Previous studies have shown that sound influences students both physiologically and perceptually. However, most of these studies focussed on the effects of sounds at group-level, ignoring individual differences. Therefore, we investigated which indicators can be used to identify differences in bodily responses and perceptual assessments of each individual when exposed to four different sounds. First, based on an audiometric test, the hearing acuity of 15 students (from five different profiles based on their acoustical preferences and needs) was measured. Then, two sound exposure experiments were conducted in the SenseLab: direct sound exposure using earbuds in a laboratory setting, and indirect sound exposure with speakers in a real room setting. During each experiment, the attention level (AL), mental relaxation level (MRL), heart rate (HR), and respiration rate (RR) were measured with wearable devices, and students made perceptual assessments of each condition. The percentage of change normalised the four bodily response measurements among students. Based on correlation analysis and t-tests, bodily responses, and perceptual assessments across experiments were compared, at group-level and individual-level. Six students, who suffered from mild hearing loss in low-frequency sounds, showed bodily responses such as increased HR during exposure to low-frequency sound conditions. Perceptual assessments of different sound types during both lab experiments substantiated the acoustical preferences of the students from the five profiles. Bodily responses showed no strong nor significant correlations with perceptual assessments during the direct sound exposure experiments. Differences in bodily responses and perceptual assessments between the two experiments and between group-level and individual-level were observed in AL. It is concluded that hearing acuity and type of sound (sound frequencies) are key indicators for identifying differences in bodily responses (such as HR and RR) and perceptual assessment. For future research, it is crucial to consider incorporating audiometric tests, bodily responses such as HR and RR, and perceptual assessments in this type of investigations.@en

A PhD study was carried out on comfort and health of workers in outpatient areas because hospital workers are generally less satisfied with comfort than patients and outpatient areas were understudied. To better understand differences in preferences and satisfaction of individuals, profiles were produced with Two-Step Cluster analysis, based on a questionnaire, responded by 556 outpatient workers, and building inspection of six hospital locations. Thereafter, interviews were performed to explain the preferences. As the COVID-19 pandemic started after production of the profiles, changes due to de pandemic were included. A gap between preferences and satisfaction was identified for all profiles. Also, those with similar preferences for social comfort (privacy, interaction, distraction) performed similar activities. Contact with others was for all profiles important, while satisfaction was overall high before the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the shift to digital care during the COVID-19 pandemic, impoverished interaction was a main concern of the outpatient workers. In conclusion the profiles for social comfort show that preferences for social comfort are associated with work-related aspects and can change. The profiles may open a new horizon to accommodate for flexibility and variety beyond standardized solutions.@en

Design solutions bases on Evidence Based Design (EBD) principles vary due to the context and organizational aspects of hospitals. This paper explains how EBD principles were included during the design process of an academic hospital, including design guidelines that were developed with a representative group of key stakeholders from the organization. The hospital comprises several buildings on a campus, that also includes several university buildings. Some of the hospital buildings are connected through “the main axe.” The principles were applied on different scales in the design of a new main building and transformation of an existing building and the main axe, connecting other buildings. Specific design solutions for daylight access, connection to nature, art, privacy, and interaction are discussed.@en

Understanding students' preferences of their study place, in particular acoustical and psychosocial preferences, is important to students' health and comfort. This study aimed to identify clusters of students with similar acoustical and psychosocial preferences, and to identify reasons for certain preferences of students in each cluster. A mixed-methods approach was applied, consisting of a questionnaire, which was completed by 451 bachelor students, and a field study conducted with 23 students from the same sample. The questionnaire data included among others acoustical and psychosocial preferences scores, while the field study data comprised interview transcripts, building checklists, and sound pressure level measurements. The questionnaire data were analysed using TwoStep cluster analysis to identify clusters of students based on their acoustical and psychosocial preferences. This produced five clusters of students that significantly differed in 14 variables, including preferences and perception of indoor environmental quality (e.g., noise from outside). Then, the field study data were analysed and categorised based on the five clusters of the students. The outcome explained the aspects associated with the acoustical preferences of students in each cluster. Building-related indicators such as the location of the building were found as an aspect that could affect the student's acoustical preferences. This study provides insight into the profiles of students based on their acoustical and psychosocial preferences, which are important for their health and comfort at their study places.@en

