Proposal of a Framework to Evaluate the Building Performance of Local Healthcare Facilities

In healthcare design, building performance evaluation (BPE) is a critical aspect of the construction and operation of buildings. This type of evaluation focuses on the functional, technical and environmental aspects of the building performance (e.g. site location, accessibility, energy consumption, indoor environmental quality, etc.) but also on the social performance (e.g. effects of the design on occupants’ comfort and well-being, etc.). This is particularly relevant in the current development of local healthcare facilities (e.g. primary care centres, community hospitals, etc.) – occurring in several European countries, including Italy – where design features should be evaluated not only for their direct impact on individual health outcomes, but also on local communities and their environment. By combining a literature review and comparative analysis of 9 existing Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) and Building Performance Evaluation (BPE) tools for evidence-based design of healthcare environments, this paper proposes a conceptual framework, comprising building performance criteria and items across 5 different domains, aimed at streamlining the development of evaluation tools that are well-suited to assess local healthcare facilities.