title: Occupant comfort and health in green and conventional university buildings.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Green building standards are significantly impacting modern construction practices. The resulting structures are more energy efficient, but their impact on occupant health has not been widely studied.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate a range of indoor environment and ergonomic issues in green buildings.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective post-occupancy evaluation survey of 319 occupants in two Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified buildings and one conventional building on a Canadian University campus.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results show that working in the LEED buildings was a generally positive experience for their health, performance, and satisfaction. However, the LEED buildings did not always receive the highest ratings for environmental conditions or for health and productivity. Respondents indicated a range of concerns with thermal conditions, office lighting, noise and their overall workstation designs and these were not always better in the green buildings.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results highlight the need for better integration of ergonomic design into green buildings and into the LEED rating system, and these implications are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Design and Environmental Analysis, College of Human Ecology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hedge
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health Sciences and Human Performance, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY, USA.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Dorsey
mesh_terms: D000416:Alberta; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D006804:Ergonomics; D005160:Facility Design and Construction; D006801:Humans; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014495:Universities
keywords: Green buildings; indoor environmental conditions; occupant health; office ergonomics; productivity