Due to the ageing society, policy focuses on independent living of elderly in need for care. While the preferences of the elderly to live autonomously vary, there is limited information on variation in needs for the physical environment, e.g., shared and private places. A pilot study was done to develop insights into preferences for social and physical environment of the elderly in need for care. A questionnaire (N=52) and workshop (N=22) were conducted with future elderly. The study showed that preferences for ways of living largely varied. Many were willing to share facilities and help each other, although they did not want to provide somatic care. Based on the results two new concepts were explored, i.e. farm like housing in the city centre and small-scale housing with friends. The concepts, resulting from the questionnaire and workshop, suggest that the method can be used to further explore connections between preferences and design.@en

University students spend a considerable time at study places. The acoustical quality of these study places is one of the indoor environmental qualities (IEQ) that can have an impact on student’s health, comfort, and performance. The indoor soundscape approach has been introduced to better understand occupants’ sound perception and experience of sounds in relation to the environment. This study aims to explore the indoor soundscapes of home study places of these students by conducting semi-structured interviews with 23 university students with different profiles. For qualitative analysis, open coding was used. Sub-categories, based on the codes, and categories were created and assigned to the soundscape themes that are defined in ISO 12913-1. An affinity diagram consisting of the themes, categories, and sub-categories was initially developed. Then, it was validated through two workshops with participants. The results showed that the interpretation of the sound environment, responses, and outcomes differed among the students. In a previous study, 451 students were clustered in 5 clusters with similar acoustical preferences (profiles). Therefore, it is recommended to consider making the indoor soundscape approach applicable for different profiles of occupants.@en

Students are exposed to various environmental stimuli at their home study places. However, different students have different preferences in terms of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) aspects and psychosocial aspects of these places. A previous study on students' preferences of their study places resulted in nine profiles based on their IEQ and psychosocial preferences of their study places. It was found that there are profiles that were not highly concerned with sounds at their study places, while other profiles are concerned about sounds. Accordingly, this present study aims at clustering students based on their acoustical-related preferences of their study places. A questionnaire survey was completed by 451 first-year bachelor students at the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment at TU Delft. TwoStep cluster analysis was performed, and five unique profiles were identified. These are: 1) sound extremely concerned introvert, 2) sound unconcerned introvert, 3) sound partially concerned introvert, 4) sound concerned extrovert, and 5) sound unconcerned extrovert. The outcomes of this study showed that TwoStep cluster analysis facilitate researchers to better understand the different profiles of students based on their acousticalrelated preferences in study places.@en

Myopia is on the rise worldwide and its onset can be triggered by environmental factors, including light exposure. Guaranteeing an adequate exposure to daylight is particularly important for young children, whose eyes need the best conditions for a healthy development. Monitoring and assessing light levels in school buildings is therefore paramount for studies on myopia but it can prove challenging. This paper paves the way for the use of climate-based daylight simulation as a tool to complement field studies on myopia. Existing simulation tools were found to characterise vertical spot illuminance with an acceptable error range (rMBE=8,7%; rMAE=35,4%), as well as cumulative daily illuminance (rMBE=-10%; rMAE=12,6%). Spectral simulation resulted instead in larger errors, mostly for wavelengths at the edges of the visible range, previously found to be important factors in the onset of myopia. Despite current limitations, simulation tools could become an essential support for future research on myopia.@en

