Fifteenth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability

Abstract

A healthy building protects occupants from unhealthy environment, promotes health and wellbeing by design, and sustains its ability of playing this role by having smart operation and continuous maintenance over its lifetime. Sustainable buildings save energy, water, and natural resources; and mitigate the burden on the environment while providing occupants with better indoor air quality. Sustainable building design practices claim that sustainable buildings are healthy or at least healthier than conventional buildings. However, the term healthy building is still blurry when it is associated with sustainable building design. When we look at LEED and WELL as predominant rating systems that promote sustainability and health in buildings, one can easily recognize that the criteria of designing a healthy and sustainable building are still not fully aligned, one also asks; should sustainable building follow the full criteria of a healthy building? How can a sustainable building accommodate such criteria under the framework of sustainability? In this study, the author analyzes the criteria of designing a healthy and sustainable building. The purpose is to bridge the gap by establishing a theoretical framework to accommodate the health parameters in sustainable building design. The analysis introduces a novel insight on enhancing the quality of sustainable buildings by examining the possibility of integrating the full criteria of a healthy environment in sustainable building design practices.