Search results

After the outbreak of the disease of “Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)” in Asia in 2003, a healthy living environment is a major concern. The purpose of this paper is to study the value of healthy building parameters by the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM), which gives a direct appraisal of the occupants' value.

Healthy building parameters were identified in previous studies. Questionnaires are distributed to residents of a large‐scale high‐rise private housing estate in Hong Kong to find out their willingness to pay (WTP) for individual healthy building parameters.

The results suggest that most residents are willing to pay for healthy building parameters, each with a different value.

The paper is limited to studying the eight identified building parameters for healthy buildings. The sample of the study is confined in a private housing estate only and all the occupants are middle class citizens of Hong Kong. The results of the study can be further validated by carrying out similar research with the support of the government or quasi‐government bodies to cover a larger sample size for a better return rate.

The findings have practical implications on cost‐and‐benefit analysis of housing design.

Housing price is commonly regarded as the total value of a bundle of housing quality and environmental characteristics. The implicit price of individual quality and characteristic is often identified by the hedonic pricing model. However, its validity depends on a lot of econometric assumptions. The study is the first to be conducted after the outbreak of SARS in Hong Kong to gauge the opinions of residents on health/economy issues

The design of the built environment is a determinant of health. Accordingly, there is an increasing need for greater harmonization of the architectural profession and public health. However, there is a lack of knowledge on whether designers of the built environment are changing their practices to deliver healthier urban habitats. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The research uses a multi-method approach to data analysis, including: systematic mapping study, structured review and thematic analysis.

The research finds that there are almost no requirements for the compulsory inclusion of health across institutions and agencies that have the power to execute and mandate the scope of architectural profession, training, education, practice or knowledge. Despite the urgent need for action and the myriad entreatments for greater integration between architecture and health, there is very little evidence progress.

The research has implications for the architectural profession and architectural education. Health and well-being is not currently an integral part of the educational or professional training requirements for architects. University educational curriculum and Continuing Professional Development criteria need to better integrate health and well-being into their knowledge-base.

The design of the built environment is currently undertaken by an architectural profession that lacks specialized knowledge of health and well-being. There is a risk to society of environments that fail to adequately protect and promote the health and well-being of its inhabitants.

The research evidences, for the first time, the lack of integration of “health and wellbeing” within the architecture profession training or education systems.

There have been speculations as to whether environmental friendly buildings are always healthy. Using lifecycle assessment (LCA) methodology, the purpose of this paper is to investigate lifecycle relationship between building sustainability and its environmental health impacts

In order to achieve this, a block of classroom was modelled with the aid of Revit software, and its lifecycle global warming potential (GWP) and human health impacts were analysed using green building studio and ATHENA impact estimator tools. Sensitivity analyses of the block of classrooms were then carried out by varying the building materials and energy use pattern of the original typology. The LCA was performed for seven alternative typologies that were achieved through variation in the building materials and energy use patterns.

For all the eight building typologies, the study shows a direct relationship between GWPs and human health impacts. This confirms that the more sustainable a building, the less its tendency for having negative health effects on building operatives, occupants and the wider environment. Again, the more green a building in terms of its materials and energy use pattern, the healthier the building becomes.

The human health impacts was evaluated by measuring amount of particulate matter (PM2.5) produced by the buildings while environmental impact was evaluated by measuring global warming (KgCO₂) potentials of the buildings throughout its lifecycle. The study has been based on the impacts of building materials and energy use patterns over the entire lifecycle of the buildings and materials used for construction.

The study established a positive relationship between GWP of building and its human health impacts. Thus, all arguments relating to the relationship between building sustainability and health are laid to rest by the paper.

This paper aims to examine the role of sustainable buildings in providing healthy workplaces in physical and perceptual terms.

The paper takes the form of a literature review, considering the history of sustainable development in the built environment and its rationale, then widening the scope to consider sustainable, healthy and productive workplaces.

Sustainable construction has focused on environmental sustainability but this may have contributed to improved health, satisfaction and wellbeing amongst building users. Sick building syndrome and poor indoor air are contributory factors to ill health and reduced productivity but this paper suggests that sustainable building practices will reduce these effects, improving the quality of buildings for their occupants.

This paper argues that building performance measures need to take account of people factors such as employee perceptions and also that the design of workplaces should be regarded as a strategy for productivity enhancement. Management issues should be considered in the design of workplaces. The paper concludes that further research is required into the role of sustainable construction in providing healthy buildings.

The paper makes practical suggestions for corporate real estate and facilities management teams as well as those involved in the design of the buildings. Additionally, it opens suggested avenues for further academic research.

This paper aims to explore the added value of healthy workplaces for employees and organizations, in particular regarding employee satisfaction, labour productivity and facility cost.

The paper is based on a narrative review of journal papers and other sources covering the fields of building research, corporate real estate management, facilities management, environmental psychology and ergonomics.

The review supports the assumption of positive impacts of appropriate building characteristics on health, satisfaction and productivity. Correlations between these impacts are still underexposed. Data on cost and economic benefits of healthy workplace characteristics is limited, and mainly regard reduced sickness absence. The discussed papers indicate that investing in healthy work environments is cost-effective.

The findings contribute to a better understanding of the complex relationships between physical characteristics of the environment and health, satisfaction, productivity and costs. These insights can be used to assess work environments on these topics, and to identify appropriate interventions in value-adding management of buildings and facilities.