Research has shown that students differ in their preferences of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and psychosocial aspects of their study places. Since previous studies have mainly focused on identifying these preferences rather than investigating the different profiles of students, this study aimed at profiling students based on their IEQ and psychosocial preferences of their study places. A questionnaire was completed by 451 bachelor students of the faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment. A TwoStep cluster analysis was performed twice separately. First, to cluster the students based on their IEQ preferences, and second based on their psychosocial preferences. This resulted in three clusters under each cluster model. Then, the overlap between these two models was determined and produced nine unique profiles of students, which are: (1) the concerned perfectionist, (2) the concerned extrovert, (3) the concerned non-perfectionist, (4) the visual concerned perfectionist, (5) the visual concerned extrovert, (6) visual concerned non-perfectionist, (7) the unconcerned introvert, (8) the unconcerned extrovert, and (9) the unconcerned non-perfectionist. A number of variables was found to be significantly different among these profiles. This study’s outcome indicates that studying the overlap between IEQ and psychosocial preferences is required to understand the different possible profiles of students. @en

People are staying indoors for most of their time (on average 90%), where they are exposed to different environmental stimuli (e.g., noise, temperature) that are related to the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) factors (Bluyssen, 2020). Students in higher education spend substantial time at their study places (at home or educational buildings) for their study-related activities (Beckers et al., 2016a). Noise is one of these environmental stimuli that could affect the students’ health and comfort. It was found that noise affected students’ health (Tristan-Hernandez et al., 2017), perception (Dzhambov et al., 2021), and performance (Shu & Ma, 2019). However, previous studies mainly focused on the students’ sound environment perception in classroom settings, while few (e.g., (Ramu et al., 2021) and (Beckers et al., 2016b)) investigated their perception in their study places. This study aims to identify the sound sources that students are exposed to at their home study places. Furthermore, this study shows to which extent students are satisfied with the sound environment of their study places.@en

As hospital workers are generally less satisfied with comfort than patients and limited information was available on health and comfort in outpatient areas, a PhD study was carried out on staff in outpatient areas. The study design, main conclusions and recommendations of this PhD study are discussed. To gain a more representative view of the occupants’ perceptions, IEQ and social comfort were included. Social comfort was studied as a new construct, based on literature of privacy and crowding. A mixed methods approach was selected to justify the occupants’ reallive experience of the physical environment. First, data were collected with building inspection of six hospitals and a questionnaire responded by 556 outpatient workers. Subsequently, a representative sample of them (17) was interviewed with photo elicitation. The survey was conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic, the interviews during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were analysed with several techniques to describe comfort and health (descriptive statistics), determine associations of work and building-related aspects with comfort and health (regression analyses), to identify IEQ and social comfort profiles (Two-Step Cluster analysis) and to identify changes in preferences due to the COVID-19 pandemic (content analysis). The different analyses strengthened associations of contextual aspects, such as room types, with health and comfort. Also, the results indicate limited overlap of social comfort and IEQ. Therefore, it is recommended to include room types and social comfort aspects in future studies. Furthermore, as the results show differences in the occupants’ preferences associated with differences in health (IEQ) and activities (social comfort) while their preferences can change in time, it is recommended to develop design strategies for an optimal fit beyond standardized solutions.@en

While the pressure on hospital workers keeps growing, they are generally more dissatisfied with their comfort than other occupants in hospitals or offices. To better understand the comfort of outpatient workers in hospitals, clusters for preferences and perceptions of the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and social comfort were identified in a previous study before the outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This qualitative study explains the outpatient workers’ main preferences for comfort during the COVID-19 pandemic. Semi-structured interviews and photo-elicitation were used. Contextual changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic were included. The questions in the interviews were based on the characteristics of the profiles, corresponding with the clusters. The data were analyzed with content analysis according to the steps defined by Gioia. Seventeen outpatient workers who had been part of the previous study participated. For some outpatient workers differentiation of preferences was illogical due to interrelations and equal importance of the comfort aspects. The main changes in perceptions of comfort due to the pandemic were worries about the indoor air quality and impoverished interaction. Because the occupants’ preferences for comfort can change over time, it was suggested that further development of occupant profiles needs to accommodate changes.@en

