Architectural design in behavioral health environments, like the New Central State Hospital in Virginia, plays a vital role in patient well-being, particularly in psychiatric wards. Amongst Ulrich and colleagues Stress Reducing Design Features (Ulrich et al., 2018), there are many features that can be studied and enhanced with the inclusion of building performance analysis in the design process. This presentation examines the integration of building performance analysis in designing this groundbreaking facility.

The New Central State Hospital, covering 461,000 square feet, is designed for effective recovery-based mental health care, offering 252 in-patient beds split between maximum security and civil areas. Tailored to diverse patient needs, the facility includes specific treatment areas and four large enclosed courtyards, utilizing nature's therapeutic effects. It also features contagion wards with specialized air handling units to address modern health challenges.

The project's sustainability is achieved through a multifaceted approach involving parametric modeling, load reduction, energy optimization, daylighting, glare reduction, scenic views, and life-cycle cost analyses. These strategies played a crucial role throughout the design process, particularly in enhancing behavioral health aspects.

A comprehensive parametric study of patient room windows was conducted during the initial design phases to evaluate daylight autonomy and sun exposure. Over a thousand studies led to optimized window dimensions for uniform environmental conditions, resulting in more than 50% daylight in patient areas and reducing sun exposure to under 10%, regardless of orientation.

Further, the design includes a skylight in the dayrooms to maximize daylight. However, to address the resultant glare at staff stations, louvers were strategically integrated, informed by focused studies. A similar approach was adopted for the west-facing building entrance to improve visibility for security personnel.

In the design documentation phase, load reduction and energy modeling significantly enhanced the mechanical system. Energy studies informed the right sizing of mechanical equipment and ventilation adjustments, meanwhile increasing ventilation by 30%.

Ultimately, the hospital achieves remarkable energy efficiency, consuming 25% less energy than the ASHRAE 90.1-2010 Baseline, translating to 12 points under the LEED v4: Healthcare - Optimized Energy Performance credit and an EUI of 130.9 kBtu/ft². It also attains an average spatial daylight autonomy of 86.5%, earning an additional 2 LEED points. The presentation concludes by emphasizing the crucial role of building performance analysis in enhancing not only energy efficiency but also the comfort and well-being of the hospital’s occupants.

In this study, we explore the intricate relationship between Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) and productivity within a research complex, employing a novel survey method that combines location-based data collection with a new survey system for comparative analysis. Through rigorous multiple regression analysis, we unveil significant correlations between key IEQ factors—office layout, thermal comfort, air quality, lighting, and acoustic quality—and employee productivity. Notably, the research spotlights the pivotal role of office layout and acoustic quality as key drivers of productivity, substantiated by thorough statistical analysis. This work pioneers the use of innovative 3D visualizations to render these intricate relationships more tangible and comprehensible, thereby enhancing our grasp of IEQ impacts across diverse architectural settings. The findings significantly contribute to the evolving dialogue on workspace optimization, underscoring the necessity for bespoke environmental strategies tailored to the unique characteristics of different building types.

Following project completion and move-in of a new office build in San Diego in October 2022, a mixed methods Post-Occupancy Evaluation was created and tested. The firm’s in-house research team explored how to leverage technology for real-time data collection, without compromising privacy and anonymity of users’ responses. An application to passively collect the users’ human experience was created and implemented. Sensors for temperature, humidity and CO2 were also built to provide quantitative context to the qualitative data received. Compared to a traditional Post-Occupation Evaluation which includes a survey, focus groups, and site observations, the new mixed-methods approach allowed richer data to be collected in real-time. Overlaying longitudinal qualitative data with quantitative metrics has allowed for more detailed understanding of occupants experience and behavior in the new space.

The Human Experience Application allows occupants to respond to environmental stimuli in real-time and is tied to a location, not a person. Data is collected over a period of time so that trends can be analysed and compared to the building sensor data. This differs from the methods of a survey, which collects the perception of users’ satisfaction of indoor environmental qualities at one point in time.

Based on the occupant responses and sensor metrics, issues with the mechanical system and lighting sensors were identified within the first month of data collection. Given the mixed-methods data collected, the project team was able to examine the location of the corresponding trends and rectify issues in the office space. Following intervention, the responses reflected the issue being fixed.

The user experience responses regarding acoustics in various office spaces also provided trend data that influenced occupant behavior in choice of seating.

The overlayed data highlighted trends, identified issues early on, and aligned users perceptions with data, which ultimately influenced occupants’ behavior, perception and use of the space.

The combination technology tools were also used to test the implementation of plant walls in the office. The CO2 sensors benchmarked levels before and after installation.

The geometry and building performance are two factors that are deeply intertwined, and can lead the architecture optimizations. Leveraging tools and methodologies from architectural typology, space syntax, and building performance simulation allows for a comprehensive analysis and modeling of these elements, enabling both qualitative research and quantitative comparison in architecture study.

This study centers on the arcade, a distinctive street retail space in South China. The architectural feature of an overhanging second floor profoundly influences the thermal comfort and environmental ambiance of the pedestrian below, concurrently shaping the visibility-level storefronts. This research employs a multifaceted analytical approach by juxtaposing the conditions within arcaded environments against those of conventional street retail settings. Isovist and Useful Daylight Illuminance (UDI) are synergized with storefront visibility modeling, while environmental performance study uses the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) to evaluate the pedestrian's thermal comfort level.

The findings delineate the allure of stores situated within analogous parameters of size, location, and retail genre but interfaced with diverse outdoor spatial configurations. By amalgamating analytical insights with empirical observations of store popularity, the study culminates in actionable recommendations aimed at optimizing the design of store outdoor environments to enhance visitor attraction.