Is a green building really better for building occupants? A longitudinal evaluation

Thatcher, Andrew; Milner, Karen

doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2016.08.036

Cited by 91 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…One of these measures is the use of green building for enhancing the health status of occupants (MacNaughton et al 2016;Paul and Taylor 2008;Thatcher and Milner 2016). To answer the question whether green building can have a really better impact on occupants, Thatcher and Milner (2016) conducted a longitudinal study to empirically investigate three green buildings through using a pre-test, post-test design, and repeated measures design with a contrast group for two of the buildings. The statistical analyses established significant improvements in perceived air quality across all three buildings, significant improvements in self-report productivity in two of the buildings and a significant improvement in physical wellbeing in one building.…”

Section: Review Of Studies Mitigating Sbsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These reviewed strategies can be generally classified into two major groups; first group refers to those measures that do not require major considerations such as physical modification in buildings structure in order to rectify the SBS symptoms such as frequent cleaning procedures or maintaining the hygiene in buildings. Second group refers Lim et al (2015) Improvement of ventilation system, and frequent cleaning Office environment, University Amin, Akasah, and Razzaly (2015) Use of functioning control system to control the indoor air temperature (2016,2017), Singh et al (2010), Miller et al (2009), and Thatcher and Milner (2016 Green building Office building, Residential building Ghashghaei et al (2017), Kaplan (1992), Söderlund and Newman (2017), and Van and Bergs (2001) Biophilic design (view/access to nature); indoor plants; nature patterns, colours, and materials; spatial configurations that are provided by nature…”

Section: Review Of Studies Mitigating Sbsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Sick building syndrome: are we doing enough?

AlWaer

Omrany

Ghaffarianhoseini

et al. 2018

Architectural Science Review

172

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Health and well-being are vitally important aspects of people centric building design and are the roots of productivity. Sick building syndrome (SBS) is a collection of factors that can negatively affect physical health in several ways. Besides physical health is also related to psychological well-being because the human body is one interactive biological system. This paper focuses on reviewing the current state of knowledge on building sickness syndrome which has been prevalent as a building illness since the 1970s especially in offices and schools. While the concepts of intelligent, smart and sustainable buildings have gained considerable attention during recent decades, there is now increasing attention being given to designing healthy buildings. This study provides a review about SBS symptoms. Several negative effects of SBS are identified and potential solutions are advocated. Finally, the study stresses the role of built environment and concludes that ongoing research towards tackling SBS and developing healthy indoor environments should not be limited to a single formula as any health-related building design approach is dependent on several interacting factors. ARTICLE HISTORY

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Section: Review Of Studies Mitigating Sbsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Review Of Studies Mitigating Sbsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sick building syndrome: are we doing enough?

AlWaer

Omrany

Ghaffarianhoseini

et al. 2018

Architectural Science Review

172

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Based on more than 1000 valid satisfaction survey results, Pei et al reported that the occupants of 10 green buildings in China showed significantly higher satisfaction levels than those in 42 conventional buildings in the aspects of thermal, visual, acoustic, IAQ, and overall environment. Thatcher and Milner in their longitudinal study in South Africa found significant improvement of perceived air quality in green buildings that was linked to green building design features.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Indoor environmental quality, occupant satisfaction, and acute building‐related health symptoms in Green Mark‐certified compared with non‐certified office buildings

et al. 2018

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Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) has become an important component of green building certification schemes. While green buildings are expected to provide enhanced IEQ, higher occupant satisfaction, and less risks of occupant health when compared with non‐green buildings, the literature suggests inconsistent evidence due to diverse research design, small sample size, and weak statistical analysis. This study compared several outcomes pertinent to IEQ performance in green and non‐green office buildings in Singapore. Adopting a cross‐sectional study design, objective measurements were taken in eight green and six non‐green buildings, and satisfaction and acute health symptom risks of 367 occupants were obtained. Green buildings exhibited lower concentration of PM2.5, bacteria, and fungi and maintained temperature and humidity more consistently compared to non‐green counterparts. The mean ratings for satisfaction with temperature, humidity, lighting level, air quality, and indoor environment were higher in green buildings (with statistical significance P < 0.05). There was statistically significant reduction in risk of occupants having headache, unusual fatigue, and irritated skin in green buildings. Although matching of buildings and occupant characteristics, survey participation bias, and sampling duration (a 1‐week snapshot) of IEQ monitoring remain as limitations, this study offered positive association of green buildings with qualitatively and quantitatively measured performance of IEQ.

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“…The building industry and homeowners are utilizing more green-building materials, which should make the built environment more sustainable (Steinemann et al 2017). However, it is also important to determine if green products are susceptible to more or different fungal growth compared to the products they are replacing (Thatcher and Milner, 2016). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fungal microbiomes associated with green and non-green building materials

Coombs

Vesper

Green

et al. 2017

International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation

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Water-damaged buildings can lead to fungal growth and occupant health problems. Green building materials, derived from renewable sources, are increasingly utilized in construction and renovations. However, the question as to what fungi will grow on these green compared to non-green materials, after they get wet, has not been adequately studied. By determining what fungi grow on each type of material, the potential health risks can be more adequately assessed. In this study, we inoculated green and non-green pieces of ceiling tile, composite board, drywall, and flooring with indoor dust containing a complex mixture of naturally occurring fungi. The materials were saturated with water and incubated for two months in a controlled environment. The resulting fungal microbiomes were evaluated using ITS amplicon sequencing. Overall, the richness and diversity of the mycobiomes on each pair of green and non-green pieces were not significantly different. However, different genera dominated on each type of material. For example, Aspergillus spp. had the highest relative abundance on green and non-green ceiling tiles and green composite boards, but Peniophora spp. dominated the non-green composite board. In contrast, Penicillium spp. dominated green and non-green flooring samples. Green gypsum board was dominated by Phialophora spp. and Stachybotrys spp., but non-green gypsum board by Myrothecium spp. These data suggest that water-damaged green and non-green building materials can result in mycobiomes that are dominated by fungal genera whose member species pose different potentials for health risks.

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Is a green building really better for building occupants? A longitudinal evaluation

Cited by 91 publications

References 53 publications

Sick building syndrome: are we doing enough?

Sick building syndrome: are we doing enough?

Indoor environmental quality, occupant satisfaction, and acute building‐related health symptoms in Green Mark‐certified compared with non‐certified office buildings

Fungal microbiomes associated with green and non-green building materials

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