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Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture 10 (2016) 1373-1383 doi: 10.17265/1934-7359/2016.12.008
Post-occupancy Evaluation for Ceremonial and Public
Buildings: A Case Study of Amman City Hall, Jordan
Rami Al-Shawabkeh1, Mwfeq Ibraheem Alhaddad2 and Firas Gandah2
1. Department of Architecture, Al-Albayt University, Mafraq 25113, Jordan
2. Department of Architecture, Al-Balqa Applied University, Al-Salt 19117, Jordan
Abstract: POE (post-occupancy evaluation) of buildings is one of the most important mechanisms which ensures that ceremonial and public building performance including its facilities is sustained. POE studies concerned with efficiency of building performance after using and implementing with the end-user. It provides feedback on the current status of the building and proposes solutions to existing problems in addition to guidelines and design criteria for the best solutions in the future. Despite precedent research which have been undertaken in the context of building performance, aspects of evaluating building performance have not been specified and used widely in Jordan. At the commencement of this research, the concept of POE is still new in Jordan, and the local building practitioners are still unfamiliar with this approach for the evaluation of a building performance in Amman. Accordingly, there is a need to undertake this kind of research in Jordan to identify the main guidelines of POE to be applied effectively in ceremonial and public buildings. This study therefore applies POE of indoor environment of the public buildings by exploring the guidelines that can constitute a successful and effective framework for the public buildings in Amman. This was achieved using the learnt lessons from Amman City Hall building which was used as a case study and reflecting them on these where needed. Analytical and descriptive approach basis was applied, adopting a mixed method approach (qualitative and quantitative method) by using observation tool and a questionnaire survey with occupants. Context-derived data and statistics analyzed together were used to explore the guidelines of POE to be applied effectively in public buildings. A field visit and observation tool was adopted for gathering information leading to the findings and recommendations. A questionnaire was also used to extrapolate core findings of this research. This research provides a significant contribution of POE result towards improving indoor environment to ceremonial and public buildings in Jordan. Key words: Post occupancy evaluation, Amman City Hall, ceremonial and public building.
1. Introduction
Evaluation of post-occupancy is a process to assess
the facilities, organization and accurate systematic way
in the post-construction works, in order to know the
needs of users and their requirements and the extent to
which decisions design to these needs. The evaluation
is primarily concerned with collecting information
about buildings and their occupants through field
observation, interviews, questionnaires, site visits,
which represent the evaluation of the users of the
building [1, 2].
In the current situation, building occupants seek to
get efficiency and comfort in their offices. Occupants
give the priority in terms of comfort ability to use the
Corresponding author: Rami Al-Shawabkeh, Dr., research
field: architecture.
available services and facilities as it has to be fit for the
purpose of the user. It is probable that work
productivity of occupants is being interrupted due to
poor indoor-environmental conditions. The question is,
how the indoor environment of the ceremonial and
public building can meet the user’s satisfaction using
the building elements and facilities fitting the user’s
purpose? The study therefore aims to explore
guidelines that can constitute a successful and effective
framework for the ceremonial and public buildings in
Amman by determining occupants’ satisfaction in
terms of indoor environment, namely: (1) air
movement; (2) noise pollution; (3) security; (4)
cleanliness; (5) visual comfort; (6) thermal comfort;
and (7) overall comfort. This research is limited to the
building occupants in one public building only.
D DAVID PUBLISHING
Post-occupancy Evaluation for Ceremonial and Public Buildings: A Case Study of Amman City Hall, Jordan
1374
Among the benefits gathered from POE, it helps to
identify a wide range of successful design features to
be repeated [3-6], identify solutions to problems in
facilities, use improved space through providing a
feedback on the building performance [7], fine tune
completed buildings, ensure an active building
occupants involvement in the evaluation process and
better-informed design decision-making and
understanding of the consequences of design and
others [8].
2. Research Problem
The main research problem defined with examining
ceremonial and public buildings facilities spaces
design, and highlighting the use of various facilities
and the extent of the success of the designer ideas in
applying them. This paper seeks to explore whether the
building of Amman City Hall achieves the main
purpose that is designed for. This could be achieved
through determining occupants’ satisfaction in terms of
indoor environment.
