The pedagogy of sustainable design: an investigation into the influence of sustainable workplaces on occupants

This research project looked at the influence that working in a sustainable built environment has on occupants. The majority of research in this area has focused on measurable effects of improved design and theoretical studies of social impacts on occupants, with a lack of research investigating this theory on a case study basis. This research project endeavours to help fill this gap, asking how, if at all, people's beliefs, attitudes and practices are affected by their engagement with sustainable built environments. Using semi-structured interviews, participants from three study sites in Melbourne were interviewed. Participants were asked about their perceptions of their I workplace, noting discussions of topics such as behaviour change and environmental awareness. The interviews were informal, allowing participants to explore areas of the most concern to them, leading to rich descriptions of their workplaces. The findings illustrate that people are concerned about workplace design and aware of how this affects them on a daily basis. Pro-environmental behaviour change I influenced by design was seen in all three study sites, as was a desire to maintain a connection with nature through the workplace design. The findings also indicate that the sustainable design of these sites has encouraged a dialogue around environmental sustainability. The insights from this research can be used to better understand the connection people have with the built environment and potentially to improvements in workplace design, with a focus on maximising the educative potential of sustainable built environments