This article provides a comprehensive review of experiments investigating the impact of spatial transitions on human psycho-physiological responses. A conceptual model is proposed to visually illustrate four spatial transition types, each involving movement from or to an indoor long-stay space. The study reports the variables, methods, and differences of procedures among studies. Furthermore, a meta-analysis explores the relationship between temperature change and thermal sensation vote changes during spatial transitions. While a good association is observed overall, distinct tendencies are noted for different spatial transition types. Additionally, the meta-analysis reveals a strong correlation between thermal sensation vote and temperature change during overshoots in spatial transitions, with the model demonstrating a robust fit, particularly within a temperature change range of −17 K to +17 K (R² = 0.92). Future research should explore cultural influences and the impact of different climates by diversifying participant profiles, solar radiation, and the effect of other domains (acoustic, lighting, and air quality) on the user's thermal perception on space transition.

Indoor thermal transitions are common in offices but remain understudied, especially considering their potential sex-specific effects on occupants’ thermoregulation and thermal perceptions. This study investigated thermophysiological and perceptual responses to indoor-to-indoor transitions in a living lab. Twelve participants (six males, six females) completed three experimental rounds, each involving step-changes from a warmer open-plan office (PMV 0.46 ± 0.24) to a cooler meeting room (PMV –0.43 ± 0.35), and back. Skin temperatures, heart rate, thermal sensation, and thermal pleasure were continuously monitored, and the JOS-3 thermoregulation model was applied to simulate and compare predicted thermal dynamics. Results revealed pronounced sex-specific differences: females exhibited stronger distal-to-proximal gradients and lower hand temperatures than males, persisting even after returning to the warmer environment. These patterns indicate that routine indoor transitions can induce temporal and spatial alliesthesia that differ between sexes. Regarding thermal perceptions, females displayed larger overshoots in thermal sensation when entering cooler spaces, consistent with their skin heat loss. Thermal pleasure was slightly lower in females across both transitions, while the cooler room elicited higher pleasure in both sexes, likely reflecting occupants’ expectations in hot climates. Comparisons with JOS-3 simulations indicated accurate capture of overall thermal dynamics but underestimation of sex-specific distal cooling. These findings underscore the importance of considering sex-specific thermophysiological responses in indoor environments and support the development of adaptive comfort strategies and refined physiological models.

Heatwaves are becoming more frequent and severe under climate change, intensifying thermal stress in residential buildings, particularly in hot and humid regions. This study applies a multi-objective optimization framework, based on the Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II (NSGA-II), to evaluate and enhance the thermal resilience of a representative multifamily housing typology in São Paulo, Brazil, under historical and projected future heatwave conditions. The optimization addressed the three stages of resilience—resistance, robustness, and recovery—by minimizing cooling load and maximum operative temperature, while constraining recovery time. Results were contrasted with a parametric simulation approach relying on predefined passive cooling strategies. The NSGA-II framework consistently achieved superior performance across all resilience indicators. Cooling load was reduced by up to 65 %, maximum operative temperature was maintained near 35 °C (while parametric simulation models exceeded 42 °C), and recovery time remained below 384 h. In contrast, parametric simulation cases showed significant trade-offs, with extended recovery periods exceeding 1000 h and greater variability across indicators. Robust design features emerging from optimized solutions included low façade absorptance, high roof thermal mass with added insulation, solar-control glazing, and open balconies. By integrating MOO with a resilience-based performance framework, this study captures the multi-stage dynamics of thermal resilience more comprehensively. This integrative approach moves beyond conventional building simulation assessments and offers a replicable method to support climate-adaptive design for heat-vulnerable buildings.

In response to increasingly severe weather conditions, optimization of building performance and investment provides an opportunity to consider co-benefits of thermal resilience during energy efficiency retrofits. This work aims to assess thermal resilience of buildings using building performance simulation to evaluate the indoor overheating risk under nine weather scenarios, considering historical (2010s), mid-term future (2050s), and long-term future (2090s) typical meteorological years, and heat wave years. Such an analysis is based on resilience profiles that combine six integrated indicators. A case study with a district of 92 buildings in Brazil was conducted, and a combination of strategies to improve thermal resilience was identified. Results reflect the necessity of planning for resilience in the context of climate change. This is because strategies recommended under current conditions might not be ideal in the future. Therefore, an adaptable design should be prioritized. Cooling energy consumption could increase by 48 % by the 2050s, while excessive overheating issues could reach 37 % of the buildings. Simple passive strategies can significantly reduce the heat stress. A comprehensive thermal resilience analysis should ultimately be accompanied by a thorough reflection on the stakeholders’ objectives, available resources, and planning horizon, as well as the risks assumed for not being resilient.

