The application of a behavioural approach to building evaluation

Purpose – Whilst criticisms of current research methodology and method when assessing the performance of a building can be suggested, no practical or achievable alternatives have been found. It suggests that existing approaches fail to consider the often‐irrational perceptions of humans who inhabit the buildings. This paper proposes a change in both methodology and method when assessing building performance.Design/methodology/approach – The method developed for this research project involved a four‐stage process which was designed to achieve consistency with the methodology. Fundamental to the methodological approach taken and developed in this research is the concept of beta press. The variables used for analysis must be those chosen by participants in the building and not the alpha press variables of non‐participant observers. The method chosen for collection of the participant variables was focus group meetings incorporating a modified Delphi selection exercise. A survey sought information on the occup...