The Building Envelope as a Determinant of User Spatial Experience: A Quantitative Evaluation of Art Centers in Lagos, Nigeria

In the tropical climate of Lagos, Nigeria, cultural buildings rely heavily on artificial environmental controls, leading to high energy consumption to achieve good indoor environmental quality that could otherwise be achieved through climate-responsive design. This study investigates the influence of building envelope of art centers on the users’ spatial experience in selected art centers in Lagos. The study used structured questionnaires administered to art centre users across six art centre using total enumeration sampling technique, yielding 75 responses. Data was analyzed in SPSS using descriptive statistics, principal component factor analysis (Varimax rotation) and categorical regression (CATREG). Eight climate-responsive design factors and eight spatial experience factors were extracted via principal component analysis. It was revealed from the regression model, eight climate-responsive design factors, which explained 32.4% of the variance in user satisfaction of their spatial experience. Among these eight, ‘Building Envelope and Context’ is a statistically significant individual predictor of spatial experience. These results suggests that the building envelope remains a strong individual factor for influencing human-building relationships and spatial comfort in tropical regions, in the era of generative design and AI-driven predictive analytics. It also suggests that spatial experience is shaped by the joint contribution of several climate-responsive strategies. It provides critical knowledge towards sustainable development and Agenda 2063, particularly Goal 7. Life Cycle Cost Analysis of Green