Z E M C H 2 0 1 2 I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o n f e r e n c e
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Passive design usability:
We propose to define this attribute as [
A set of attributes that relate to operability and
compliance of passive design strategies to regulation standards and user operational
efficiency
]. The passive design usability has two drivers, which are (1) operability and (2)
human behaviour. Each one of them include several determinates that help the designer
to measure user needs in relation to usability of building assets.
Passive design flexibility:
The term flexibility is similar to the term of portability on ISO 9126
.
We suggest defining
passive design flexibility as [
A set of attributes that relate the ability of passive design
strategies to be remodelled to satisfy new use conditions
]. The passive design flexibility
driver has two sub-attributes, which are (1) future adaptability (2) flexible space. Each of
these sub-attributes are measured based metrics to meet end-users needs.
Passive design reliability:
This attribute is defined in our research as a
set of determinants that relate to the
capability of passive design functions to maintain their level of performance under user
stated conditions within the design service life period
]. This drive includes three sub-
attributes, which are (1) Durability (2) Material Reliability (3) Resilient. These attributes
include several user factors that are extracted from literature review and case studies.
The purpose of these measures to capture users needs in reliability.
Passive design maintainability:
This attribute deals with the issue of future maintenance of passively designed buildings.
In our research, this attribute defined as [a
set of determinants that relate to the ease of
inspecting, maintaining and modifying design to satisfy continuous evolving user needs
].
Its sub-attributes are (1) Standardization (2) Material (3) Accessibility. These sub-
attributes are measured by several metrics, which are established to meet user wishes
for acquiring easily maintainable building assets.
Our conceptual model consists of passive design strategies lighting, ventilation and
heating as the core on which other design strategies are based as illustrated in the figure
8. The selected design strategies are then evaluated for their effectiveness in fulfilling
user’s needs according to the steps shown in figure 8.
Figure 8: user centered passive building design model
