Graphical visualisation assist analysis of indoor environmental performance: Impact of atrium spaces on public buildings in cold climates

The buffer effect provided by an atrium is one typical passive strategy used in sustainable building design. Based on a comprehensive evaluation framework that includes both satisfaction and comfort, this research develops two types of graphical visualisation info-graphs. One is a compass reflecting the occupant satisfaction voting, which conveys the level of satisfaction occupants have with the architectural design. The results reflect the health level of the occupants, as well as how efficiently resources are used. The second info-graph is a data cloud that can be used to display a building’s physical environment, and thus convey the distribution of the characteristics of physical environment, such as thermal comfort, lighting, and the acoustic and indoor air quality throughout the entire building. This data cloud directly displays the impact of the passive space on the main building space. Its results illustrate how effectively the building’s indoor environment provides the required levels of occupant comfort and quality of life. Finally, this research uses an example of a green building in a cold climate in China to display its unique method of graphical visualisation analysis. The results highlight the level of environmental performance of the object building in two kinds of info-graphs, as well as optimised possibilities for the atrium and the entire building in both the design and renovation phases.