User satisfaction with the daylighting design at a Malaysian Public University Library

Library buildings can benefit from using daylight as primary light source which has been recognized as an important strategy to improve indoor environment quality to create a unique comfortable space for prolonged reading and study activity. However it is crucial for architects to design a building which makes full use of daylight. which is a dynamic light source. while responding to the occupant needs. Careful consideration of occupant needs is essential to achieve the benefits of daylighting design in supporting their comfort, health, and performance of building's occupants. Debates continue about the best strategies of daylighting which conditions the visual comfort in library. The issue of occupant's visual discomfort. particularly glare. is a controversial subject especially in daylit public buildings. Far too little attention has been paid in studies to the issue of glare problem and occupant vi ual comfort in a daylit library without sun control shading devices. Lack of practical information about daylighting quality assessment from occupants' perspective exists in Malaysia as a limitation in library design. This is a post-occupancy study of visual condition in a daylit library building of University Putra Malaysia (UPM) and the focus is on the building occupants as to examine the effectiveness of implementing daylighting system for a visually comfortable environment based on their point of view. In other words. it would be conducted to demonstrate that the visual comfort of occupants is highly affected by the extent to how successful the daylight is admitted and controlled within the building's interior. In order to increase validity of results, the combination of methodologies ha been used to produce a holistic picture of daylighting performance in the library. A multiple-tool methodology was used which included occupants questionnaire survey, illuminance measurements and daylighting performance simulation by using DA YSIM software as well as documenting the spatial settings and daylighting system features. The new dynamic daylight performance metrics have been applied to analysis the results obtain from measurements and simulation parts. Questionnaire results showed generally there is high satisfaction with daylit stud environment especially where the direct sunlight exposure was properly controlled. Satisfaction with amount of daylight ranked higher with users who worked with paper compared to users who worked using computers. The satisfaction level with outside view ranked highly however it was found that users need to be protected from direct sunlight exposure while having outside view. The glare and heat problems identified more at tables located near windows without shading devices and also for computer work activity. The field measurement and simulation results confirm the existence of some problematic areas in terms of sunlight exposure Tile identified visual comfort problems associated with direct sunlight exposure were discussed with regards to results about occupants preferences for enhancing the' effectiveness of daylighting systems and consequently improving tile quality of the visual environment in the building of study.

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