Browsing by Author "Gocer, Kenan"

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Can Commercial Buildings Cope with Australian Bushfires? An IAQ Analysis
(Ubiquity Press Ltd, 2021) Brambilla, Arianna; Candido, Christhina; Sangiorgio, Marco filippo; Gocer, Ozgur; Gocer, Kenan
The Australian 2019/20 summer witnessed an extraordinary bushfire season characterised by unprecedented duration, geographical reach and impact. The aftermath of the bushfires includes increased health-related implications on people due to short and long exposure to poor air quality. The current advice from the Australian authorities in such events is to remain indoors, as it was assumed indoor air quality (IAQ) is healthy. This paper examined that assumption and presents the case study of an office building in Canberra subjected to the 2019/20 bushfires, responding to the need of understanding the ability of air-conditioning buildings to cope with such unprecedented and extreme weather events. Measured data for indoor concentration of CO2, PM10 and PM2.5 recorded a prolonged period of concerning levels, as well as extreme concentration peaks. This poses a significant risk to the occupants' health. The values showed peaks up to 12 times higher for PM10 and 24 times higher for PM2.5 than the recommended critical thresholds. The infiltration factor and protection performance analysis suggest that old filtering systems and low airtightness levels are not optimal in protecting the indoor environment from outdoor air pollutants.
Differences in Occupants' Satisfaction and Perceived Productivity in High- and Low-Performance Offices
(MDPI, 2019) Gocer, Ozgur; Candido, Christhina; Thomas, Leena; Gocer, Kenan
This paper reports the results from a dataset comprising 9794 post-occupancy evaluation (POE) surveys from 77 Australian open-plan offices. This paper specifically focuses on a sub-set of 20 offices (n = 2133), identified from ranking 10 offices each, with the least (n = 1063) and highest (n = 1070) satisfaction scores, respectively. The satisfaction scores were evaluated on the basis of seven factors (i.e., building/office aesthetics and quality, thermal comfort and indoor air quality, noise distraction and privacy, personal control, connection to outdoor environment, maintenance and visual comfort, and individual space). Using the POE survey data from 20 offices, regression analyses and two-way ANOVA tests were carried out to understand the differences in occupants' satisfaction and perceived productivity arising from open-plan offices. According to the statistically significant regression analyses results, it was identified that building/office aesthetics and quality (beta = 0.55, p < 0.001) and noise distraction and privacy (beta = 0.33, p < 0.001) were the two strongest predictors contributing perceived productivity in low-performance offices. Two-way ANOVA test results for the 10 high-performance offices indicate that the perceived productivity was strongly associated with the office's physical configuration, the employees' working experience, and the working hours at that office.
The Effects of Transportation Modes on Campus Use: A Case Study of a Suburban Campus
(Elsevier Science Bv, 2019) Gocer, Ozgur; Gocer, Kenan
Introduction of a Spatio-Temporal Mapping Based POE Method for Outdoor Spaces: Suburban University Campus as a Case Study
(Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd, 2018) Gocer, Ozgur; Gocer, Kenan; Basol, Altug M.; Kirac, M. Furkan; Ozbil, Ayse; Bakovic, Mujesira; Ozcan, Baris
Outdoor spaces are important to sustainable cities because they establish a common identity for social life by improving quality of urban living. The relation between outdoor spaces and building groups, competency, use period, and interaction of micro-climatic factors are needed to be investigated from a holistic approach. Unfortunately, the limited and narrow scoped POE studies on outdoor spaces make an overall assessment without causality relation. Other existing studies in outdoor spaces are mostly grouped under the headings such as; user satisfaction, space syntax and behavioral mapping, and biometeorological assessments. The intention of this paper is to introduce a new post-occupancy evaluation (POE) method integrates these studies focusing on various problems in outdoor spaces using spatio-temporal mapping. The comprehensive methodology applied in this research attempted to overcome some of the shortcomings of related studies by conducting a longitudinal study (during a year, as opposed to a few days) and also by objectively analyzing the associations of user behavior and physical attributes as well as the configurational properties of the campus layout. With this method, outdoor spaces can be evaluated in the context of the interaction between the physical environment and its users' behavior and activities, level of satisfaction and perceptions of comfort. The method has been applied on a suburban university campus in Istanbul, Turkey. The main courtyard of the campus has been subjected for map creation and result discussions.