3. Methodology
The descriptive and analytical approach was adopted
using a mixed method to achieve the main aim of this
research, including literature review of various field,
visits and direct observation and questionnaire survey.
In general, the research consists of three phases of
methodology. Firstly, defining the area of study, the
concept, approaches and scope of POE, this therefore
helped to identify the main problem. This was achieved
by using the literature review of various fields of POE.
Secondly, study visits, unstructured interviews and
direct observation as a qualitative method were used to
understand the main features of the building. This
therefore gave a clear indication for the activities and
functions relating indoor environment of the building
in order to identify the research problem. Thirdly, the
quantitative method then occurred by using a
questionnaire survey. The analysis of survey was done
by developing and distributing questionnaire to a wide
range of occupants in Amman City Hall building. All
collected data was analyzed to get the research findings
achieving the research aim. Finally, the research
proposes and recommends guidelines to improve the
indoor building environment.
4. Literature Review
Preiser and Schramm [9] pointed out that building
performance evaluation can be traced back to the early
work by Manning (1965) in England. In the 1960s and
1970s, POE was applied to individual case studies of
public and student housing sector [7, 10] in Britain,
Canada, France and United States. It was then
widespread to other facilities such as courthouses,
hospitals and prisons. By the mid of 1980s, it was
applied to commercial real estate and office buildings.
POE aims to feed forward “lessons learned” from the
analysis of findings into a process that may ensure the
application of the best practices in the future projects
[11, 12]. Zimmerman and Martin [13] stated that “The
over-arching benefit from using POE is to provide a
wide range of valuable information to support the
design criteria and guidelines by public agencies”.
Watson [6] defined POE as a systematic evaluation
about buildings in use by the occupants. POE focuses
on the ones that should not be repeated in future
designs of buildings and takes advantages of the
parameters of buildings that work well [3, 4, 14, 15].
This gives an opportunity to improve the building
performance when similar buildings need to be
developed.
Watson [6] stated that POE can be conducted at any
time in the life of a building and it is not necessary to
conduct in between the time frame. In POE, the
occupants begin to understand the implications of the
spaces and facilities they asked for [1, 5, 15]. This
helps designers to get a view of what users need and
what is important [16]. Therefore, the consequences of
this evaluation can be able to meet other objectives like
reducing maintenance operation costs and providing
design consideration for environment improvement.
Post-occupancy Evaluation for Ceremonial and Public Buildings: A Case Study of Amman City Hall, Jordan
1375
Vischer [17] classified POE into four separate types:
(1) building-behavior research; (2) the accumulation of
knowledge; (3) information for pre-design
programming for buildings for which design guides
may be useful; and (4) strategic space planning such as
building assessment as part of “workspace change to
bring space use more in line with intended goals of the
project”. POE is considered a tool in developing
performance measures for built space [12]. Therefore,
this study adopted the fourth type of POE to be applied
in a way that helps to achieve the main purpose of this
research, seeking to explore guidelines that can
constitute a successful and effective framework for the
ceremonial and public buildings in Amman.
In addition, Nawawi and Khalil [18] pointed out that
POE tools of occupied buildings performance are
classified in: physical measurements of indoor
environmental quality; as operating conditions;
web-based surveys; and evaluation tools such as space
utilization surveys, floor plan analysis, and social
network analysis objectively record as-occupied use of
space. For achieving the main purpose of this research,
this study used the evaluation tools that facilitate
conducting the POE process of the Amman City Hall.
The study needs to identify the main guidelines of
POE to be applied effectively. Khalil and Husin [1]
suggested an initial framework that consists of
guidelines to facilitate the application of POE for
government and public building. These proposed
guidelines consist of a systematic sequence of three
main phases of this framework represented in: (1)
planning; (2) conducting; and (3) applying. Each phase
illustrates issues or activities that need to be addressed
in the POE as follows [1]:
(1) Planning. During the planning, it determines
feasibility study of a building, reviews and provides
analysis of building, defines the building parameters,
identifies the strength and weakness of the building and
identifies who are the building occupants or users. This
is vital in setting research plan to sense the data in
terms of the questions asked at the beginning of
research;
(2) Conducting. This phase concerned with data
collection which considers the key task in conducting
POE; whether based on interviews or questionnaire. At
this phase, the evaluation takes place and all data
collection procedures have to be managed and
monitored, and then the data is analyzed;
(3) Applying. At this phase, the application of
findings and actions in response to feedbacks has to be
taken place. This phase involves reporting the findings,
recommending and planning actions, the main purpose
of this evaluation therefore could identify problem and
unsuccessful performance in facilities.
