Layout, conforto e satisfação dos usuários em escritórios: uma avaliação pós-ocupação no edifício da sede administrativa do INPE-CRN

This research aimed to identify the link between the layout of workspaces in offices and the design strategies for environmental comfort. Strategies surveyed were focused on the thermal, visual and luminic comfort. In this research, visual comfort is related to issues of visual integration within and between the interior and exterior of the building. This is a case study conducted at the administrative headquarters of Centro Regional Nordeste do Instituto de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE-CRN), located in Natal/RN. The methodological strategy used was the Post-Occupancy Evaluation, which combined the survey data on the building (layout of workspaces, bioclimatic strategies adopted in the design, use of these strategies) with some techniques aimed at acquiring qualitative information related to users. The workspace layout is primordial to satisfaction and productivity of workers. Issues such as concentration, communication, privacy, personal identity, density and space efficiency, barriers (access, visual and even ventilation and lighting), among others, are associated with the layout. The environmental comfort is one of the essential elements to maintaining life quality in workplace. Moreover, it is an important factor in user`s perception of the space in which he or she are inserted. Both layout and environmental comfort issues should be collected and analyzed in the establishment phase of the programming step. That way, it is possible to get adequate answers to these questions in subsequent project phases. It was found that changes in the program that occurred over time, especially concerning persons (number and characteristics), resulted in changes in layout, generating high density and inflexible environments. It turns difficult to adjust the furniture to the occupants` requirement, including comfort needs. However, the presence of strategies for environmental quality provides comfort to spaces, ensuring that, even in situations not considered optimal, users perceive the environment in a positive way. It was found that the relationship between environmental comfort and layout takes the following forms: in changing the perception of comfort, depending on the layout of the arrangements; adjustments in layout, due to needs for comfort; and the elevation of user satisfaction and environmental quality due to the presence of strategies comfort even in situations of inadequate layout

A organização do processo de projeto de arquitetura no meio profissional: uma análise da produção em escritórios

This paper examines, through case studies, the organization of the production process of architectural projects in architecture offices in the city of Natal, specifically in relation to building projects. The specifics of the design process in architecture, the production of the project in a professional field in Natal, are studied in light of theories of design and its production process. The survey, in its different phases, was conducted between March 2010 and September 2012 and aimed to identify, understand, and analyze comparatively, by mapping the design process, the organization of production of building projects in two offices in Natal, checking as well the relationships of their agents during the process. The project was based on desk research and exploration, adopting, for both, data collection tools such as forms, questionnaires, and interviews. With the specific aim of mapping the design process, we adopted a technique that allows obtaining the information directly from employee agents involved in the production process. The technique consisted of registering information by completing daily, during or at the end of the workday, an individual virtual agenda, in which all agent collaborators described the tasks performed. The data collected allowed for the identification of the organizational structure of the office, its hierarchy, the responsibilities of agents, as well as the tasks performed by them during the two months of monitoring at each office. The research findings were based on analyses of data collected in the two offices and on comparative studies between the results of these analyses. The end result was a diagnostic evaluation that considered the level of organization and elaborated this perspective, as well as proposed solutions aimed at improving both the organization of the process and the relationships between the agents under the lens analyzed

Recomendações para o desenvolvimento de uma ferramenta de suporte às primeiras decisões projetuais visando ao desempenho energético de edificações de escritório em clima quente

PEDRINI, Aldomar; SZOKOLAY, Steven. Recomendações para o desenvolvimento de uma ferramenta de suporte às primeiras decisões projetuais visando ao desempenho energético de edificações de escritório em clima quente. Ambiente Construído, Porto Alegre, v. 5, n. 1, p.39-54, jan./mar. 2005. Trimestral. Disponível em: . Acesso em: 04 out. 2010.

Modos projetuais de simulação: uso de ferramentas de simulação térmica no processo projetual de arquitetura

This thesis aims to describe and demonstrate the developed concept to facilitate the use of thermal simulation tools during the building design process. Despite the impact of architectural elements on the performance of buildings, some influential decisions are frequently based solely on qualitative information. Even though such design support is adequate for most decisions, the designer will eventually have doubts concerning the performance of some design decisions. These situations will require some kind of additional knowledge to be properly approached. The concept of designerly ways of simulating focuses on the formulation and solution of design dilemmas, which are doubts about the design that cannot be fully understood nor solved without using quantitative information. The concept intends to combine the power of analysis from computer simulation tools with the capacity of synthesis from architects. Three types of simulation tools are considered: solar analysis, thermal/energy simulation and CFD. Design dilemmas are formulated and framed according to the architect s reflection process about performance aspects. Throughout the thesis, the problem is investigated in three fields: professional, technical and theoretical fields. This approach on distinct parts of the problem aimed to i) characterize different professional categories with regards to their design practice and use of tools, ii) investigate preceding researchers on the use of simulation tools and iii) draw analogies between the proposed concept, and some concepts developed or described in previous works about design theory. The proposed concept was tested in eight design dilemmas extracted from three case studies in the Netherlands. The three investigated processes are houses designed by Dutch architectural firms. Relevant information and criteria from each case study were obtained through interviews and conversations with the involved architects. The practical application, despite its success in the research context, allowed the identification of some applicability limitations of the concept, concerning the architects need to have technical knowledge and the actual evolution stage of simulation tools