Conference article

This paper presents a pilot study which considers the overheating risk of classrooms in school buildings. Four schools in Southampton in the South of the UK; constructed during the period of the 1950s-1980s were used as case study examples. The schools were studied in terms of the parameters or the combination of parameters that may drive classroom overheating. Topographic features; built-up area; urban density; adjacency to roads and parks and other characteristics such as building form and materials were assessed; looking at the urban; building and classroom scale. In addition to this a questionnaire survey was conducted to assess the teachers’ perception of their classrooms’ thermal environment. The survey responses are discussed and compared to the outcomes of the school parameter analysis; also considering the limitations of the survey approach. It was found that gaining an understanding of the occupants’ perception of the thermal conditions in a school’s classrooms is essential for developing recommendations for addressing overheating. The study appears to indicate that individual perception of overheating may outweigh the objective influence of urban design and construction parameters on the indoor thermal conditions.

School buildings; Overheating; Microclimate; Refurbishment; Classroom