I came across this article in the The Guardian that talks about one of the predicted trends for 2016 that is: builders and businesses will recognize that green buildings are good for its workers too. Presently, ‘green‘ buildings have been constructed to stand out from older buildings with a sleek and modern design for sustainability and profitability purposes. Apparently starting this year, the standard will increase and the bar will be set even higher. Green buildings will not only be expected to hit those targets but also to positively benefit the wellness and health of the people who work and live inside of them.
“For buildings, healthy will become the new green”.
The writer of this article took an example from a recent Harvard study where scientists discovered that air quality in a building can affect the quality of a resident’s thinking and their performance. I think this is such a cool discovery and I’m sure further discoveries can be made with office and building space as well. Some examples that come to mind are: how the quality of a ceiling light can impact one’s fatigue or focus, or how the temperature in a room can affect one’s performance and alertness, or how the office equipment and materials can affect one’s health and wellness as well.
If buildings will be equipped with such new technology and benefits, I think it would play a role as a factor in someone’s decision making to choose where they would rather work (if both offers were similar). I think this would especially occur in the future among the Generation Z and Generation Edge cohorts because they have grown up during a time where sustainability, innovation and wellness have been hard trends in our changing society. By growing up with these influences around them, these cohorts will definitely start to make decisions in the future that are backed by these reoccurring elements in their lives.
I’m excited to see how future corporate buildings/ work towers will develop to better cater to employee needs, and to sustain wellness and health.