This study has sought to understand the indicators
which can be used by POE. A number of authors such
as Nawawi, Khalil, Husin, Meir, Watson and Preiser
have proposed a framework for post occupancy
evaluation [1, 6, 18-21]. Khalil and Husin [1] and
Barlex [22] pointed out that POE of the indoor
environment of building can be applied by using a set
of indicators. They affirm that such indicators could be
represented in seven key indicators to be used
effectively: (1) air movement; (2) noise pollution; (3)
security; (4) cleanliness; (5) visual comfort; (6) thermal
comfort; and (7) overall comfort [1, 18]. Therefore,
this paper uses these indicators to evaluate the indoor
environment of the public building for providing the
guidelines which can be used effectively by such
buildings.
Based on the above literature review from various
sources, this study shows that POE indicates how well
building’s performance works. Also, it provides the
process of the actual evaluation of a building
performance once in use by occupants. In addition,
Preiser [21] pointed out that POE provides an extension
to other technical evaluations like maintenance and
operation review, energy audit, building audit [5, 18].
The POE study conducted at a hall in Amman,
Jordan, is purposed to identify which improvements
could typically be made based on the results of the
assessment of indoor environment of this building as
Post-occupancy Evaluation for Ceremonial and Public Buildings: A Case Study of Amman City Hall, Jordan
1376
perceived by occupants. In addition, this study
conducted a survey on workplace occupant satisfaction
in the inner spaces of the building, which revealed the
occupants’ control of the indoor climate and moreover
the perceived effect of their intervention influencing
their satisfaction with thermal indoor conditions
strongly. This research provides a significant
contribution of POE result towards improving indoor
environment to public buildings.
In summary, the literature review has highlighted the
most important issues relating the application of POE
of the public building represented in: POE types, tools,
phases and indicators. In addition, it has identified
Amman City Hall as a case study to be used as a
ceremonial and public building for the POE in Amman,
Jordan. And, also, it determines the main features of
this building that gave a clear indication for the
activities and functions relating indoor environment of
the building.
Accordingly, this research has identified the gap of
knowledge represented in lack of clear guidelines for
the public and ceremonial buildings in Amman. Hence,
these guidelines can be identified by exploring the
main indicators relating the indoor environment of
these buildings and applying them. This therefore
provides a set of successful and effective opportunities
for developing ceremonial and public buildings.
5. The Case of Amman City Hall
5.1 The Location and Architectural Value
The idea of Ras Al Ain project has been developed
in the early 90s [23, 24]. This project won the award of
Arab cities organization in 2002 due to its unique
design details which combine Islamic and Arab
contemporaneously [25, 26]. The location of Amman
City Hall was chosen to be in the centre of the Ras Al
Ain project. The City Hall building is considered as a
main part of this project which was chosen as a case
study (Fig. 1). This building was designed by Architect
Jafar Toukan with Shbeilat-Badran’s office [24, 27].
5.2 Amman City Hall Design
The City Hall building was designed based on three
principles: (1) official ceremonial nature of the
building; (2) historical characteristics of the site with
the axis of Amman; and (3) architecture relationship
with the citizen and the authority (Fig. 2).
The three-storey building includes the city hall and
staff offices, which occupied by City Hall officials and
ceremonial functions. Due to the capacity of the site
and the privacy of the place, there were no actual
regulatory restrictions on the design, but the need to
maintain public measure of height is checked with
three floors and a suitable distance from the main road
to the south side of the building.
The building was designed in the form of square that
was divided into four equal parts surrounding a circular
inner courtyard which is separated by corridors leading
to the outside, while the circular parts are connected to
each glass corridors on the upper floors (Fig. 3). The
different feature of the courtyard lies on its shape.
From this one, it is different from other courtyards
Fig. 1 External shots show the form of City Hall from outside. Source: The authors, 2016.
