PhD-AECM Doctoral Proposal Presentation: Nihar Pathak
Title: Integrating Post-Occupancy Evaluation with Life Cycle Approaches: A Decision-Support Framework for Enhancing Indoor Environmental Quality
Name: Nihar Pathak, Ph.D. candidate in Architecture–Engineering–Construction Management (PhD-AECM)
Date: Tuesday, December 16, 2025
Time: 12:00-2:00pm ET
Location: Cohon University Center, Room: Class of 1987 & Zoom
Committee Members:
Erica Cochran Hameen, Ph.D., Assoc. AIA, NOMA, LEED AP (Chair)
Associate Professor
School of Architecture
Carnegie Mellon University
Joshua D. Lee, Ph.D.
Associate Teaching Professor
School of Architecture
Carnegie Mellon University
Kushagra Varma, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
School of Management
Wentworth Institute of Technology
Abstract:
Human health, comfort, and productivity are fundamentally shaped by the quality of the built environment, including both its physical attributes and the behavioral patterns within indoor spaces. With individuals in the United States spending nearly 90% of their time indoors (US EPA, 2024), Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) has become a critical determinant of well-being and performance across a wide range of building types. IEQ directly influences occupants’ cognitive functioning, satisfaction, and overall health outcomes. Although many sustainability frameworks highlight IEQ, they provide limited guidance for choosing or evaluating strategies in existing buildings, where budgets, infrastructure, and ongoing operations pose constraints. As a result, decisions are often based on incomplete data, personal judgment, or short-term costs that do not reflect long-term environmental or financial impacts.
Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) provides a valuable way to understand how people experience indoor spaces by combining measurements with occupant feedback. However, POE results are rarely connected to life-cycle analyses, which makes it difficult to understand the environmental and economic trade-offs of different IEQ improvements. This disconnection represents a significant gap in current practice: the absence of accessible, decision-ready frameworks that synthesize occupant experience with environmental and financial assessment frameworks. Without such integration, organizations face challenges in prioritizing interventions that simultaneously enhance IEQ, reduce environmental burdens, and ensure cost-effectiveness.
This research addresses this gap in published research proposing the Lifecycle Indoor Quality Assessment Tool (LIQAT), a framework that brings together POE insights, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA), and Life Cycle Cost Assessment (LCCA). The research will use a multi-step process that includes collecting POE data, modeling baseline and intervention scenarios, and comparing results using LCA, LCIA and LCCA that will be shared with stakeholders and decision makers to illuminate performance trade-offs and support transparent decision-making. The expected outcome of this research is a framework applicable to multiple building types and organizational contexts, helping users assess retrofits, operational changes, and technology upgrades with greater confidence.
This research aims to strengthen the alignment between occupant needs and building performance by providing a scientifically grounded, practically oriented framework for evaluating IEQ strategies. By integrating human-centered insights with long-term environmental and economic considerations, LIQAT has the potential to enhance the quality of existing buildings while advancing broader goals of sustainability, resilience, and occupant well-being.
Keywords: Indoor Environmental Quality; Post-Occupancy Evaluation; Life Cycle Assessment; Life Cycle Impact Assessment; Life Cycle Cost Assessment