Biophilic Design in the workplace Improving the health and wellbeing of occupants

www.bre.co.uk

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Biophilic design An office refurbishment opportunity

Health and wellbeing

We spend 90% of our lives in buildings which means our health and wellbeing is influenced significantly by the built environment. In our typical office environment in the UK up to 60% of staff don’t have sufficient access to daylight. Biophilic design acknowledges that we are genetically connected to nature and that a human centred approach can improve many of the spaces that we live and work in, with numerous benefits to our health and wellbeing and efficiency.

The scientific evidence for the positive influence of biophilic design, on the health and wellbeing of building occupants is substantial and growing. In an office environment this is shown as quantified improvements in productivity, wellness and a reduction in days absent due to illness.

More than 130 million days are lost to sickness absence every year in Great Britain and working-age ill health costs the national economy £100 billion a year1. A 1% reduction in absenteeism would convert to a saving in lost days alone of £1billion to the economy. Biophilic design has been demonstrated to add numerous benefits to mental and physical wellbeing plus cognitive functioning. Studies in Biophilic workplace design have been shown to increase productivity by 15%, increase creativity, improve staff retention and a reduce absenteeism and presenteeism.

The health and wellbeing of office workers at present is often quantified as aspects of lighting (minima), ventilation and thermal comfort. A quantification of the other physiological and psychological influencing factors is at present missing.

1 https://www.gov.uk/government/news/a-million-workers-off-sick-for-more-than-a-month

The research questions

What practical and cost effective interventions can office owners implement to improve health and wellbeing?

Can these be quantified as part of the decision making process?

Can products used in the refurbishment of a building be measured for their “health and wellbeing potential”?

Aim: To establish the qualities of biophilic design in a live project to unlock improved welfare and productivity of staff and enable the creation of a working code for incorporation into mainstream office refurbishment.

The BRE Biophilic Office

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How?

An office at BRE will be the focus of the research project. The office will be fully analysed and documented. Experts in building technology will evaluate the office for daylight, lighting, indoor air quality, acoustic, thermal and humidity comfort. The office occupants will undergo a confidential health evaluation, sign up to a series of on-line questionnaires and surveys and receive wearable technology to monitor key health metrics. The project will carry out 6 months of pre-refurbishment and 6 months of post-refurbishment testing.

A design strategy will be developed including tiers of interventions in zones within the office. The products used will undergo laboratory evaluation to establish whether an ‘H&W potential’ can be quantified at product level.

Dissemination and live reporting of findings through a website is envisaged with media support and dissemination partners selected by the board. Guidance will be developed and published and the potential for refining, through evidence, the health and well-being credits in BREEAM will be established.

In addition, competitions will be organised to support a student project and innovative ideas.

Who should get involved?

BRE are seeking 5 core partners which will be communicated to the press at the launch in January 2017. The core partners could be:

1. Refurbishment contractors.

2. Office and Real estate owners.

3. Materials and product manufacturers – individual organisations or trade associations.

4. Monitoring and technology providers.

Outcomes

The expected outcomes of this project are:

– Evidence of the benefit of biophilic design on the health and wellbeing and productivity of UK office workers.

– A methodology to establish effective health and wellbeing interventions within refurbishments.

– A means of testing products to assess their contribution to “health and wellbeing”.

– Evidence to enable future improvement of existing health and wellbeing sections of BREEAM.

– An extension of the Innovation Park.

– Stimulating innovation in this emerging field.

Why get involved?

The core partners who will contribute to this exciting project will benefit from:

– Contributing to thought leadership.

– Testing and characterisation of products used on the project for “health and wellbeing potential”.

– Insight into the development of the methodology.

– Becoming part of the BRE innovation park network.

The BRE Biophilic Office

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BRE Watford, Herts WD25 9XX

T +44 (0)333 321 8811 E enquiries@bre.co.uk W www.bre.co.uk 10

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BRE Trust The BRE Trust uses profits made by BRE Group to fund new research and education programmes, that will help it meet its goal of ‘building a better world’. The BRE Trust is a registered charity in England & Wales: No. 1092193, and Scotland: No. SC039320.

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Recruit core partners

Launch

Planning phase

Occupancy monitoring

Product testing

Refurbishment

Occupancy monitoring

Outreach

BRE is a world leading multi-disciplinary building science centre with a mission to improve the built environment through research and knowledge generation. BRE is owned by the largest UK charity dedicated specifically to research and education in the built environment.

For more information contact:

Oliver Heath Design is a sustainable architecture and interior design practice focused on improving health and wellbeing in the built environment. Oliver Heath Design specialise in creating more productive, happier, healthier spaces to live and work in.

For more information contact:Dr Flavie Lowres Associate Director, Sustainable products group, BRE

T 07890 256158

E flavie.lowres@bre.co.uk

Dr Ed Suttie Director, Sustainable products group, BRE

T 01923 664158

E ed.suttie@bre.co.uk

Oliver Heath Heath Design Ltd.

T 01273 326031

E oliver@oliverheathdesign.com

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