Understanding the trends and uncertainties in Building Energy Simulation (BES) performance indicators under future climate conditions is crucial for mitigating issues such as overheating and power outages. To address this, we generated a set of weather files for all 27 state capitals in Brazil, considering six climate model projections (three General Circulation Models as driving models and two nested Regional Climate Models) and two distinct emission scenarios from the CORDEX project. We analyzed the variability in climatic variables and subsequently performed BES on a representative Brazilian social housing unit to evaluate its impact on the performance indicators outcomes. Consistent with previous studies, a substantial increase in cooling-related demands was observed in the more pessimistic scenario (RCP8.5) and mild increases in the more optimistic scenario (RCP2.6), with a trend toward stabilization after 2050. Regarding uncertainties, we found higher Relative Standard Deviation (RSD) values for the cooling degree hours indicator. The capitals in the Central-West, Southeast, and South regions exhibited greater uncertainty regarding temperature indicators, whereas the irradiation parameters displayed higher uncertainties in the Northeast region. For the BES outcomes, RSD values as high as 19.9% were found for cooling load values. It was also demonstrated that locations, periods, and scenarios exhibit different extreme climate model projections. Ideally, employing an ensemble of weather files developed from other models would help assess associated uncertainties in the building performance indicators.

Building environments are specific and complex bioclimatic systems. Thus, well-suited climate classification methods for buildings are essentially needed to develop building design guidelines and standards. To address it, the present research introduces a novel fit-for-purpose clustering method for bioclimatic zoning based on the hygrothermal and energy performance of buildings. This bioclimatic zoning was developed to update the Brazilian standard and has been validated across various climates and building typologies (residential and commercial) in Brazil. In a preliminary analysis, three classification methods were developed using K-means and Decision Tree to classify climates according to building performance. Subsequently, a final bioclimatic zoning method was developed using a tailored version of the best method designed for real-world applications (Decision Tree) in the Brazilian context. The performance of the bioclimatic zoning achieved was compared with three existing climate classifications: Köppen-Geiger, ASHRAE 169-2020, and ABNT-NBR 15220-3 (Brazilian Standard). The results showed that the new bioclimatic zoning method outperformed the existing ones to cluster the building performance indicators. Moreover, high-resolution spatial climate databases, such as NASA-POWER, CRU, and ERA5-Land, were processed and analyzed to be employed in locations without properly measured data. Three metamodels of climate indicators were developed and compared with these databases to select the most accurate climate data sources. Finally, these databases were employed to classify all 5570 Brazilian municipalities according to the final bioclimatic zoning, which enabled the development of an accurate and high-resolution map.

Universities have an important role towards a sustainable future. It is essential to understand their energy consumption and how to improve their efficiency. This paper aims to review the literature, between the years 2000 and 2023, investigating what influences energy consumption in universities, obtaining benchmarks for their energy consumption, and highlighting the potential for further research. Results showed that energy use in university campuses often presents great complexity due to the integration of several types of services in the same building or group of buildings. The studies in the literature categorized the end-uses by lights, plug loads, and HVAC system (the most prominent), highlighting the importance of monitoring them during the usage. Furthermore, it was observed that occupant behavior has a significant impact in energy usage, due to the building operation, and the space usage. Therefore, by comparing results and limitations of the studies reviews, we suggest addressing the space usage type in universities buildings for future benchmark development. Moreover, there is still a gap in developing more specific Key Performance Indicators for universities to improve the disclosure of benchmarking information.

Increasing temperature-related hazards require a collective effort to assess and enhance the thermal resilience of buildings and communities to protect occupants’ safety and minimize property or infrastructure damage. However, limited coordination across stakeholders and lack of standardized procedures for resilience assessment undermine the effectiveness of extreme temperature mitigation and adaptation strategies across the building life cycle. This review examines the current literature on resilience metrics to address thermal stress and risk due to extreme indoor environments. Stakeholders of thermal resilience include architects and engineers, occupants, property owners, real estate developers, urban planners, and policymakers. Additionally, motivations for measuring thermal resilience are emphasized, such as safeguarding occupant health and survivability, protecting property, and ensuring business continuity during extreme weather events. This review provides actionable insights and identifies future research needs for enhancing resilience through tailored metrics for stakeholders during the planning, design, construction, operation, and retrofitting phases of buildings and communities.