Post-occupancy Evaluation for Ceremonial and Public Buildings: A Case Study of Amman City Hall, Jordan
1377
Fig. 2 Design parameters for Amman City Hall. Source: The authors, 2016.
Fig. 3 The design of interior courtyard of Amman City Hall. Source: The authors, 2016.
because it has a circular shape which has many
advantages that can be exploited such as the surround
[26]. Fig. 4 shows that ground floor consists of main
entrance, exhibition hall and main circular hall. The
first floor lounge also consists of Greater Amman
Municipality Council Chamber and festive dining hall,
circular lobby hall, lobby hall, meeting rooms, theater,
museums and kitchen (Fig. 5). Fig. 6 clarifies that the
second floor includes entrance lobby, the secretary
pavilion and vice president office, meeting rooms and
main offices.
The City Hall was designed to be a prominent
complex which is to show the historical values of the
place while maintaining a clear impression of the
contemporary [27]. Therefore, the edifice was adopted
in this design to apply harmony with the historical
content of the place while maintaining a clear
expression of contemporary design (Fig. 7).
Fig. 8 clarifies that the designer selected a large scale
of the cut stone that formed the main construction
material for this edifice. Stone material was selected
due to its availability in the region and durability, while
the use of high-quality marble stones came as an
external cover. The type of stone that had been selected
is Ajloun limestone; it has the advantage as a solid
punctuated by patches of iron oxide to gain the appearance
Official ceremonial nature of the
building
Historical characterist
ics of the site with
the axis of Amman
Architecture relationship
with the citizen and
the Authority
Post-occupancy Evaluation for Ceremonial and Public Buildings: A Case Study of Amman City Hall, Jordan
1378
Fig. 4 Ground floor of City Hall (Municipality of Amman, 2015).
Fig. 5 First floor of City Hall (Municipality of Amman, 2015).
Fig. 6 Second floor of City Hall (Municipality of Amman, 2015).
Fig. 7 The c
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Post-occupancy Evaluation for Ceremonial and Public Buildings: A Case Study of Amman City Hall, Jordan
1380
respondents indicated that their work productivity is
increased due to good indoor environment conditions
(75%). For the occupants overall comfort level in this
building, 69% of the respondents are in satisfactory
rating.
Based on the questionnaire findings, it could be
concluded that noise pollution, building cleanliness,
security, visual comfort and thermal comfort constitute
the highest percentage in terms of occupants’
comfortability. However, this research provides a set of
ways to mitigate the problems associated with indoor
environment of the buildings, which may give an
opportunity to improve building performance as
follows:
(1) Air Movement
The overall quality of indoor natural ventilation:
Allocating lower window openings to improve natural
ventilation penetration;
The control over natural ventilation: Allow staff
to have control of the window openings;
The air is stale: Providing CO2 sensors during
periods of high occupancy where these sensors alert the
system to draw stale air from adjacent zones and allow
to increase fresh air ventilation;
(2) Overall comfort
Horizontal circulation: Improving the horizontal
circulation for occupants by using reconfiguration of
spatial spaces for indoor environment in the building.
This therefore will give an opportunity to organize their
horizontal circulation between indoor spaces without
obstacles;
Vertical circulation: Providing a set of stairs
moving staff between floors to improve the quality of
vertical circulation in an easy way for occupants;
Spatial spaces configuration: Reconfiguration of
spatial spaces of the indoor environment to be used in
better way for occupants. This can be done through
taking into account their views for their spaces;
The overall areas of the main entrances, exhibition
hall, dining hall andlobby hall spaces: The work on
increasing the main areas of main entrances, exhibition
hall, dining hall and lobby hall spaces to be used by the
occupants comfortably and effectively. This work can
be done through taking advantage of reconfiguration of
spatial spaces for indoor environment in the building;
The overall quality of the main entrances,
exhibition hall, dining hall and lobby hall spaces:
Providing the main requirements of occupants through
enriching these indoor spaces using new materials,
elements and areas. This therefore will help creating an
appropriate quality of the main entrances, exhibition
hall, dining hall and lobby hall spaces for the
occupants.
