Rosaria Ono

Improving the quality of school facilities through building performance assessment: Educational reform and school building quality in São Paulo, Brazil

Purpose – The paper describes the purpose of and strategies for conducting post‐occupancy evaluations (POEs) as a method for assessing school building performance. Set within the larger context of global efforts to develop and apply common indicators of school building quality, the authors describe research conducted within the newest generation of Sao Paulos schools.Design/methodology/approach – The various methods of POE, including expert walkthroughs, physical measurements, observations, behavioral mapping, user interviews, focus groups, and survey questionnaires were applied within a purposefully selected case study school.Findings – The POE carried out at Fernando Gasparian High School revealed limitations in the buildings design, particularly in light of the neighborhood context, thus raising significant concerns about safety and security. Users gave the construction quality of the building, a generally positive evaluation, however, there were some important aspects of the building design judged a...

Performance evaluation of a psychiatric facility in São Paulo, Brasil

Purpose – This paper aims to present the results of a post‐occupancy evaluation (POE) in a complex hospital building, and also to discuss a system for analyzing and diagnosing those results.Design/methodology/approach – The POE was aimed at establishing adequate use and maintenance of the building. The main approaches of the study consisted of two basic performance features, namely, physical accessibility and fire safety.Findings – The importance of the pre‐design evaluation (PDE) might also be recalled as well as the usefulness of the POE for new designs and for remodeling existing buildings, because these instruments aid in the constant updating of directive plans of occupation, especially in the case of large complexes such as health care facilities. One indication of this importance is the relatively low number of problems detected during the POE, when one considers the complexity of the work of renovation and the dimensions of the IPq facilities.Originality/value – The paper presents the results of a...

A experiência de uma pessoa com deficiência visual em local desconhecido: o papel da maquete tátil

This paper presents some results of a Master’s research completed recently that aimed at the study of a group of techniques for the performance evaluation of accessibility in parks and squares for visually impaired persons. A deep bibliographic review about the theme was done, besides the application of the following methodological tools of PostOccupancy Evaluation (POE): interviews, focus groups, accompanied walks, and

Mapas de diagnóstico: procedimentos de Avaliação Pós-Ocupação (APO) voltados à qualidade de projeto

Proposta: Discutir técnicas de apresentação de diagnósticos de avaliação de desempenho do ambiente construído e em uso que auxiliem os projetistas no processo decisório da realimentação de projeto, por meio da aplicação de métodos e técnicas de APO. Método de pesquisa/Abordagens: Análise do desenvolvimento de diagnósticos de APO, em seu conteúdo e forma, ao longo do tempo, com base em revisão bibliográfica. Proposição de aprimoramentos que permitam a identificação das prioridades e a compreensão dos aspectos a serem corrigidos ou melhorados, por meio da aplicação sistemática de instrumentos para a aferição do desempenho das edificações. Resultados: Obtenção de uma proposta de estruturação e apresentação do diagnóstico que pode permitir às equipes de projeto e de gestão da edificação a identificação de aspectos a serem revistos em estudos de caso ou que mereçam revisão, em edificações de programa similar. Contribuições/Originalidade: Trazer à discussão acadêmica a necessidade do desenvolvimento de ferramentas amigáveis para a aplicação prática de avaliações de desempenho do ambiente construído e em uso.