Building-related health symptoms are multifactorial, hence a comprehensive study is needed to identify associations of such symptoms with building aspects. Previous studies have identified certain building characteristics as risk factors for both dry eyes and headaches, which are among the most prevalent symptoms suffered by office workers. This study investigated associations of dry eyes and headaches with building characteristics in outpatient areas because these conditions may vary between office and hospital buildings. A survey was performed in six hospital buildings, which included administering a questionnaire to 556 outpatient workers and an inspection of the building locations, services and 127 outpatient rooms. Multivariate regression models were produced for dry eyes and headaches. Both models were adjusted for personal and work-related aspects. The prevalence of self-reported dry eyes and headaches in outpatient areas was related to building-related aspects that affect the indoor air quality and visual quality, and to room types. In general, this study is consistent with previous office studies. However, a specific finding of this study is the association of the most frequently used room types and the presence of a window to the corridor with dry eyes and headaches.

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Inspired by the strong vision of the hospital organization on hospitality, a new hospital was built with theintention to provide an open environment which supports privacy and interaction between the occupants. This studyevaluates the satisfaction of patients, visitors and nursing staff with shared and single bedrooms, regarding privacyand interaction with others.Background – The hospital organization@en

Against the backdrop of an increasing need for healthcare, staff shortages and relatively high rates of sick leave, understanding of wellbeing (comfort and health) of hospital workers is important. This research aims to provide a contribution, through a mixed-methods approach, with broad and in-depth insights into comfort and health. Therefore, data have been collected from questionnaires, building inspections, interviews, and photos, and analysed with several techniques. Personal, work, and building-related aspects were included in data collection, because a preliminary literature review identified mutual relations with comfort and health. As previous studies on outpatient workers were missing, while staff is generally less satisfied with comfort than patients, this research focuses on staff in outpatient areas. To gain insights into the outpatient workers’ comfort and health, four important aspects are highlighted: differences in comfort in relation to room types, occupant profiles differentiated by the individuals’ preferences and satisfaction, changes of preferences due to contextual changes, and associations of health with building-related aspects. This research builds on previous studies which identified indoor environmental quality (IEQ) profiles of home occupants and school children. New are social comfort profiles, comparison between room types and contextual influence on preferences, as well as the studied occupant group and building. The study enables academical and practical exploration of preferences and perceptions of comfort and their integration in the design process. @en

Gezondheid en comfort van mensen in de gebouwde omgeving, thuis, op het werk, op school, onderweg, of in de vrije tijd is een complex onderwerp, waarbij natuurkunde, gedrag, fysiologie, energiegebruik, klimaatverandering, architectuur, engineering en techniek een rol spelen. De manier waarop mensen iets voelen, ervaren en zich gedragen is gerelateerd aan de kwaliteit van hun omgeving, beschreven door de thermische, lucht, licht en geluidkwaliteiten. Bovendien hebben de veerkracht van gebouwen en installaties om aan de veranderende eisen en voorkeuren te voldoen en het vermogen van mensen om te reageren op nieuwe gebouwen en installaties invloed op hun perceptie en gedrag.@en

To identify current problems in the classroom and to conceptualize design solutions by primary school children to solve these problems, 335 children from seven primary schools participated in a workshop held in the Experience room of the SenseLab, comprising of two parts. In part 1, the children were asked to think about their own classroom at school and to choose an IEQ-problem in their own classroom that they are bothered with. In part 2 of the workshop, the children were asked to imagine they are an inventor or scientist in 2040 with all resources available and to make a design for the future. The content analysis of the problems and solutions appearing in the drawings and the written text resulted in 5 themes (light, noise, temperature, air and other than IEQ) and 16 sub-themes (11 for the problems and 5 for the solutions). Noise-related problems were most frequently reported (58%), followed by temperature (53%), air (22%), and light (16%). Girls reported more problems than boys, which is possibly related to a better recollection of negative feelings towards those problems in their classrooms. 47% of the children proposed solutions related to more than one IEQ-problem. Solutions ranged from existing solutions, for example headphones to protect against noise to far-fetched solutions such as send noisy children away by means of a rocket. The outcome showed that children can be valuable contributors in co-designing ‘new’ or ‘adapted’ classroom environments.

