Abstract:
Building envelope highly influences the levels of energy required to achieve thermal comfort
and occupants’ satisfaction. A proper envelope design through the selection of the proper
material leads to better indoor air quality, life cycle performance, and energy efficiency. The
thermal performance of a building is a result of the interaction between its construction
features along with the climatic conditions of the site. The envelopes layering, materials
selection, air cavity, and construction methods determine its capability of transmitting,
storing, or emitting heat which is often neglected in the design process in Palestine.
In Hebron, Palestine; due to the continuing increase of population rates and the limited ability
of urban expansion due to geographical limitations referring to political reasons; apartment
buildings are becoming more prominent in the latest building tendency. Currently, residential
buildings are suffering from the lack of thermal comfort measures and other poor indoor
environment quality indicators.
This paper introduces an evaluation study for occupants’ satisfaction regarding the
apartment buildings in Hebron, Palestine through the assessment of the occupants’
satisfaction regarding the indoor environment measures in the Mediterranean climate.
Multistorey buildings consisting of multiple apartments were included in an intensive field
survey to analyse the thermal properties and capabilities of these buildings’ envelopes in the
common practices in Hebron city.
