HEALTH OF GREEN BUILDING OCCUPANTS: BOTH INDOOR AND NEIGHBORHOOD ENVIRONMENTS MATTER CONTRACTS

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabelle Y.S. Cha ◽  
Anita M. M. Liu ◽  
Felix T.H. Tom
Keyword(s):  
Indoor Environment ◽  
Green Building ◽  
Neighborhood Environment ◽  
Building Height ◽  
Sustainable Performance ◽  
Environment And Health ◽  
Environment Assessment ◽  
Acoustic Comfort ◽  
Building Standards ◽  
The Impact

Commonly adopted green building standards, such as LEED and BEAM PLUS, tend to focus on the sustainable performance of buildings. There is a lack of comprehensive consideration on the associations between building environment and health of occupants, let alone the impact of neighborhood environment on the occupants. This study thus aims to investigate the impact and interplay of indoor and neighborhood environment on health of green building occupants. To achieve this aim, two green buildings, which locate in contrasting neighborhood environment in Hong Kong, are selected for case study. Based on the data collected by post-occupancy evaluation (occupant health), indoor environment assessment (thermal comfort, indoor air quality, ventilation, visual comfort, and acoustic comfort) and neighborhood environment assessment (neighborhood building density, neighborhood building height, neighborhood green area, and neighborhood cleanliness) through questionnaire survey, the results reveal that the relationship between indoor environment and occupant health is significantly moderated by neighborhood building height. The results lay foundation on how the green building standards can be further developed to enhance occupant health by taking neighborhood environment into account.

scholarly journals The Impact of Certification Systems for Architectural Solutions in Green Office Buildings in the Perspective of Occupant Well-Being

Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 659
Author(s):  
Magdalena Grzegorzewska ◽  
Paweł Kirschke
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
Indoor Environment ◽  
Green Building ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Office Buildings ◽  
Environment Quality ◽  
Environmental Beliefs ◽  
Certification System ◽  
Indoor Environment Quality ◽  
The Impact

The green building certification system has long-lasting benefits by improving building efficiency and sustainability. The ultimate goal of such classification is to promote the preservation of the global environment as well as the occupants’ well-being and their health. In this paper, we present examples of buildings that have been designed and built in Poland and have been certified with BREEAM, LEED and WELL. Our study investigates human factors in certification systems and examines the WELL Building Standard as a supplement to other green systems, which will probably be the most popular in the future. The green building movement should prioritize pro-human factors and the associated environmental beliefs to improve indoor environment quality for users’ needs. We present this matter on the example of the Polish office space market, providing statistics and analyzing the architecture of six certified office buildings from Warsaw, Poznań and Wrocław. They are a representative sample of buildings designed following the certification regime. It was demonstrated how this aids in improving work comfort, enhances the program of office spaces and the organization of service spaces within buildings, which increases the rank of this architecture and positively affects the urban environment.

Design and Development of Low Cost Certified Green Building for Non Residential Existing Building (NREB)

2013 ◽  
Vol 748 ◽  
pp. 1125-1129 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.M. Kassim ◽  
M.S. Jamri ◽  
Md Nazri Othman ◽  
M.Z.A. Rashid ◽  
S.J.S. Ismail
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Indoor Environment ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Green Building ◽  
Design And Development ◽  
Sustainable Buildings ◽  
Existing Building ◽  
Know How ◽  
The Impact

The Green Building Index (GBI) is one of rating tool which are provides a prospect for building developers and owners for designing and constructing a green and sustainable buildings. The proposed low cost GBI buildings provide many advantages such as energy savings, water savings, a healthier indoor environment, and better connectivity to public transport. Besides, adoption of recycling and greenery for the projects and can reduce the impact on the environment. However, the implementation to certify as Green Building Index has a lot of concerns such as cost constraint, know how constraints and etc. Therefore, in this paper, the design and development of low cost certified green building by fulfilling the Green Building Index (GBI) is proposed in order to ease the development of green building to have better life for human and environment in this world in term of energy efficiency performances.

scholarly journals An Integrated Green Building Assessment Tool for Low-Cost Housing Development in Zambia

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. p1
Author(s):  
Mutinta Sichali ◽  
Mundia Muya ◽  
Balimu Mwiya
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Green Building ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Housing Projects ◽  
Building Assessment ◽  
Low Cost Housing ◽  
Building Standards ◽  
The Impact

