An integration of biophilic architecture to improve the thermal comfort and productivity of workers among commercial buildings in Mintal, Davao City/

Abstract

This research aims to determine the significant difference in commercial buildings in terms of thermal comfort and perceived productivity and the effects of thermal comfort on employees' perceived productivity. A theoretical framework is adopted to explain how thermal comfort influences employees' perceived productivity in each commercial building. It is an explored concept in the defined context and has been developed by the researcher. Thermal comfort was measured using the Guanxi Key Laboratory of New Energy and the Building Energy Saving Guilin University of Technology questionnaire. For perceived productivity, the researcher used a modified survey questionnaire from the study of Castelle (2017). The two instruments are modified survey questionnaires to gauge the respondents' perception of their thermal comfort and productivity. In analyzing the data, the researcher used Descriptive Statistics and Analysis of variance (ANOVA) to know if thermal comfort and its effect on workers' productivity differ in the selected three establishments. And the results showed a statistically significant difference between the commercial buildings in terms of thermal comfort and perceived productivity. Also, the analyzed data showed that thermal comfort affects the employees' perceived productivity. This research supports the existing literature on thermal comfort and perceived productivity. Furthermore, the researcher recommends that designers consider thermal comfort and its effect on employees' perceived productivity. Keywords: Thermal Comfort, Perceived Productivity, Employees, Environmental Quality, Commercial Building