The recent global outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome has aroused public concern on environmental health and hygiene. Develops a practical assessment scheme for assessing the health and hygiene performance of apartment buildings in Hong Kong. The scheme involves assessing a hierarchy of building factors that have a bearing on environmental qualities, and thus occupants’ health. Proposes an index method to integrate the assessment outcomes into a simple and user‐ friendly performance indicator for public consumption. The index can inform the public of the health and hygiene risk of different buildings and facilitate building owners, developers, and government bodies to make more informed and socially responsible decisions on environmental health and hygiene improvement. Although the assessment scheme is tailored for the institutional and cultural settings of Hong Kong, the assessment framework for the development of the scheme is also applicable to other cities.

Board members and real estate managers (decision makers) play an important role in the decision-making process in nursing home organisations. This study aims to provide an understanding of underlying attributes and benefits sought by decision makers when making nursing home real estate decisions.

Decision makers from seven different nursing home organisations in The Netherlands were interviewed using the laddering technique to determine the individual requirements, the considerations of the decision alternatives, the relevant attributes and benefits and their mutual relationships.

This study details the motivations behind real estate management decisions in nursing home organisations. The findings show that apart from financial considerations, decision makers strive to enhance the quality of life and satisfaction of users with their real estate decisions and seek to include residents and employees in the process. These benefits are connected to the goals of well-being and innovation in health care. Furthermore, functionality, physical and functional flexibility and technology are key considerations when undertaking corporate real estate (CRE) decisions, to ensure that real estate management aligns with the strategic goals of the nursing home organisation.

The insights of this study can support decision makers in healthcare facilities to create strategic value with their real estate. Understanding how to obtain certain benefits from nursing home real estate may result in a better realisation of organisational objectives and user needs.

This study reveals the decision-making process in a nursing home context. Moreover, the laddering technique is used as a new method to explore and gain a deep understanding of CRE decision-making processes.

This chapter argues that organizations are not sustainable if they operate in unsustainable societal and ecological contexts, and that operating in a way that contributes to the health of the larger system requires organizations to develop new capabilities. It demonstrates the role that rich internal and external networks play in developing sustainability capability particularly in providing pathways to generate, import, apply, and disseminate knowledge about how to operate more sustainably.

The case study of the sustainability transition of Cleveland Clinic is based on four years of interviews and archival data collection examining the system’s transformational change that began in 2007. The case focuses on the building of sustainability capability, including an internal infrastructure to focus the organization on this outcome, and building of rich networks for learning and action. The case is framed with capability and network theory.

Guided and catalyzed by a small central group called the Office for a Healthy Environment, Cleveland Clinic has achieved measurable progress in key strategic focuses including waste diversion, energy efficiency, and increasing integration of local foods into its supply chain. To do so, it has developed strong internal networks to disseminate knowledge and accelerate innovation and adoption of sustainable practices. Strong, dynamic external networks have enabled Cleveland Clinic to import knowledge about sustainable practice from its environment, and have enabled it to help build the sustainability capability of its vendors, the community upon which it depends, and the health-care industry.

Starting with the perspective that the sustainability of an organization depends on the sustainability of the ecosystems in which it exists, this chapter focuses not on the design of specific sustainability initiatives, but on the dynamic networks that underpin the capability to simultaneously improve the health of the organization and of the larger ecosystem. This perspective provides insight into new organizing principles.

With a segment of consumers growing more health conscious, food manufacturers are feeding consumers' desire for more healthy products by “reformulating” their products to create healthier versions as well as positioning complete product lines as “healthier alternatives.” The present research aims to examine variables crucial in the brand‐building process for brands that are perceived as “healthy.”

A conceptual model with a theoretical basis in the branding literature is developed and tested on consumers using structural equation modeling.

Results indicate that brand credibility, commitment and connection are essential in developing branding strategies for “healthy brands.” A credible brand minimizes risk and increases consumer confidence. When consumers believe that a brand is credible and repeatedly purchase it, a commitment to the brand can develop. Finally, the brand can imbue such meaning that the consumer uses the brand to help construct and cultivate a desired self‐image or self‐concept.

This research provides important implications for developing effective brand management systems for healthy brands.

The concept of aging-in-place has gained notable significance in the last decade due to a dramatic demographic shift in global population dynamics that have considerably affected the ability of societies to adequately cater for their aging population. This paper examines some of the barriers to aging-in-place in the context of health needs, housing design and the role of retrofitting/smart home technologies in overcoming these barriers.

Using a narrative literature review approach, the authors undertook a comprehensive search of recent relevant literature focusing on five core thematic areas: health and aging, aging in place, barriers to aging in place, retrofitting and smart home technologies for successful aging in place. The authors entered appropriate keywords into interdisciplinary research databases and synthesized a coherent narrative discussing the thematic areas using the data extracted from the literature search.

There is a bidirectional relationship between aging and the home environment. Barriers to aging-in-place are mainly related to progressive decline in health, which alters the environmental needs of individuals. Appropriate building designs can significantly facilitate aging-in-place. The authors, therefore, highlight the role of retrofitting and smart home technologies as practical solutions to the challenges of the aging-in-place.

Forward planning in building design is essential to guarantee that the home environment is well adapted for the challenges of aging-in-place while also promoting healthy aging.

The paper shows the relationship between aging and the home environment and how building design considerations could enhance healthy aging-in-place.