This thesis proposes a method for assessing the indoor environment of a library-more specifically, how conducive a library's indoor environment is to studying. The method involves the integration of tree analysis and the tallying heuristic function. A tree model is necessary in order to establish relationships between the primary interior architectural features and their subdivisions, as well as to provide an illustration for the research. A heuristic function, tallying, is used to count the

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... ber of times each feature is mentioned favourably. The tallies' weights for each respective feature are uniform, such that the features differ based on the number of times they are referenced in the scientific literature. In this way, the features are identified according to their respective counts, thereby allowing a greater understanding of which interior architectural features should be considered when designing a library space that is mindful of those who occupy the space for studying: primarily students. The proponent is meant to support and facilitate decision making, i.e., which features to implement based on their respective quantitative tallies. This overcomes the inherent difficulty of comparing features with qualitative differences from one another. iii PREFACE This thesis is an original work by Jad Jureidini. No part of this thesis has been previously published. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deepest thanks to my supervisors, Dr. Mohamed Al-Hussein and Dr. Ahmed Bouferguene, for their invaluable support and encouragement. This thesis could not have been completed without their help and contributions. I thank them for supporting and believing in me, and giving me the opportunity to do pursue this research.