Environmental comfort indicators for school buildings in sustainability assessment tools

Decades ago, the only requirement to construct a building was to give men the right conditions for the execution of their work or leisure activities. With the development of knowledge about the internal and external environments of buildings, other requirements have been added such as the issue of user comfort. New construction techniques have been incorporated and new products have been created to improve internal environment comfort. This research addressed the importance of using indicators related to environmental comfort in sustainability assessment tools applied to school buildings. It also considered the importance of environmental issues for the good performance of human beings, and the harmonious coexistence of the comfort indicators indoor air quality, thermal comfort, visual comfort, acoustic comfort and ergonomic comfort based on data gathered in research carried out with users of high schools (only students). This research was carried out in two different cities of different countries, Guimarães (Portugal) and Juiz de Fora (Brazil), that have similar characteristics of teaching standards and climate conditions (temperature and air humidity). In this study, interviews were made through questionnaires and, later, the information collected was analyzed. This study demonstrates the need to include an ergonomic indicator for school buildings in sustainability assessment tools.The corresponding author wants to thank: the teacher and Administrative Director of Francisco de Holanda High School, Abílio Ferreira, for showing me the school and giving all the necessary information, always with great attention; Parque Escolar Company (EPE) for supplying the necessary material for the execution of the work; and Mrs. Catarina Araujo for helping me in the conception of this article. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.