Post-occupancy Evaluation for Ceremonial and Public Buildings: A Case Study of Amman City Hall, Jordan

POE (post-occupancy evaluation) of buildings is one of the most important mechanisms which ensures that ceremonial and public building performance including its facilities is sustained. POE studies concerned with efficiency of building performance after using and implementing with the end-user. It provides feedback on the current status of the building and proposes solutions to existing problems in addition to guidelines and design criteria for the best solutions in the future. Despite precedent research which have been undertaken in the context of building performance, aspects of evaluating building performance have not been specified and used widely in Jordan. At the commencement of this research, the concept of POE is still new in Jordan, and the local building practitioners are still unfamiliar with this approach for the evaluation of a building performance in Amman. Accordingly, there is a need to undertake this kind of research in Jordan to identify the main guidelines of POE to be applied effectively in ceremonial and public buildings. This study therefore applies POE of indoor environment of the public buildings by exploring the guidelines that can constitute a successful and effective framework for the public buildings in Amman. This was achieved using the learnt lessons from Amman City Hall building which was used as a case study and reflecting them on these where needed. Analytical and descriptive approach basis was applied, adopting a mixed method approach (qualitative and quantitative method) by using observation tool and a questionnaire survey with occupants. Context-derived data and statistics analyzed together were used to explore the guidelines of POE to be applied effectively in public buildings. A field visit and observation tool was adopted for gathering information leading to the findings and recommendations. A questionnaire was also used to extrapolate core findings of this research. This research provides a significant contribution of POE result towards improving indoor environment to ceremonial and public buildings in Jordan.