In the eye of the flourish wheel: an assessment of users’ health, well-being and productivity in university research rooms

Abstract

Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) is an immense concern for people’s wellness. The central argument in this research is that the IEQ in a university research room impacts users and their health, well-being and productivity. In addition, the present study relies on the Flourish Wheel to enhance the environment using the Biophilic Design approach, which in turn influences users’ satisfaction and work performance in five research rooms at Brunel University London. These rooms are situated in the same outdoor environment of a single university campus, but house multi-disciplinary occupants and vary in construction age, size, methods of ventilation and mode of thermostatic control. The current research paper firstly investigated the role of IEQ factors and sub-factors on occupants’ health, well-being, and productivity. Secondly, evaluated the possibility of improving the indoor workplace environment using Biophilic Design patterns. The most prominent finding is that the qualities of the five critical aspects of IEQ have significantly positive correlations with the occupants’ wellness. Another significant result is that the 14 Biophilic Design framework patterns can holistically offer different ways to improve the research rooms based on various environmental issues. The findings proposed in this study could be valuable both for design practitioners and academic researchers.