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Occupant comfort and health in green and conventional university buildings
A Hedge1, L Miller2, J A Dorsey3
1Department of Design and Environmental Analysis, College of Human Ecology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
Background:
Green building standards are significantly impacting modern construction practices. The resulting structures are more energy efficient, but their impact on occupant health has not been widely studied.
Objective:
To investigate a range of indoor environment and ergonomic issues in green buildings.
Methods:
Retrospective post-occupancy evaluation survey of 319 occupants in two Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified buildings and one conventional building on a Canadian University campus.
Results:
Results show that working in the LEED buildings was a generally positive experience for their health, performance, and satisfaction. However, the LEED buildings did not always receive the highest ratings for environmental conditions or for health and productivity. Respondents indicated a range of concerns with thermal conditions, office lighting, noise and their overall workstation designs and these were not always better in the green buildings.
Conclusions:
These results highlight the need for better integration of ergonomic design into green buildings and into the LEED rating system, and these implications are discussed.
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