ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION Since the mid-1980s when the first studies of SBS were under way in the USA and UK, much has changed in the public perception of buildings. Health scares over Legionnaires’ disease and international efforts to reduce energy consumption in buildings, among other factors, have helped to encourage research effort on the human, social and environmental aspects of buildings, rather than just on technical, constructional and design topics. At first, many of the findings from this new work were treated sceptically, especially by the building professions; but now its perspectives are fundamentally affecting thinking about building management and design. In this chapter, some of the pointers are followed up, and implications examined, especially for strategic thinking about buildings and their occupants.
