thermal comfort in intermediate spaces of educational buildings (case study: isfahan university of technology)

This study explores the concept of thermal comfort in intermediate (semi-enclosed or enclosed transitional) spaces at isfahan university of technology (iut), located in a hot-arid climate. while most comfort standards focus on fully enclosed, mechanically controlled environments, this research aims to assess whether such standards apply to transitional architectural spaces and to what extent users adapt to these microclimates. a year-long cross-sectional survey was conducted, combining subjective questionnaires with on-site physical measurements in selected intermediate spaces across the iut campus. the investigation evaluated thermal sensation, preference, and acceptability in relation to indoor environmental parameters such as temperature, humidity, and air velocity. the collected data were then compared to ashrae comfort standards and predictive models like the adaptive mean vote and predicted mean vote. the results revealed that occupants in intermediate spaces displayed a higher degree of thermal adaptability than predicted by conventional comfort models. the neutral temperature in enclosed intermediate zones was determined to be 23.5°c-0.35°c higher than the amv model's prediction. despite deviations from the ashrae thermal comfort zone, users still rated their thermal environment as acceptable, emphasizing the psychological and behavioral flexibility in semi-enclosed educational spaces. laboratory-based and stable models such as pmv are inadequate for evaluating thermal comfort in enclosed intermediate spaces of educational buildings. these environments require field-based calibration of comfort expectations to reflect real-life adaptive behaviors. establishing a unique comfort standard tailored to such spatial typologies is essential to support user satisfaction and sustainable design strategies in arid climate regions.