Indicators for measuring satisfaction towards design quality of buildings

Abstract

Design quality is an important component in measuring satisfaction towards total product quality (TPQ) of buildings, the product of construction projects. Design Quality Indicator (DQI), developed by the Construction Industry Council (CIC) in the UK looking at three quality fields, i.e. functionality, build quality, and impact of building in measuring the quality of design embodied in the buildings through feedback and perceptions of all stakeholders involved in the production and use of buildings. Design quality is always a major concern in the Malaysian construction industry. With inspiration from this DQI, this study was carried out to identify indicators for measuring the satisfaction towards design quality of buildings and to evaluate the suitability of the indicators for application in the context of Malaysian construction industry. Through literature survey, 32 indicators of design quality were identified and grouped into the three design quality fields. A questionnaire survey was carried out among Malaysian construction professionals (architects, engineers, quantity surveyors, contractors and developers) to assess the identified design quality indicators in terms of their relevance and significance in the context of construction industry in Malaysia. The survey reveals that access, natural lighting, access and use, structure element, landscape, finishes, location, external environment, urban and social integration and noise are among the design quality indicators that were perceived as the most important to be looked at. In overall, all the indicators are relevant for adoption in the Malaysian construction industry to measure the satisfaction towards design quality of buildings.