An Investigation of Occupant Energy-Saving Behavior in Vernacular Houses of Behramkale (Assos)
(MDPI, 2021) Ergoz Karahan, Ebru; Gocer, Ozgur; Gocer, Kenan; Boyacioglu, Didem
Despite its well-known potential to reduce energy use, the inquiry of whether vernacular architecture prompts its occupants to have energy-saving behavior has been neglected. This paper aims to investigate the influence of vernacular houses on the behavior of their occupants and other parameters affecting occupant behavior. Along with site observations, 117 surveys including multiple choice and open-ended questions were conducted with households living in vernacular houses and new houses in the historical settlement, Behramkale (Assos). A principal component analysis was conducted for the whole sample to determine whether there is a relationship between energy saving occupant behavior and energy use, household, and housing characteristics. Then further analyses were performed to explore the differences in descriptive properties of occupants. Household characteristics were found to be associated with occupant behavior. The females and married people tended to show more energy-saving behavior and sought to use their houses in more environmentally friendly ways. The older people were more likely to show no-cost energy-saving behavior. The households with high income and high-level education tended to invest in energy-efficient appliances but consumed more energy than other households. Besides the effects of household characteristics, historical heritage, and landscape values specific to the area influenced occupant behavior. Vernacular houses enabled the households to behave in a certain way and to continue the traditional daily habits related to sustainable, energy-saving behaviors.
Pedestrian Tracking in Outdoor Spaces of a Suburban University Campus for the Investigation of Occupancy Patterns
(Elsevier, 2019) Gocer, Ozgur; Gocer, Kenan; Ozcan, Baris; Bakovic, Mujesira; Kirac, M. Furkan
The design of a livable and comfortable environment has been one of the main aims of sustainable university campus design. The creation of outdoor spaces for accommodating amenities has a positive effect on users with regard to various physiological and psychological aspects. Knowing how daily activity patterns and pedestrian movements are distributed across space is important for assessing whether or not human use and design plans are in fact successful. The aim of this study is to determine occupancy patterns and pedestrian routes in outdoor spaces during different seasons at a sustainable university campus by using spatial statistical analyses that involve ANN, MC and SDE. To perform these analyses, the researchers attempted to use a pedestrian tracking method from camera surveillance to aggregate the required data by conducing a longitudinal study. The data that were aggregated by pedestrian tracking was visualized with the use of a spatio-temporal mapping method in GIS. Logistic GWR was performed to seek the relationship between occupancy pattern (clustered distribution) and design layout of open spaces, comprising the variables of proximity to the attraction centers/entrances, and visual integration. The results confirmed that occupants prefer to use the areas that have high visual integration value and are close to attraction centers.
A Post-Occupancy Evaluation Model Based on Spatio-Temporal Mapping Method for University Outdoor Spaces
(Yildiz Technical University, Fac Architecture, 2020) Gocer, Ozqur; Gocer, Kenan; Basol, Altug Melik; Kirac, Mustafa Furkan; Ozbil Torun, Ayse; Bakovic, Mujesira; Ozcan, Baris
Not only do university campuses consist of a variety of social and educational buildings, they also create an integrated system with their outdoor spaces and furniture, recreation and landscape areas. Outdoors have the potential to create social interaction, rest and relaxation, recreation, exchange of ideas and a strong sense of ownership and belonging. Creating a common identity for social life by enabling people to communicate and socialize with each other is the most important function of outdoor spaces. However, although the rationality of external spaces is designed, it is possible to use other than what is expected in practice. The relationship between the external spaces and the building groups, the adequacy, the duration of use, the accessibility and the interaction of the physical environment should be examined with a holistic approach to understand the difference between expectations and reality. In order to identify user needs in outdoor spaces as a way to assess if human use and design intentions are in fact successful, post occupancy evaluation (POE) is recommended as the most significant advanced method. Unfortunately, although studies on the evaluation of indoor spaces have been increasing day by day, there is no comprehensive study of POE that can be applied to the outdoor spaces, especially in university campuses. In this study, a POE method which discusses the variables that affect the use of outdoor space and the interaction between these variables is introduced. The proposed method was applied in a suburban university campus and the results were evaluated in terms of outdoor use.
