New open-access book on occupant-centric building design co-authored by UCL researcher

Routledge has just published the book 'Occupant-Centric Simulation-Aided Building Design', edited by Prof William O’Brien from Carleton University and Dr Farhang Tahmasebi from the UCL Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering. This edited volume features contributions from a multi-disciplinary, globally recognized team of scholars and practitioners actively involved in IEA-EBC Annex 79.

Building upon decades of research on a variety of topics ranging from indoor environmental quality and design theory to occupant modelling and simulation, Occupant-Centric Simulation-Aided Building Design guides building design practitioners and researchers on how to elevate occupants as a major consideration in the building design process, from conception to operation. With a balance of fundamentals and guidelines along with quantitative and simulation aided approaches, the book aims to reorient the building design community toward buildings that recognize and serve diverse occupant needs, while aiming for superior environmental performance based on the latest science and methods.

Occupant-Centric Simulation-Aided Building Design promotes occupants as a focal point for the design process. This resource for established and emerging building designers and researchers provides theoretical and practical means to restore occupants and their needs to the heart of the design process.

In fulfilment of the International Energy Agency’s mission of disseminating research on secure and sustainable energy to all, Occupant-Centric Simulation-Aided Building Design is available as an Open Access Gold title.

About the authors

William O’Brien, PhD, PEng, is a Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering and the principal investigator of the Human Building Inter-action Lab at Carleton University, in Ottawa, Canada. From 2018 to 2023, he served as an operating agent for IEA EBC Annex 79, the team that led this book. He has won several prestigious awards including the IBPSA Out-standing Young Achiever Award, Ontario Building Envelope Council Rising Star Award, and the Ontario Early Researcher Award.

Farhang Tahmasebi, PhD, CEng, MCIBSE, is a Lecturer at UCL Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering. As a researcher and practitioner of building performance simulation and performance-based design, he co-led IEA EBC Annex 79 task group focused on applying occupant behaviour models in simulation-aided building design process. Prior to his appointment at UCL, Dr Tahmasebi was a researcher and tutor at TU Wien Institute of Architectural Sciences, in Vienna, Austria.

Links:

• Download the book for free here.
• Learn more about IEA-EBC Annex 79 here.
• Learn more about the work of William O'Brien here.
• Learn more about the work of Farhang Tahmasebi here.