Abstract

This research aimed to assess the architectural potential of school classrooms for providing a good integral IEQ, which is one of the factors influencing the physical learning environment. Learning environments should be suitable, safe and comfortable to foster the holistic development of students, especially in contexts with limited energy resources. An Environmental Factors Evaluation Matrix was created, defining 20 architectural factors. A categorization was devised to evaluate the effectiveness of the integration of these factors and to obtain a diagnosis of the weighted environmental quality of the classroom to identify the factors that need improvement, show serious deficiencies, or are missing in the classrooms. The method was applied in 30 school classrooms to validate its application. The research results revealed both environmental strengths and weaknesses. The design parameters of "Acoustic" and "Thermal" showed significant deficiencies in the integration of conditioning to improve both aspects. The incorporation of simplified methods for the evaluation of IEQ based on architectural design is expected to help reduce the gaps for the environmental rehabilitation of these spaces. © Copyright by Fundacja PLEA 2024 Conference, Wrocław 2024.