Rural Gentrification of the Ancient City of Assos (Behramkale) in Turkey
(Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd, 2021) Gocer, Ozgur; Shrestha, Pranita; Boyacioglu, Didem; Gocer, Kenan; Karahan, Ebru
Behramkale, also known as the ancient city of Assos, has gained considerable national and international visibility after its declaration as an Archaeological site in 1982 and later in 2000 as Urban Archaeological site. The declaration brought with it stringent regulations limiting new constructions and simple extensions in the historical village and opened new construction site outside the ancient city walls for future developments. After declaration, the village has become a major destination for cultural heritage led tourism. This largely growth oriented transformation is concerning as less attention given to shift in class structure. The paper uses the concepts of rural and tourism gentrification to understand this transformation in Behramkale using empirical evidence from a longitudinal, case study approach spanning between 2000 and 2017. The longitudinal, case study documents transformation in terms of (i) demographic and socio-economic changes; (ii) conservation practice in old settlement and development of new settlement; and (iii) change in property prices and ownership. It is seen that the authentic characteristics of the landscape and traditional buildings that is being abandoned but remains desirable have led to a population influx from, bigger cities of Turkey and also other countries, purchasing these homes as a primary or secondary house. This has led to renovation of the existing buildings with an increase in the property prices and displacement of the local population to the new development area. Consequently, the conservation practice in Behramkale served merely encouraging investment in building renovation rather than a function of preserving local community. The paper contributes to limited literature on rural gentrification within the Mediterranean context.
Shifting Work Patterns and Workplace Perceptions Post-COVID
(Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2025) Gocer, Ozgur; Karahan, Ebru Ergoz; Parkinson, Thomas; Gocer, Kenan; de Dear, Richard
As many companies encourage employees to return to the office following COVID-19, it is timely to examine its impact on work patterns and workplace perceptions. This study analyses 5,644 responses to a post-occupancy evaluation survey in Australian office buildings, matched pre-, during, and post-pandemic. Significant shifts toward flexible work arrangements were observed, with a tripling of employees working less than 10 h in the office and a 62% decline in those working over 30 h. Interaction effects between COVID-19 periods, office hours (chi 2 = 528.7, p < 0.001), and workspace type (chi 2 = 149.6, p < 0.001) were noted. Satisfaction with indoor environmental quality components, especially 'Spatial Environment', 'Daylight & Views', and 'Personal Control' post-COVID declined significantly (p < 0.05). 'Privacy & Disruption' emerged as the strongest predictor of perceived productivity and health. The findings highlight the need for optimized spatial layouts to enhance privacy, reduce disruptions, and promote a healthy office environment, offering key insights into office workers' evolving post-pandemic needs.
Understanding the Role of Urban Form in Explaining Transportation and Recreational Walking Among Children in a Logistic Gwr Model: A Spatial Analysis in Istanbul, Turkey
(Elsevier Sci Ltd, 2020) Torun, Ayse Ozbil; Gocer, Kenan; Yesiltepe, Demet; Argin, Gorsev
This study aims to examine associations between urban form factors generally, and street network configuration in particular, and walking for different purposes among children in Istanbul, Turkey. Parents of randomly selected students (ages 12-16) at 20 middle schools (N = 917) completed questionnaires about their socio-economic characteristics and the frequency of their children's walking for recreational and for transportation purposes in their neighbourhood during a typical day. The environment around 400 m of participants' homes was evaluated through GIS-based parcel-level land-use data and segment-based street connectivity measures calculated using space syntax techniques. Logistic geographically weighted regression models were estimated to measure the desired associations while adjusting for socio-economic characteristics. Results demonstrate a marginal association between urban form measures and walking behaviour but only in certain peripheral parts of the city. More importantly, increased directional accessibility, which identifies the extent to which more street length is accessible within few direction changes, is associated with higher odds of recreational walking in particular areas where a strong differentiation between scales of street connectivity structure is evident such as a supergrid of primary roads with inserted organic local streets. In addition, children residing in neighbourhoods with reduced residential density and increased commercial and recreational activities are more likely to walk for transportation purposes. The findings of this study demonstrate that the one-size-fits-all approach may not effectively encourage walking. Urban areas tend to have varying qualities that need to be handled uniquely, and therefore targeted rather than blanket interventions regarding the design of neighbourhoods around schools and homes may be beneficial in supporting walking behaviour of children.