Thermal Comfort Examination of the Staircase as a Transitional Space between the Dwelling and the External Environment

Building designers and engineers face issues maintaining a suitable level of thermal comfort in transitional zones. Furthermore, there is no suggested acceptable comfort range or particular method of predicting thermal comfort for transitional environments. The purpose of this paper is to look into the thermal environmental performance and people's perceptions of transitional spaces represented by staircases, as well as how their design affects thermal comfort. First, a field study on-site was conducted with a questionnaire survey, then 144 questionnaires were collected. Second, TSV (thermal sensation vote), TCV (thermal comfort vote), TPV (thermal preference vote), and TAV (thermal acceptability vote) were evaluated, and physical measurements were taken in different staircase positions along the path from outside the building to inside the houses at various levels, then operative temperatures were calculated. Field studies were carried out for four selected case study buildings in Arris, Algeria, during winter and summer. The results show that the percentage of opening of the staircases from 19% to 5% can participate in lowering wind speed as well as operating temperature in the cold season. also, the decrease in percentage of opening from 88% to 5% in the summer period made occupants suffer less from thermal shock symptoms. Practical application : This study shows how the design of transitional space affects adaptation when moving from inside to outside or vice versa. The results of the study will draw the attention of the designers of the built environment to the importance of this space and help them to design transitional spaces that guarantee the users of these spaces a comfortable transition without exposure to thermal shock or affecting their health.