a b s t r a c t

Our case study examines teacher and student satisfaction with the design and performance of the environmental control systems (lighting, heating and ventilation) in Monmouth,Oregon's recently built Ash Creek Intermediate School. It was hypothesized that students' and teachers' evaluation of classroom design would correlate with perceived quality of lighting, heating, and ventilation levels. Willing students (5th and 6th grades) and teachers provided information via a short multiple choice and open-ended survey. Results show that teachers and students perceive low light levels for reading and writing activities. Also, students and teachers report being distracted by the automatic, sensor-triggered on/off switching of electric lighting in classrooms. Despite these perceptions, the school's overall design was deemed to be good by the students and teachers that responded to the survey.

photo courtesy of Alison Kwok

tim delzer tadelz@yahoo.com

fumiko docker fdocker@darkwing.uoregon.edu

Part of Professor Alison Kwok's Seminar in Sustainable Design at the University of Oregon

Go to an INFORMAL SURVEY on ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY in ARCHITECTURE STUDIOS