<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<?xml-stylesheet href="client.xsl" type="text/xsl"?>
<article article-type="other">
  <front>
    <journal-meta>
      <journal-id />
      <issn />
      <banner>
        <href>banner.jpg</href>
        <size width="100%" />
      </banner>
    </journal-meta>
    <article-meta>
      <doi>10.14455/ISEC.2026.13(2).AAQ-13</doi>
      <title-group>
        <article-title>FROM COMFORT INDICATORS TO COMFORT OPPORTUNITIES:  A MULTISENSORY ASSESSMENT OF UNIVERSITY STUDENT HUB CENTERS</article-title>
      </title-group>
      <author>TAHER ELDANAF<sup>1,2</sup>, LAMA ABUMOEILAK<sup>1,2</sup>, AYMAN KASSEM<sup>1,2</sup> and REEJY ATEF ABDELATTY MIKHAIL<sup>1,2</sup></author>
      <aff>
        <sup>1</sup>Dept of Interior Design, Ajman Univ, Ajman, United Arab Emirates<br />
        <sup>2</sup>Healthy and Sustainable Built Environment Research Centre, Ajman Univ, Ajman, United Arab Emirates<br />
      </aff>
    </article-meta>
  </front>
  <body>
    <abstract>
      <title>ABSTRACT</title>
      <p>University student hub centers have become important multifunctional environments supporting learning, collaboration, social interaction, and student well-being beyond traditional classrooms.  Yet, the factors shaping human comfort in these dynamic spaces remain insufficiently understood, and existing studies typically examine individual dimensions of Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) separately.  This study investigates the multisensory dimensions of comfort in university student hub centers.  A systematic literature review classifies key variables into six categories:  visual, auditory, tactile, spatial and ergonomic, thermal, and olfactory comfort.  These variables are evaluated with the Relative Importance Index (RII) through a user survey at the Ajman University Student Hub in the United Arab Emirates, engaging adaptive comfort and human-building interaction theories that view comfort as dynamic and context-dependent.  Spatial flexibility and olfactory/air quality emerged as the highest-ranked indicators, ahead of acoustic and tactile attributes.  Rather than establishing a causal link to objective environmental parameters, the findings offer an evidence-informed prioritization of user-perceived comfort indicators to support architects, interior designers, facility managers, and university decision-makers in creating healthier, more inclusive, and user-centered learning environments.</p>
      <p>
        <italic>Keywords: </italic>Indoor environmental quality (IEQ), Post-occupancy evaluation, User perception, Human-building interaction, Higher education facilities, Relative importance index (RII)</p>
    </abstract>
    <fpdf>
      <href>../images/logo/pdflogo.jpg</href>
      <hpdf>AAQ-13</hpdf>
    </fpdf>
  </body>
</article>