Affecting factors on user satisfaction of public drinking water fountain usage (Case: courtyard of the holy shrine of Imam REZA)

Abstract

The Holy Shrine of Imam Reza AS is one of the most important places in Iran in terms of religious and public beliefs. Huge volumes of pilgrims travel to the mentioned place, so the appropriated environmental and furniture design to increase the visitors' satisfaction is inevitable. In this regards, the main objective of this study is to identify an appropriated design for public water taps through the assessment of affecting factors in terms of the pilgrims’ satisfaction. Methods: In this survey, 400 volunteer pilgrims participated in our 5-scale Likert questionnaire. The gathered data were analysed by SPSSWin21 and Spearman test. Results: This study shows that there is a significant association between user satisfaction and public water taps' function (p = 0.00), however the participants were more satisfied with the technical aspects than the aesthetic ones. The users were not satisfied with the placing of water taps, pressure of water’s valve and local illumination in night time. Conclusion: This study confirms the importance of design considerations, construction and materials, location of public water fountains in the assessed courtyard of the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza AS to satisfy the pilgrims. Considering with Islamic architectural elements, appropriated form and style, color and material, perfect harmony affect on users. The modification of water fountain place in terms of dimension and local illumination are also important.