MuDoCo: Multi-domain comfort models – development of a systematic approach to theory, experimental design and modelling

Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) is inherently multi-domain: occupants are simultaneously exposed to thermal, visual, aural, and olfactory stimuli. In response, research on multi-domain comfort has expanded across the fields of building science and environmental psy-chology. Despite increasing numbers of experiments and data availability, findings remain fragmented and difficult to accumulate. These limitations are often attributed to contextual variability, yet growing evidence suggests that deeper structural constraints hinder cumulative progress.
The project MuDoCo aimed to develop theoretical and methodological foundations for multi-domain comfort modelling by combining laboratory experiments, modelling work, and behav-ioural integration research. The project’s core contributions lie in the development of concep-tual and methodological frameworks, supported by systematic laboratory experiments de-signed to test causal assumptions and model evaluation. These activities were extended through surveys: a discrete choice survey examining cross-modal weighting, as well as an expert survey and experimental assessment of impact and mitigation of careless responding.
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The findings are relevant for comfort theory, modelling practice, and the future development of IEQ standards. Besides, results provide important methodological insight by identifying informative null findings and structural limits in the empirical and modelling approaches. This aligns with the original project aim to advance cross-domain effects, integrations, and model-ling approaches in multidomain comfort.