flexiblefullpage

HORIZONTV FEATURING BD+C: WATCH EPISODES ON DEMAND AT HORIZONTV

Menu View Full Menu
Subscribe Here
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

New study shows employees aren't happier working in green buildings

New study shows employees aren't happier working in green buildings

Occupant satisfaction with LEED-certified office building environments appears to decline with time, according to UC Berkeley reseachers.

By UC Berkeley | May 14, 2014
Continue Reading
Think working in an environmentally green building leads to greater satisfaction in the workplace?  Think again.
 
People working in buildings certified under LEED’s green building standard appear no more satisfied with the quality of their indoor workplace environments than those toiling in conventional buildings, according to new research from the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom.
 
The work, which counters the findings of several earlier studies examining the same issue, was done by Stefano Schiavon, an assistant professor of architecture in sustainability, energy and environment at UC Berkeley’s Center for the Built Environment (CBE) and associate professor Sergio Altomonte with the University of Nottingham’s Environmental Physics and Design Research Group.
 
The findings were published in the April issue of the journal Building and Environment and expand on Schiavon and Altomonte’s previous work on the topic by determining that most workers do not experience a higher level of workplace satisfaction simply because they work in LEED certified buildings–regardless of the building layout, amount of time in the workplace and many other factors.
 
Schiavon and Altomonte analyzed the survey responses of 21,477 individuals in 144 mainly large office buildings, most in the United States. Of those buildings, 65 are LEED certified. Previous reports by other researchers who reached different conclusions about worker satisfaction were based on much smaller sample sizes and different statistical tests.
 
“Does this mean that green certification is outdated, just costly or even useless?” asked Schiavon. “Certainly not, especially given the urgency of the environmental challenge and the fundamental role of buildings on people health and wellbeing, climate change and energy security.”
 
Schiavon and Altomonte did find that LEED-rated buildings may be more effective in providing higher occupant satisfaction when occupants are in open spaces rather than in enclosed offices, and when the buildings are smaller in size.
 
Occupant satisfaction with LEED-certified office building environments appears to decline with time, with the greatest level of satisfaction reported during the first year that a worker spends in a green building.
 
One reason for this decline may be that LEED certification is largely based on predictions, without measuring real building performance post-construction. Schiavon and Altomonte said that workplace satisfaction might improve if more design-related information could be collected by assessing LEED certified buildings based on actual operations and performance.
 
They said they hope their research leads builders and businesses to pay closer attention to: 
  • Designing strategies and solutions aimed at  influencing occupant satisfaction and feelings of health, well-being and job performance as part of the LEED certification process
  • Occupant feedback
  • The ongoing development of the LEED program  towards continuous assessment of building and people performance
 
The researchers are now studying the most effective LEED strategies for the improvement of office worker well-being and plan to report their conclusions in 2015.

Tags

Related Stories

| Aug 11, 2010

Burwell Architects, Ziegler Cooper Architects announce merger

Ziegler Cooper Architects is pleased to announce that Burwell Architects has merged into the Corporate Interior Studio of Ziegler Cooper Architects. We believe the new relationship will enhance and expand the services we can provide to our clients.

| Aug 11, 2010

BE&K Building Group, Turner, BRPH awarded Boeing 787 Dreamliner assembly plant project

A joint venture of the BE&K Building Group and Turner Construction (BE&K | Turner), with design partner BRPH, has been awarded the design-build contract for design and construction of The Boeing Company’s new 787 Dreamliner final assembly plant in North Charleston, South Carolina.

| Aug 11, 2010

Sustainable Buildings as Teaching Tools: 4 Strategies for Integrating Buildings into Experiential Learning

4 Strategies for Integrating Buildings into Experiential Learning

| Aug 11, 2010

Using physical mockups to identify curtain wall design flaws

Part two of a five-part series on diagnosing and avoiding cladding, glazing, and roofing failures from building forensics expert IBA Consultants.

| Aug 11, 2010

9 Proven Strategies for an Effective AEC Firm Website

| Aug 11, 2010

PSMJ releases 2009 Architect/Engineer Fees and Pricing Survey

| Aug 11, 2010

Morphosis builds 'floating' house for Brad Pitt's Make It Right New Orleans foundation

Morphosis Architects, under the direction of renowned architect and UCLA professor Thom Mayne, has completed the first floating house permitted in the U.S. for Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation in New Orleans.The FLOAT House is a new model for flood-safe, affordable, and sustainable housing that is designed to float securely with rising water levels.

| Aug 11, 2010

Turner edges out Perkins+Will for the top spot on BD+C's Top 200 Building Team LEED APs ranking

With 1,006 LEED Accredited Professionals on staff, Turner Construction took the top spot on Building Design+Construction’s 2009 ranking of AEC firms with the most LEED APs, published as part of the Giants 300 report. Turner added more than 580 LEED APs during the past year to surpass Perkins+Will, which held the top spot four years running.

| Aug 11, 2010

BIG's 'folded façade' design takes first-prize in competition for China energy company headquarters

Copenhagen-based architect BIG, in collaboration with ARUP and Transsolar, was awarded first-prize in an international competition to design Shenzhen International Energy Mansion, the regional headquarters for the Shenzhen Energy Company.

| Aug 11, 2010

Guggenheim and Google team up on shelter design competition

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Google yesterday announced the launch of Design It: Shelter Competition, a global, online initiative that invites the public to use Google Earth and Google SketchUp to create and submit designs for virtual 3-D shelters for a location of their choice anywhere on Earth. The competition opened on June 8, 2009, in honor of Frank Lloyd Wright’s birthday, and closes to submissions on August 23.

boombox1
boombox2

Top Articles

native1

More In Category

Urban Planning

Bridging the gap: How early architect involvement can revolutionize a city’s capital improvement plans

Capital Improvement Plans (CIPs) typically span three to five years and outline future city projects and their costs. While they set the stage, the design and construction of these projects often extend beyond the CIP window, leading to a disconnect between the initial budget and evolving project scope. This can result in financial shortfalls, forcing cities to cut back on critical project features.

Libraries

Reasons to reinvent the Midcentury academic library

DLR Group's Interior Design Leader Gretchen Holy, Assoc. IIDA, shares the idea that a designer's responsibility to embrace a library’s history, respect its past, and create an environment that will serve student populations for the next 100 years.

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021