Effects of Physical Design Features to Human Comfort on Floating Spaces

The main axes of this study, which is differentiated from contemporary architecture studies as the first academic work in the scope of post-occupancy evaluation floating spaces, are based on evaluating the spatial satisfaction and the meeting of these expectations by its users. A post-occupancy evaluation (POE) yielded a dataset of 117 yacht-users for whom demographic information, activities, and length-of-stay were recorded. This paper reports the study conducted on 78 yachts in Turkey, focusing particularly on the physical design features. The questionnaire is based on the observation and applied as post-occupancy evaluation on the examples of yachts from Turkey. It also questions the effect of the sea on the spatial perception and evaluates the user satisfaction of the interiors and exteriors of yacht spaces. Assessment on the physical design of yacht interiors from the perspective of the staff and the owner is the method to understand their expectation, preferences and experiences. In addition, the satisfaction of different user groups and general evaluation of spaces are explained within the graphics that include the data and analysis which are obtained from the interviews. Empirical results indicate that different user categories (owner and staff) that are presented in the scope of the post-occupancy evaluations (POE) have different satisfaction levels. Findings of this study demonstrate that the difference of satisfaction levels between the users caused different space needs and expectations from their spaces. Although floating spaces have unconventional environmental specifications from the terra architecture, high level of satisfaction in yachts shows that the floating spaces should be evaluated with the scope of their spatial characteristics, in consequence of the spatial perception on the sea and the psychological concepts. In conclusion, the management implications of the study are discussed.