7. Conclusions and Recommendations
By effective implementation of POE, it is concluded
that POE provides significant impact on creating
change in terms of improving building environment in
two ways. The first, by providing lessons and feedback
that can be used to improve indoor environment design
for the similar future projects. This can therefore lead
to enhancing quality of indoor environment by
identifying which gaps in understanding of occupants
needs that impact on the building performance. Second,
by providing a benchmark of analysis to show how
indoor environment management of building meets the
needs of occupants. This was achieved by empowering
occupants as post occupancy evaluation.
By providing an effective framework that includes
guidelines/opportunities for improvement the
relationships between building performance and
occupants behavior, POE plays a significant role in
developing and motivating the building productivity.
This was achieved by creating indoor environmental
comfort and control over environmental conditions for
the occupants. It is suggested that POE should be
applied as a real act in Jordan as a benchmarking or tool
through comparing across projects and over time,
which helps progress towards sustainable environment.
In general, POE is a continuous act to evaluate the
building performance in certain time. POE does not
only highlight immediate problems constituting
Post-occupancy Evaluation for Ceremonial and Public Buildings: A Case Study of Amman City Hall, Jordan
1381
disruption in building performance, which can be
solved and addressed, but also gives an opportunity to
avoid emergence of defect in performance of building.
References
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Indicators No. Questions Likert-Scale
1 2 3 4 5
Air movement
1 How satisfied are you with the provision of air movement in this building? (e.g., openings)
Very unsatisfactory 3%
Unsatisfactory 8%
Medium 3
Satisfactory 75%
Very satisfactory 11%
2 What is your rate for the overall quality of indoor natural ventilation in this building?
Very poor 10%
Poor 56%
Medium 22%
Good 10%
Very good 2%
3 How satisfied are you with the control over natural ventilation? Very unsatisfactory 16%
Unsatisfactory 53%
Medium 17%
Satisfactory 11%
Very satisfactory 3%
4 What is your rate for the overall quality of indoor artificial ventilation?
Very poor 0%
Poor 3%
Medium 12%
Good 15%
Very good 70%
5 How satisfied are you with the control over artificial ventilation? Very unsatisfactory 3%
Unsatisfactory 6%
Medium 14%
Satisfactory 64%
Very satisfactory 13%
6 Is the air fresh or stale? Too stale 15%
Stale 55%
Medium 21%
Fresh 7%
Too fresh 2%
7 Is the air humid or dry? Too humid 5%
Humid 7%
Medium 7%
Dry 68%
Too dry 13%
Noise pollution
8 How do you feel with the noise in the building? Very noisy 0%
Noisy 4%
Medium 4%
Quite 7%
Very quite 85%
9 How satisfied are you with the overall quality of noise control or vibration in this building? (e.g., from traffic, mechanical systems)
Very unsatisfactory 0%
Unsatisfactory 3%
Medium 10%
Satisfactory 9%
Very satisfactory 78%
Security
10 How satisfied are you with the building that meets your needs? Very unsatisfactory 0%
Unsatisfactory 1%
Medium 7%
Satisfactory 10%
Very satisfactory 82%
11 How satisfied are you with the provision of privacy within the building when needed?
Very unsatisfactory 0%
Unsatisfactory 0%
Medium 3%
Satisfactory 23%
Very satisfactory 74%
12 How safe do you feel in the building? Very unsafe 0%
Unsafe 1%
Medium 4%
Safe 7%
Very safe 88%
Cleanliness 13 How would you rate the level of cleanliness of the building? Very dirty 2%
Dirty 4%
Medium 8%
Clean 15%
Very Clean 71%
Visual comfort
14 How satisfied are you with the views from inside the building to outside the building?
Very unsatisfactory 2%
Unsatisfactory 5%
Medium 2%
Satisfactory 61%
Very satisfactory 30%
15 How would you describe the blinds/shutters effective in blocking out natural light?
Very ineffective 0%
Ineffective 1%
Medium 3%
Effective 72%
Very effective 24%
16 What is your rate for the amount of natural daylight overall in the building?
Too dark 0%
Dark 3%
Medium 4%
Bright 53%
Too bright 40%
17 How satisfied are you with the quality of artificial light overall in the building?
Very unsatisfactory 2%
Unsatisfactory 1%
Medium 4%
Satisfactory 14%
Very satisfactory 79%
18 How satisfied are you with the control over artificial lighting? Very unsatisfactory 0%
Unsatisfactory 1%
Medium 3%
Satisfactory 12%
Very satisfactory 84%
Thermal comfort
19 How satisfied are you with the cooling system (air-conditioning) in this building?
Very unsatisfactory 2%
Unsatisfactory 2%
Medium 2%
Satisfactory 26%
Very satisfactory 68%
Table 1 Results of occupants perception level in terms of indoor environment.
