May 9, 2010
GreenHomeNYC volunteer Brian Rahm reports from an evening event organized by New York Academy of Sciences, about post-occupancy evaluation in green buildings.
On Thursday, April 15th, The New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS) hosted the third event in its four part series entitled “Green Building Solutions: What’s Working?” The series consists of presentations and updates from leading architects, building researchers, city and national policy makers, and developers. The third installment was a discussion on Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE) and served to highlight and explore the crucial and often problematic transition between building design and construction, and building occupancy, operation and management.
If there was a take home message from the evening, it was that building performance is as much a function of operation and occupancy behavior as it is a function of clever and sustainably savvy design. This is an important lesson for those who look to technology and green design as the answer for improving building performance both in terms of energy efficiency and reduced resource use. When buildings are not used as they were designed, or when design fails to properly consider the practical needs of operating staff and occupants, performance will suffer.
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