Green' buildings: What Australian users are saying

Abstract

A comparative post-occupancy evaluation, based on occupant surveys of 22 ‘green design intent’ buildings and 23 conventional buildings in Australia has been undertaken by Leaman, Thomas and Vandenberg. The study shows that while the best green buildings consistently outperformed the best conventional buildings from the occupants’ perspective, the first generation of Australian green buildings may be underperforming on some indoor environment variables. Green buildings that are designed and operated properly and are user responsive achieve positive environmental outcomes and simultaneously deliver positive feedback for comfort and productivity. On the other hand, green buildings that do not perform well, as a consequence of poor realisation of design intent and little attention to user needs, run the risk of greater user dissatisfaction than many conventional buildings. Across the buildings studied, the researchers identified significant associations between perceived productivity and overall comfort (lighting, ventilation, thermal comfort, and noise) and between perceived productivity and thermal comfort in particular. The findings presented in the paper highlight the importance of learning from post occupancy evaluations by using occupant feedback towards further development of successful green buildings.