The house of quality for thermal hotel design.
3. CDiscurrent Insightsssion
The analysis studies revealed that the most important customer needs are “health”, “service”, “comfort” and “functionality”. These are followed by “accessibility”, “aesthetics”, and “energy conservation”, also in order of importance. These results imply that the primary purpose of thermal hotel visits is to receive treatment and be healed. In other words, customers who visit these facilities primarily for health reasons demand clean, spacious designs where they can obtain good service, rest, have fun, and feel comfortable.
According to the subcriteria, the health criterion includes the subcriteria of “Health effects of hot spring”, “Clean air and climate impacts on health”, and “organic product use”, in order of importance. Climate cure treatments, which are complementary to thermal water treatment at thermal hotels, should also be included in the design. Facilities should be located in a large recreational area, isolated from noise and traffic density, and intertwined with nature. The materials used must be organic and hygienic. The service criterion includes the subcriteria of “service by the staff”, “social facilities”, and “economic”, in order of importance. The comfort criterion includes the subcriteria of “ensuring spatial comfort”, “control of temperature”, and “control of sound and light”, in order of importance. In thermal hotel designs, spatial comfort should be considered. Special attention to ventilation and air conditioning issues, and arrangements for noise, temperature, and light and humidity control, will improve the design and use quality.
Although thermal hotel designs are similar to the designs of accommodation facilities, the most obvious difference is that the design of their basic units is based on hot springs and the climate. Therefore, when designing thermal hotels, these differences should be considered, and design criteria specific to spa and wellness units should be established.
Accurate use of planning and design principles in the production process of thermal hotels will lay the foundations for sustainable development. As a result of the study conducted in Aksaray and its vicinity, macroplanning decisions, which are the cornerstone of the design, determined the most important criteria for both customer expectations and technical requirements. The calculation of the importance ratings of technical requirements enabled the determination of technical requirements with high importance ratings, and allowed the technical team to focus on these requirements. By calculating the importance of technical requirements, more important technical requirements were identified and the design team was able to focus on these requirements. Thus, a healthier design and production process was achieved.
Considering the importance ratings of technical requirements calculated based on the customer expectations, it can be seen that “climate factor and assessment of environmental factors” has the highest importance rating (“10.20”). According to this item, which was calculated as a result of comparing customer expectations and technical requirements, the location of the thermal source and topographic conditions are crucial for thermal hotel design. This is an appropriate solution to avoid damaging the source and deliver the source to the facility in the shortest possible manned. The locations should have a relaxing natural and artificial environment. In addition, the thermal hotel should not be located in an area with unplanned urbanisation. Topographic characteristics change the effects and duration of climate elements, and thus lead to changes in the effect of the climate on buildings. In addition, when determining the location of the buildings, areas that are free of noise and other environmental problems should be preferred as much as possible.
“Determining the effect of human factors that are effective in macro- and microplanning decisions on design” has the second highest importance rating (“8.85”), indicating that it has a vital place in the design of thermal hotels. Human factors also determine behavioural performance. Performance is the determinant of the relationships between the physical environment and human behaviour, human satisfaction, and sociological and psychological satisfaction. These include factors such as the size of a building, the proximity of the indoor areas, the frequency of their use, and the spaces created for privacy and social interaction. These factors are of great importance for design quality. The macro- and microplanning decisions of thermal hotels are shaped according to the environmental structure, location, socio-cultural and socio-economic status, and customer profile.
Furthermore, the requirement of “spatial arrangements” has the third highest importance rating (“6.65”). Furthermore, the “geometry and dimensions of the building” has the fourth highest importance rating (“6.63”), whereas the “thermal and acoustic effects, lighting, and ventilation solutions” has the fifth highest importance rating (“6.56”). “The performance characteristics” has the sixth highest importance rating (“6.05”), “environmentally friendly and durable solutions” has the seventh highest importance rating (“5.52”), and the “use of efficient, quality and economical materials” has the eighth highest importance rating (“5.28”).
“Transportation and accessibility” has the ninth highest importance rating (“5.15”), whereas the “orientation of the building” has the tenth highest importance rating (“4.94”). When these requirements are transferred to designs, thermal facilities should be considered as a whole. Around the accommodation and curing centre, green spaces, jogging and hiking trails, and entertainment venues (recreational water facilities such as the Aqua Park) should be established. Between units, there should be open and closed passages. The dimensions determined in the spatial arrangements should have measures that can provide freedom of movement and function; production of nonfunctional spaces should be avoided. The geometry of the building should take into account local texture, regional climate data, and environmental factors. The production of sustainable buildings should consider the effect of parameters such as the climate of the region; active and passive systems in accordance with the climate, or the combined use of the two; topography; vegetation; and orientation of the building with respect to the sun and the wind.
The technical requirement of “infrastructure works for the protection of thermal resources, and capacity determination” has the eleventh highest importance rating (“4.92”). According to this technical requirement, protection areas must be determined. Planning of thermal facilities requires interdisciplinary studies. Water flow should be measured, and the catchment area should be formed. Geological structure and hydrogeological conditions, the topographic structure of the environment and climatic conditions, soil types, the drainage area boundary, residential areas, and industrial facilities should be determined. In addition, for thermal tourism in the region of a hot spring, the strategy plans should be prepared at the preliminary design phase.
The “convenient, flexible and improved solutions” has the twelfth highest importance rating (“4.58”). Spaces should be flexible and able to be improved. Interior comfort conditions will provide a more aware approach to energy efficiency by grouping different locations (zoning/creating buffer space). When designing buildings, building geometry cannot be considered to be independent of the local fabric and contemporary architectural factors cannot be ignored. Both cases should be well blended in designs. The building must reflect the character of its environment. Accurate volume organisations are crucial to improve the quality of designs. In the same manner, adding different functions to the same space when designing spaces provides a significant flexibility tool. Flexibility in design includes elements such as multifunctionality, increased spatial relationships, the creation of a multifunctional facade, the creation of divisible/connectable spaces, and the capacity of areas of usage. By comparison, structural flexibility can be assessed under the two subheadings of bearing systems and structural components. The concept of flexibility in bearing systems requires features such as large openings, flexibility in structural joints, and effective intervention in the system.