Towards multi-domain user archetypes for user-centred façade design

Abstract

User experience and satisfaction with the facade play a significant role in user comfort and energy efficiency of buildings. This paper explores the concept of User-Facade archetypes to inform the user-centred design of shading devices based on the perceived level of importance of different environmental domains at the workplace. A questionnaire was developed to collect data on users’ perceived level of importance of different environmental domains, user characteristics and other preferences. Based on the associated level of importance of the domains affected by shading devices (thermal conditions, access to daylight, access to outdoor view, privacy and glare mitigation), users were then clustered into eight different archetypes, which associated different “weights” to each comfort domain. The study also found a significant correlation between the associated level of importance and the reported frequency of interaction with shadings because of thermal comfort, glare mitigation or privacy. Overall, users that associated high levels of importance to several environmental domains also reported high perceived levels of importance for personal control at the workplace. Only one archetype reported low importance for personal control at the workplace. Further work is required to validate these archetypes by capturing actual user behaviour and preferences in real workplaces. However, these findings provide preliminary and valuable insights into the possibility of clustering users on their preferences and using this for informing a more user-centred design or operation of shading devices.