Green building rating tools developed to assess the impact of buildings on the environment may not have all the appropriate methods and criteria for different environmental, economic, social and cultural conditions in the world. Assessment tools should be developed to meet minimum green building standards and aspirations. The challenge in developing countries like Zambia is that there is limited access to green building rating tools and a lack of technology and resources to have local tools. Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to select methods and criteria for assessing green low-cost housing in Zambia from literature review and interviews with building practitioners. The 11th Sustainable Development Goal was part of literature review and some strategies were adopted as part of the criteria for green building assessment. A sequential mixed-method design was used to collect and analyze data through interviews and an online AHP evaluation of preferred criteria and methods. The results from the study suggest that the most preferred method of green building assessment is a Local Based Assessment, with local strategies and materials. Energy, water, health and wellbeing were determined to be the most preferred criteria for green building assessment. The proposed criteria could be used for guiding designers and planners in housing projects and for reviewing current building bye-laws.

THE IMPACT OF THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT ON RESIDENTS’ SELF-RATED HEALTH: A CASE STUDY IN PENANG, MALAYSIA

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 109
Author(s):  
Massoomeh Hedayati ◽  
Aldrin Abdullah ◽  
Mohammad Javad Maghsoodi Tilaki
Keyword(s):  
Physical Environment ◽  
Fear Of Crime ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Living Environment ◽  
Housing Quality ◽  
Self Rated Health ◽  
Environment And Health ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

There is continuous debate on the impact of house quality on residents’ health and well-being. Good living environment improves health, and fear of crime is recognised as a mediator in the relationship between physical environment and health. Since minimal studies have investigated the relationship, this study aims to examine the impact of the house quality on fear of crime and health. A total of 230 households from a residential neighbourhood in Malaysia participated in the study. Using structural equation modelling, the findings indicate that housing quality and fear of crime can account for a proportion of the variance in residents’ self-rated health. However, there is no significant relationship between housing quality and fear of crime. Results also show that fear of crime does not mediate the relationship between housing quality and health. This study suggests that the environment-fear relationship should be re-examined theoretically.  

scholarly journals SEM-PLS Approach to Green Building

Encyclopedia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 472-481
Author(s):  
Nasim Aghili ◽  
Mehdi Amirkhani
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Green Building ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Assessment System ◽  
Renewable Materials ◽  
Sustainable Building ◽  
Building Operation ◽  
The Impact

Green buildings refer to buildings that decrease adverse environmental effects and maintain natural resources. They can diminish energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, the usage of non-renewable materials, water consumption, and waste generation while improving occupants’ health and well-being. As such, several rating tools and benchmarks have been developed worldwide to assess green building performance (GBP), including the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) in the United Kingdom, German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB), Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) in the United States and Canada, Comprehensive Assessment System for Built Environment Efficiency (CASBEE) in Japan, Green Star in Australia, Green Mark in Singapore, and Green Building Index in Malaysia. Energy management (EM) during building operation could also improve GBP. One of the best approaches to evaluating the impact of EM on GBP is by using structural equation modelling (SEM). SEM is a commanding statistical method to model testing. One of the most used SEM variance-based approaches is partial least squares (PLS), which can be implemented in the SmartPLS application. PLS-SEM uses path coefficients to determine the strength and significance of the hypothesised relationships between the latent constructs.

scholarly journals User Experience of Green Building Certification Resources: EarthCraft Multifamily

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 7871
Author(s):  
Dwayne Jefferson ◽  
Frederick Paige ◽  
Philip Agee ◽  
France Jackson
Keyword(s):  
User Experience ◽  
Affordable Housing ◽  
Green Building ◽  
Interview Data ◽  
Project Delivery ◽  
Heuristic Evaluation ◽  
Sustainable Infrastructure ◽  
Evaluation Data ◽  
Environmentally Responsible ◽  
The Impact

