ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the next generation of buildings, which must be designed to consider both wellness and sustainability. It presents a brief history of both the sustainability and building wellness movements and discusses perceived conflicts and moves to bridge the gap between the two. The chapter discusses the key building environmental factors affecting occupant wellness, productivity, and their impact on resource use and presents a published assessment framework to guide decision-making to consider both building occupant wellness and sustainability in new building designs and retrofits. Wellness in the built environment context refers to the promotion of occupant health, both physically and psychologically. Sustainability within the same context tends to instead focus on the environmental impact of the building. The "triple bottom line" is a term used to describe a holistic business focus: the financial performance is no longer the only factor considered, social and environmental impacts and outcomes become important factors in measuring organizational performance.
