Performance of office buildings from a user's perspective

Abstract

In the field of environmental psychology a long tradition exists in Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) or building-in-use studies. Nowadays facility managers and real estate managers seem to show a growing interest in ex post evaluation of buildings, too, particularly in connection to ex ante assessments in the briefing and design phase. The aim of this paper is to discuss general objectives and methods of POE and to show how research findings can be used in (re-)designing and management of office buildings. The approach is illustrated by a case study of an office building of the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture. This building has been assessed by using the WEDI working environment diagnostic tool. The results are used to support decision making in the present renovation of the ministries headquarter in The Hague and the real estate management of other ministerial buildings. The paper ends with a series of lessons learnt from a cross-case analysis of eight office buildings and a preview into work in progress on a search for a satisfaction index that might be used in accommodation policy and for benchmarking purposes.