To improve the construction industry’s capacity to deliver sustainable infrastructure, guidance on delivering green building systems needs to be more usable. Green buildings have certifications and ratings in place that ensure that projects are environmentally responsible and meet standards in resource efficiency. EarthCraft Multifamily (ECMF), an evolving green building certification, has been successful in increasing the delivery of energy-efficient affordable housing, and this study leverages user experience (UX) methodologies to understand how to further improve ECMF and replicate its success. This study identifies the impact ECMF tools and resources, such as the program manual, worksheet, and technical guidelines, have on enhancing project delivery for architects. This study conducted data analysis on project specifications, heuristic evaluation data, and stakeholder interview data. As the strengths and weaknesses of ECMF were identified, knowledge on the usability of the green building certification program was unveiled. Heuristic evaluations data show that accessibility and usability issues are present in ECMF resources. Interview data show that architects’ experiences with ECMF resources were affected by some of the usability issues identified in the heuristic evaluation data. Coded interview transcripts show the most prominent participant-identified improvements represented within the data. Resources need appropriate visual representation such as readability and hierarchy to improve their usability. Understanding how ECMF resources are utilized during project delivery allows for the appropriate content and options to be strategically framed to improve accessibility and enhance user decision making. ECMF resources can allow for the inclusion of a broader set of stakeholders by lowering the level of expertise required for sustainable infrastructure delivery.

scholarly journals A pilot study on the impact of a first-time central heating intervention on resident mental wellbeing

2020 ◽  
pp. 1420326X2097546
Author(s):  
Richard A Sharpe ◽  
Andrew J Williams ◽  
Ben Simpson ◽  
Gemma Finnegan ◽  
Tim Jones
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Indoor Environment ◽  
Intervention Group ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Waiting List ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Central Heating ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Time ◽  
Mental Well Being

Fuel poverty affects around 34% of European homes, representing a considerable burden to society and healthcare systems. This pilot study assesses the impact of an intervention to install a new first time central heating system in order to reduce fuel poverty on household satisfaction with indoor temperatures/environment, ability to pay bills and mental well-being. In Cornwall, 183 households received the intervention and a further 374 went onto a waiting list control. A post-intervention postal questionnaires and follow-up phone calls were undertaken ( n = 557) to collect data on household demographics, resident satisfaction with indoor environment, finances and mental well-being (using the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing scale). We compared responses between the waiting list control and intervention group to assess the effectiveness of the intervention. A total of 31% of participants responded, 83 from the waiting list control and 71 from the intervention group. The intervention group reported improvements in the indoor environment, finances and mental well-being. However, these benefits were not expressed by all participants, which may result from diverse resident behaviours, lifestyles and housing characteristics. Future policies need to consider whole house approaches alongside resident training and other behaviour change techniques that can account for complex interactions between behaviours and the built environment.

A Study on Proposal of Environmental Assessment Method in Materials and Resource Category of Korea Green Building Certification

2014 ◽  
Vol 1025-1026 ◽  
pp. 1160-1163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Ri Gong ◽  
Sung Ho Tae ◽  
Seung Jun Roh
Keyword(s):  
Building Materials ◽  
Green Building ◽  
The United States ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Essential Elements ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Environment Friendly ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Environment Assessment ◽  
Assessment Guidelines

The purpose of this study is to propose a method of environment assessment in the field of building materials within Korea Green Building Certification (G-SEED). The method of environment assessment in the field of building materials was examined using LEED of the United States and BREEAM of the United Kingdom, the representative environment-friendly building certification systems in other countries. Especially, each revision of BREEAM was investigated for assessment methods such as environment assessment guidelines and assessment programs. In addition, assessment process and items were analyzed in relation to BREEAM. As a result, for environment assessment in the field of building materials within G-SEED, the method of connecting essential elements such as building material assessment guidelines and database networks with G-SEED was proposed.

Structure Design for Green Building in some Residential Area in Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City

2011 ◽  
Vol 71-78 ◽  
pp. 655-658
Author(s):  
Rong Qin
Keyword(s):  
Energy Saving ◽  
Indoor Environment ◽  
Residential Building ◽  
Green Building ◽  
Building Design ◽  
Residential Area ◽  
Structure Design ◽  
Green Building Design ◽  
Land Saving ◽  
Material Saving

There are six basic control items, land saving, energy saving, water saving, material saving, indoor environment and operation, among which, only material saving are related to structure design. We followed the green building design concept and the control items list in those standards during structure design of one of the residential area in Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city, which consist of 15~18-story residential building connected to a large underground garage, as is shown below.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document