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It is well known that the demand on hospital staff is increasing and that their comfort and health may be affected negatively by dose and building-related aspects. Comfort and health may differ between hospital departments. However, outpatient areas are understudied. To better understand comfort and health of staff in outpatient areas a survey was performed in which social comfort, personal and work-related aspects were all accounted for. This study aimed to identify comfort and health in relation to different room types. Of the 1694 invitations that were sent to outpatient staff of six buildings, 566 respondents (33%) were included in the analysis. There was little difference in the prevalence of the main self-reported symptoms, dry eyes and headache, and indoor air complaints, whereas acoustical, visual, thermal and social comfort differed statistically significantly between those working in different room types. Compared to other (inpatient) hospital and office studies, the prevalence of symptoms and dissatisfaction with comfort was high, especially dissatisfaction with daylight. Considering the dynamic use of workplaces in outpatient areas and the high ERI, this study reinforces the necessity for inclusion of personal and work-related characteristics in studies on comfort and health of occupants.@en

Comfort and health of outpatient staff is important due to the growing demand of healthcare and its crucial influence on society. Previous studies have mostly focused on the perception of comfort and indicated a large prevalence of building-related symptoms and dissatisfaction with comfort of staff in hospital buildings. Unfortunately, limited information was available of the individual preferences in relation to building aspects, especially in outpatient areas. This study aims to understand the preferences of outpatient staff in relation to their comfort, health, work- and building-related aspects. Data were collected with a survey from 556 outpatient workers in six hospital buildings and building inspection of 107 rooms. TwoStep cluster analysis was performed to identify groups with clear differences in preferences and comfort, that justify the variation of individual comfort and preferences of outpatient workers. Six clusters were produced for preferences and comfort with IEQ; three clusters were produced for preferences and comfort with social aspects. The clusters indicated that preferences and comfort of IEQ are related to health. The social clusters varied in activities of outpatient staff. As the overlap of the profiles of the IEQ clusters with the profiles of the social clusters was limited, the results suggest that it is important to study both simultaneously. Surprisingly, relations with building-related aspects were for both cluster-sets limited. This suggests that outpatient staff members do not relate their preferences to the actual building where they are working.

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For several years indoor comfort is measured in halls of hospitals by architecture students from the Delft University of Technology. Questionnaires and interviews have shows that patients and visitors have very few complaints about the indoor comfort in hospital halls. This, in hindsight, is not so very surprising. Patients and visitors usually come out of the cold into the hallway. A hallway which is at least marginally warmer, a hallway where it does not rain and hallway that is sheltered from the outside wind. Secondly, the indoor comfort is not the main concern of the patients and visitors entering the hospital. The patient’s and visitor’s upcoming consults with the doctors or nurses is much more important. Coming from the consult, patients and visitors always have the choice to immediately leave the hospital if they do not like the indoor comfort. Complaints from staff, however, are very common. Staff personnel usually complain about low temperatures and draught. A reception desk is the main workplace in a hospital hall. A reception desk can be closed, i.e. physically separates the personnel from the environment of the hall. A reception desk can also be open, thus without a physical separation between personnel and patients and visitors. In a hospital, in general, an open reception desk is favoured for a more welcoming atmosphere for patients and visitors. This more open reception desk, however, often causes the personnel to experience low temperatures and draught. From this study it is clear that it is very difficult design a thermally comfortable reception desk in a hospital. The quest for a reception that expresses openness and transparency clearly hinders the design for a comfortable reception desk. On the other hand, the small number of people at the reception desk is in no comparison to the hundreds of staff and patients for which the hospital is also designed. Many solutions to improve thermal comfort at a reception desk are already known. The exact cause of the experienced draught and the best solutions, however, are difficult to determine. Scale models or CFD simulations should be used as a guide for design a reception desk in a hospital or when solving thermal comfort problems. A new cause of draught, people moving past the reception desk, was identified and quantified. As a result, a completely open reception desk inside a large atrium with a lot of people moving past might not be possible without either closing off the reception desk, or increasing the temperature at the reception desk.@en