December 31, 2016
Health in the Built Environment: Testing Health Impacts of Green Buildings (2016)
This publication uses the Bullitt Center – the world’s greenest commercial building – as a pilot project to develop and implement methodologies for collecting data on buildings and building occupants related to health impacts at the building scale. These data include testing how the building impacts 1) physical activity 2) indoor environmental quality, and 3) the bacteria and other microorganisms present in the building. The study team measured stair and elevator use, took numerous empirical measurements of light, temperature and humidity of the building, collected and analyzed dust and air samples for microbial populations, and surveyed building occupants related to wellbeing, physical activity and their perceptions of the indoor environmental quality of the building. These data were collected both in the new building over the first nine months of occupancy as well as at two office spaces just prior to the organizations’ move to the new building.
Burpee, H., Meek, C. (UW Architecture), Douglas, K. (UW Landscape Architecture Student), “Health in the Built Environment: Testing Health Impacts of Green Buildings,” Proceedings of the Passive and Low Energy Architecture (PLEA) Conference. Los Angeles, CA. August 2016.
