Researchers Develop a ‘Green’ Office to Understand How Nature Improves Workers’ Health
Sourced from Facilities Management Journal
A team of biophilia experts at Nottingham Trent University (NTU) have developed a ‘green’ office with more than 20 plants and a green wall in order to monitor whether, and in what ways, people working among greenery develop improved health.
Participants will have their heart rate and blood pressure monitored while working in the green office, and this will be compared to their measurements while working in a separate office space which features no plants.
The project is led by Professor Emeritus Derek Clements-Croome, who is also a visiting professor at NTU from University of Reading, with Dr Yangang Xing, an associate professor at NTU, and Dr Tatsuya Matsuoka, a visiting scholar at NTU from Shimizu, Japan.
Dr Matsuoka said: “While it’s commonly believed that being surrounded by nature is good for your health and wellbeing, we’re keen to design a methodology which can prove whether or not this is the case in an office environment.
“When you consider how many people work in offices around the world – whether onsite or from a home office – the implications for people’s wellbeing could be considerable.
“And with increasing interest in healthier work environments, our findings could help shape how offices of the future are designed and maintained for long-term health benefits.”
The study is taking place until December this year and will result in published research which will be open for the public to read free of charge.
The chosen plants are selected based on related research carried out by the North American Space Agency (NASA) for their air-filtering abilities, primarily for their capacity to remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
From the Living Architecture Monitor
