Content area
Full Text
It's been at least 30 years since someone coined the phrase "sick-building syndrome." The phrase became something of an instant diagnosis.
Sneeze and someone would say you were suffering from sick-building syndrome.
Rub your eyes after reading for a couple of hours. Sickbuilding syndrome.
Inevitably, building-management systems improved and complaining stopped.
People liked the better indoor environments. They felt better and they did better work. Score one for building science.
Now other disciplines are getting involved.
A new study by researchers from Harvard University shows the importance of a building's interior environment as it relates to productivity and overall health. It seems the keys to working better, sleeping better and feeling better could be rooted in the design, maintenance and operation of the buildings where we spend so much of our time.
Researchers looked at 10 high-performing buildings in five cities across the United States. They found that occupants in high-performing, green-certified office environments scored 26 per cent higher on tests of cognitive function,...