Thermal Memory and Transition in Lobby Spaces

This paper investigates people's short term thermal history in transitional lobby spaces. It sets out the first stage for exploring the possibility that repeated short term experiences can modify people's long term thermal history and thermal memory towards a better thermal adaptation. Data from 50 lobby spaces in Higher Education Institutions (HEI) in the UK was collected in order to identify lobby typologies. Fieldwork was carried out during the summer of 2013 in three different buildings in Sheffield, UK. Surveys involved 610 questionnaires along with simultaneous environmental monitoring at four specific points and two sequences of spaces from exterior to an interior environment. People's thermal perception was analysed in space sequences with lobby and without lobby. Methodology and initial results are presented in this paper. Outcomes suggest that people's thermal perception can be altered over short periods of time. Temperature differences from one space to another, temperature sequences and direction are the main factors affecting people's thermal memory in the short term. The paper provides valuable insights on the key factors that impact upon people's adaptation and tolerance to changing thermal experiences.