Post-occupancy evaluation of outdoor spaces on the campus of the Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Brazil
ISSN: 2631-6862
Article publication date: 24 June 2021
Issue publication date: 28 October 2021
Abstract
Purpose
Using the campus of a Brazilian university as case study, this research aims to identify which aspects of the outdoor spaces are the most significant in attracting people.
Design/methodology/approach
This research relies on the application of different post-occupancy evaluation (POE) methods, including user tracking, behavioural mapping and questionnaires, on one plateau of the campus.
Findings
Three group of aspects (socialization, proximity and infrastructure) were identified as key elements in explaining the impact of the campus physical characteristics on users’ behaviour. The results indicate that having characteristics of at least one group of aspects in those spaces can guarantee their vitality and, if there is presence of attributes of more than one group, liveliness can be increased.
Research limitations/implications
Further studies should be conducted on an entire campus to identify other spatial elements in the three groups.
Practical implications
This research contributes to the planning of future campuses and to solutions to the existed ones, indicating the most relevant spatial characteristics to be considered. Additionally, the combination of different methods may be useful to future research.
Originality/value
Most of the investigations on the university campuses focus on the buildings, and little research has investigated the outdoor spaces, although they play a critical role in learning and academic life, where people establish social, cultural and personal relationships. In addition, studies using several POE allowed a consistent and complete diagnostic about the aspects of the campus, giving recommendations for future projects.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to express our great appreciation to Dr Samuel Castro and Dr Edgard Dias for their valuable and constructive suggestions on the statistical analysis of this study. The authors would like to thank the Federal University of Juiz de Fora for funding this research.
Citation
Tourinho, A.C.C., Barbosa, S.A., Göçer, Ö. and Alberto, K.C. (2021), "Post-occupancy evaluation of outdoor spaces on the campus of the Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Brazil", Archnet-IJAR, Vol. 15 No. 3, pp. 617-633. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARCH-09-2020-0204
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited