USERS' PERFORMANCE PERCEPTION OF CONDOMINIUMS WITH EXTENSIVE USE OF GLASS

Abstract

In recent years, rapid technological advancement and the growing importance consumers place on aesthetic appearances have gradually shifted the focus towards the external design of buildings. Architects are increasingly incorporating large scale use of glass for external façades, reasons being reduction in weight, increased speed of construction, aesthetic purposes and lastly, the weighing factor of architects as curtain walling construction is typically subcontracted. However, sustainability and maintainability issues of such residential buildings are often overlooked by buyers. Glass façades let in and trap more sunlight inside the apartment. In a tropical country like Singapore, heat is a major consideration for buildings as it needs to be dissipated out of the enclosures. Heat generally causes energy consumption of the building to increase due to a greater cooling load. Furthermore, the privacy, comfort level and safety of the occupants are potential concerns. This dissertation will investigate the various problems faced by occupants living in condominiums with high usage of glass. The study is categorised into objective and subjective studies, where the research processes are executed through questionnaires, measurements and case study in the collection of data and analysis of results. To tackle the research problem, a formula is generated for the occupants to calculate the energy consumption expected for their apartments. Furthermore, recommendations are derived based on the analysis and the survey respondent feedback. The main findings of this dissertation are the adverse effects of extensive use of glass, whereby greater privacy concerns and higher energy consumption were observed with an increase in window to wall ratio of the apartment. The results also reflect that thermal comfort and safety for these occupants are generally good. It can be inferred that residents have largely accepted the trade-offs in the use of glass. Fianlly, extensive use of glass in condominiums is found to have almost no correlation with maintenance costs.