This paper addresses the human elements of sustainable design in urban high-rise buildings. While a number of technical developments have allowed for the minimization of resource consumption, little research has addressed the response of occupants to such facilities, or the degree to which success in reaching sustainability goals is dependent on user behavior. This paper reviews research in related areas and suggests ways in which social, psychological and behavioral issues may be important to sustainable design, as well as how ways attending to psychological needs can improve the success of meeting these and other goals. Social psychological and applied behavior analytical approaches are reviewed as ways to respond to conservation and recycling goals. The psychological and physiological benefits that green buildings confer on their occupants are also addressed, as are areas for future research, and steps that the building industry can take to develop more holistic and sustainable building practices that incorporate occupant behavioral needs.
Increasingly, developers are seeking to construct more sustainable buildings, including mega-structures like the much anticipated redevelopment of the World Trade Center [1]. While there is increasing technological knowledge on how to accomplish this goal [2], [3] and [4] there is still limited research on the relationship between these improvements and individual building users and occupants. Since social issues are essential components of sustainable development, it is important to understand the relationship between technological advances in sustainable structures and the behaviors of, and impacts, on building users.
The first recognized definition of sustainable development was offered by the Brundtland Commission in 1987 as that which “meets the needs of the present without compromising the needs of the future” [5]. Sustainability was further conceptualized and expanded at the international Earth Summit conference in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, to integrate concerns for environmental, economic, and social well being. The focus of this paper is on sustainability in the context of the built environment with primary emphasis on consumption of physical resources, wherein a sustainable building is one that improves occupant health and performance, minimizes energy and material consumption, and stimulates a healthy ecosystem.
There is limited research on human behavioral and social responses to issues of sustainability in buildings in general, and even less so for high-rise buildings, which for the purpose of this paper are limited to structures over 10 or more stories high [6]. Even so, trends over the last century suggest increased construction of such edifices. The world-wide phenomenon of migration from agricultural to urban communities [7] and increased awareness of environmental problems related to urban sprawl [8] provided the impetus for development of large scale urban projects. This tendency towards high-rise buildings is supported by technological advancements that have made their construction easier and less costly.
Traditionally, high-rise buildings consume a great number of resources. These massive structures are dependent on large quantities of building materials during construction, require considerable amounts of energy to operate, and produce a great deal of waste when they reach the end of their life cycle and are demolished. Over 75% of the energy consumption in high-rise buildings is allocated for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) [6, p. 200]. In the past, the low cost of energy and technological advancements in lighting and HVAC have discouraged architects and building engineers from making more use of passive temperature control devices, such as operable windows and shading techniques. But current concerns about the rising cost of energy, limits on availability of potable water, and awareness of problems with material use and waste disposal are likely to influence designers to incorporate more sustainable elements into high-rise structures.
While there is increasing attention paid to sustainable building techniques, there has been relatively little discussion about the psychological and behavioral aspects of sustainability and how people interact with these structures. This paper will discuss social, psychological and behavioral issues that need to be addressed in high-rise facility management, as well as the potential for sustainable buildings to ameliorate some of the problems in those areas traditionally associated with high-rise buildings. It concludes by identifying future research topics and steps that the building industry can use to develop more holistic and sustainable building practices.
From this brief review it is clear that the behavior of residents and tenants of a sustainable facility is likely to play a significant role in determining the degree to which the building succeeds in meeting its goals of reduced impact on the environment and resources, although, the precise level of impact needs attention in future research. It is incumbent on planners to create the systems and policies that make it easy for people to engage in conservation and recycling; they are designing for human behavior as well as for physical and engineering systems.
A number of questions remain concerning sustainable design and occupant behavior: What kinds of behaviors are expected and/or required of residents in a sustainable skyscraper? How ‘sustainably robust’ are technologies? How much behavior change is tolerated before a building falls below its stated sustainability goals? How does living in this kind of setting differ from life in low-rise and/or traditional high-rise buildings? It is also unclear what level of knowledge or training might be required of tenants in sustainable buildings. Will building systems in these facilities be complex, technical, and require careful monitoring and maintenance, or will they be ‘carefree and automatic’? These questions all need to be addressed by applied environment-behavior studies.
Mega-structures may have certain advantages of centralization and economies of scale, but they come with built-in challenges with respect to the social and psychological needs of building users. People within mega-structures lose an element of personal control over their life conditions and safety. Once inside these buildings, occupants become significantly dependent on technology for air, light, and even the shortest of trips. Moreover, as discussed, the larger the structure, the more those in it are disengaged from natural elements. There is increasing evidence that such separation has negative consequences for psychological states and behavior resulting in poor health and productivity loss.
The green skyscraper, by contrast, has the potential to improve upon this situation by addressing all of these issues. It can approach zero-impact in part by giving control back to the individual and by being designed to support basic behavioral needs. It can help repair the lost connection with nature that most high-rise occupants suffer by providing greater access to and contact with natural elements in the form of vegetation, daylighting, appropriate ventilation, non-toxic materials, and views to the outside.
Based on the research and the discussion above, then, how can designers use behavioral and psychological information to create a more holistic approach to a sustainable[52] high-rise design? The following steps may be appropriate:
1.
Architects and building managers should develop strategies designed to maximize targets and commitment levels from groups and individuals in determining desired levels of electricity use, water use, recycling, etc. There should be initial and ongoing efforts to provide specific and relevant information that will aid and educate occupants on how to achieve those goals.
2.
Energy, water, and waste systems in the building should be designed to directly connect costs to individual behaviors. For example, energy and water systems should be sub-metered so that individuals who set and effect energy and water use directly pay the bills. Similar approaches may be possible for recycling and waste pickup.
3.
There should be prompts for conservation and feedback on usage wherever possible and these should be considered at all phases of design and as a part of management policy. Given the omnipresence of telecommunications technology it may be possible and cost effective to provide each tenant with real-time, intelligible read-outs of electrical, gas, and water usage available on their computer or cell phone.
4.
The building should be designed to maximize the individual's ability to control his or her environment; to make it possible to modify and adapt to specific conditions (i.e. open a window on a nice day), which will increase comfort and satisfaction, and reduce stress. Optimal design would give occupants the ability to travel one or several floors without having to wait for an elevator.
5.
The use of recycled grey or black water may be a reasonable option, but planners need to work to assuage potential anxieties in this area and potential threats from unmonitored contaminates currently found in drinking water.
6.
Planners should look for ways to reward sustainable consumer decisions, such as by encouraging the purchase of energy-efficient appliances and consumer products with low-impact packaging, and by supporting access to public transportation.
7.
Architects should try to redress the separation from the natural environment commonly experienced by occupants of traditional mega-structures. This can be accomplished by providing easy and multiple options to access daylight and vegetation without having to leave the building, providing increased ventilation to the outside air and decreased presence of toxic materials, and by maximizing access to window light and views. Planners should seek opportunities to give occupants control over the internal environment (temperature, air flow, lighting) wherever possible to increase comfort, satisfaction, and productivity and allow flexibility in meeting fluctuating local conditions.
