RESEARCH

Previous studies have found that classrooms are often inadequately ventilated, with the resultant increased risk of negative impacts on the pupils. This paper describes a series of field measurements investigating  the indoor air quality, thermal comfort and acoustic performance of nine recently built secondary schools in England and  makes a number of conclusions regarding school design. Chief of these  is that the complex interaction between ventilation, thermal comfort and acoustics presents considerable challenges for designers. The study showed that while the acoustic standards are demanding it was possible to achieve natural ventilation designs that meet the criteria for indoor ambient noise levels when external noise levels are reasonably low. The most telling conclusion of the research is the degree to... complete info

This project will investigate glare on display screens, a critical factor for lighting in the classroom of the future. This will be done using subjective ratings of the acceptability of glare on display screens, from which to identify the limiting criteria for lighting design, and thus testing the prediction that the limiting criteria given in current British Standards are no longer valid. The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) has recently launched two initiatives which aim to deliver inspiring and sustainable educational facilities. The Classrooms of the Future programme was initiated in 2003 to experiment with new ideas for designing educational environments for the 21st Century. The Building Schools for the Future programme was launched in 2004 to renew every secondary... complete info

 As an engineering doctorate (EngD) student at the Brunel University, Ian Pegg investigated the application of post-occupancy evaluation in a design consultancy. This EngD supervised by Professor Maria Kolokotroni  involved looking at intrinsic barriers in the industry (who pays for feedback, and how to manage the resulting knowledge), the drivers (professional interest and staff development, competitive advantage), but most of all looking at some completed buildings and finding out what could be improved. Academies are interesting because they have more or less the same requirements, and operate with similar constraints and a similar budget. This makes it much easier to compare the findings and determine what causes differences in results. This study looks at five city... complete info