20 How satisfied are you with the summer indoor air temperature? Very unsatisfactory 2%
Unsatisfactory 4%
Medium 6%
Satisfactory 15%
Very satisfactory 73%
21 How satisfied are you with the winter indoor air temperature? Very unsatisfactory 1%
Unsatisfactory 5%
Medium 13%
Satisfactory 20%
Very satisfactory 61%
Overall comfort
22 How satisfied are you with the interior finishes of the building, walls, flooring, etc?
Very unsatisfactory 5%
Unsatisfactory 7%
Medium 10%
Satisfactory 52%
Very satisfactory 26%
23 How satisfied are you with the quality of the toilets in the building?Very unsatisfactory 1%
Unsatisfactory 2%
Medium 8%
Satisfactory 74%
Very satisfactory 15%
24 How energy and water efficient do you think the building is? Very inefficient 0%
Inefficient 0%
Medium 4%
Efficient 84%
Very efficient 12%
25 How easy is vertical circulation? How easy is horizontal circulation?
Very difficult 70% Very difficult 12%
Difficult 11% Difficult 62%
Medium 4% Medium 17%
Easy 10% Easy 6%
Very easy 5% Very easy 3%
26 How satisfied are you with your overall comfort level in your building area?
Very unsatisfactory 0%
Unsatisfactory 4%
Medium 27%
Satisfactory 57%
Very satisfactory 12%
27 How strongly do you agree that the good indoor environmental conditions of the building enhances your productivity?
Strongly disagree 0%
Disagree 5%
Medium 20%
Agree 14%
strongly agree 61%
28 How satisfied are you with the spatial spaces configuration in the building?
Very unsatisfactory 18%
Unsatisfactory 65%
Medium 9%
Satisfactory 5%
very satisfactory 3%
29 How strongly do you agree with the spatial spaces reconfiguration in the building?
Strongly disagree 2%
Disagree 6%
Medium 7%
Agree 15%
Strongly agree 69%
30
How would you rate the overall areas of the following spaces? Main entrances Theater Museums Exhibition hall Dining hall Lobby hall Offices Meeting rooms Administration areas
Very inadequate 61%Very inadequate 4% Very inadequate 5% Very inadequate 74%Very inadequate 66%Very inadequate 30%Very inadequate 8% Very inadequate 10%Very inadequate 4%
Inadequate 21% Inadequate 8% Inadequate 8% Inadequate 12% Inadequate 20% Inadequate 44% Inadequate 9% Inadequate 7% Inadequate 6%
Medium 7%Medium 9%Medium 9%Medium 8%Medium 1%Medium 9%Medium 7%Medium 6%Medium 5%
Adequate 6% Adequate 55%Adequate 61%Adequate 2% Adequate 8% Adequate 8% Adequate 70%Adequate 22%Adequate 33%
Very adequate 5% Very adequate 24% Very adequate 17% Very adequate 4% Very adequate 5% Very adequate 9% Very adequate 16% Very adequate 55% Very adequate 52%
31
How would you rate the overall quality of the following spaces?Main entrances Theater Museums Exhibition hall Dining hall Lobby hall Offices Meeting rooms Administration areas
Very poor 63% Very poor 3% Very poor 7% Very poor 42% Very poor 56% Very poor 27% Very poor 1% Very poor 6% Very poor 3%
Poor 20% Poor 9% Poor 9% Poor 40% Poor 13% Poor 51% Poor 9% Poor 9% Poor 4%
Medium 9%Medium 8%Medium 7%Medium 9%Medium 8%Medium 7%Medium 5%Medium 9%Medium 7%
Good 5% Good 54% Good 58% Good 3% Good 20% Good 11% Good 67% Good 20% Good 31%
Very good 3% Very good 26% Very good 19% Very good 6% Very good 6% Very good 4% Very good 18% Very good 56% Very good 55%
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