEC) and Active Downdraught Cooling (ADC). The feedback obtained on selected case studies worldwide evidence the challenges and requirements associated with the design and operation of buildings which pioneer alternative forms of cooling and break free, to some extent, from the conventional assumption that non-domestic (mainly office) buildings will require air conditioning almost irrespective of climate and location.
The study, conducted in a specific moment in time, aims to derive lessons from the challenges and opportunities associated with the operation of a relatively innovative form of cooling, which is intrinsically linked to the architectural de- sign and the building environmental design strategy. The occupants’ surveys were undertaken using the Workplace Questionnaire developed and licensed by the Building Use Studies (BUS), UK. The BUS occupant questionnaire and methodology is described by Leaman (1997) and has been extensively employed since the PROBE (Post Occupancy Review of Buildings and their Environment) project between 1995 and 2002 (Bordass, 1999).
Over the years, as a result of the application of this survey tool and methodology, the BUS has collated a database of hundreds of surveyed buildings worldwide, including air-conditioned, mechanically ventilated and naturally ventilated buildings. This generated the dataset against which the POE results of each survey are compared. The questionnaire produces a comprehensive evaluation of the occupants’ perceptions of the building, filtered through their ‘historic’ memory of the building environment over the duration of their occupancy, and does not relate to a specific set of contingent environmental conditions. For this study, particular emphasis was placed on analysing responses related to the summer performance, and aspects such as perceived thermal comfort, air quality and control.
During the visits, the building manager’s views of the cooling system were recorded in relation to characteristics, performance and maintenance requirements.
Outputs
- Ford, B., Schiano-Phan, R. and Vallejo, J. (2020). The Architecture of Natural Cooling, Abington, Oxon: Routledge.
- Schiano-Phan, R. (2015). ‘Pioneering innovation: application of passive downdraught evaporative cooling in US buildings. Lessons from post occupancy evaluation studies’. In: O Edificio Ambiental. Goncalves, J., Bode K. (Editors). Oficina de Texto: Sao Paulo.
- Ford, B., Schiano-Phan, R., Francis, E., (Editors). (2010). ‘The Architecture and Engineering of Downdraught Cooling: A Design Sourcebook’. PHDC Press. ISBN 9780956579003.
- Aparicio-Ruiz, P., Schiano-Phan, R. and Salmeron-Lissen, J.M. (2018). Climatic applicability of downdraught evaporative cooling in the United States of America. Building and Environment. 136, 162-176. Schiano-Phan, R., (2012). ‘Post-occupancy evaluation of non-domestic buildings using Passive Downdraught Evaporative Cooling (PDEC) in south-west USA’, in Architectural Science Review, 55:4, pp. 320-340.
- Schiano-Phan, R., Ford, B. (2008). ‘Post Occupancy Evaluation of non-domestic buildings using downdraught cooling: Case studies in the US’, in Plea 2008 The 25th Conference on Passive & Low Energy Architecture, Dublin, Ireland, 22-24 October 2008 (ISBN 90-3861636-8).