Automation or control: The user´s perception of inmotic building offices

Abstract

The global energy crisis and international comfort indicators for office buildings require that domotic building designers achieve high performance work spaces, with effective comfort and energy efficiency, including sustainable design guidelines. In this study, cases of INMOTIC building offices in warm weather, in the central area of Córdoba, Argentina are presented. Post-occupation surveys -POEwere performed, emphasizing on the area of INMOTIC, environmental comfort, security and illumination systems. The users’ opinion of the relation with INMOTIC systems and the possibility to activate or intervene with the systems to achieve the best comfort conditions was required. Different systems features were considered to establish ways to relate with the active and passive user. It was concluded that in order to achieve comfort in INMOTIC offices the designers must take into account from the design stage, the users’ critical attitude and their will to change the comfort conditions that have been set up, as well as the inclusion of more graphic interfaces.