Environmental comfort criteria: Weighting and integration

This paper presents an integration method for evaluating environmental quality in office buildings based on a series of interviews with 50 experts in the field of environmental quality in the built environment. A structured questionnaire was completed by experts during the interviews. The categories of environmental quality considered in this evaluation include lighting comfort, acoustic comfort, thermal comfort, and acceptable indoor air quality. Each category includes a set of performance criteria. Sixty-five performance criteria covering the evaluation of environmental quality in office buildings were extracted from the interviewed experts. The development of this integration method for assessing the environmental quality of built environments is described and an illustration of its application is presented.