Indoor climate. The term indoor climate covers a wide range of comfort issues: thermal comfort, visual comfort, acoustic comfort, plus the air quality in the building. In some projects, odour, vibrations and electrostatics are covered under the topic of indoor climate as well. These are all aspects that require attention in the brief because they can have a large impact on the well-being and performance of users and, for some reason, they are quality aspects that are difficult to get right. Even new buildings often suffer from indoor climate problems such as poor acoustics, draughts or a lack of fresh air. The technical brief plays a vital role in avoiding such shortcomings by defining clear performance requirements in relation to user activities. The activity of teaching, for example, should come with requirements for speech clarity and sound transmission. Likewise, the activity of computer work should come with requirements for adequate lighting levels and the avoidance of glare on computer screens. Requirements may also relate to the equipment or artefacts that are located in a room. Laboratory equipment may, for example, require a vibration-free environment, and artworks in museums may require a specific level of humidity. 44