Joint Debate with The Feeling Good Foundation.

Can our drive for profit margins, structural aesthetic and energy efficiency simultaneously create healthier, more productive buildings? Should occupant wellbeing be the optional variable? Why value engineer wellbeing out when we could be value engineering it in? Are built environment professionals members of the wider public health workforce?The Feeling Good Foundation (a hub for research and guidance on wellbeing in the built environment) has assessed views of the UK property sector and has found that agents, developers and investors do believe that wellbeing has a role in the design, marketing and management of property assets despite appearing to be contrary to wider project and industry activities. The World Green Building Council has commissioned guidance and best practice information on features of green building that enhance health, wellbeing and productivity in the hope of transforming this knowledge into mainstream design practice. At the same time they are developing up proposals for common financial metrics with which to measure health, wellbeing and productivity. Are we on the brink of a tipping point? Should it take development of financial metrics to put occupant wellbeing back at the centre of building design? And is putting a price on occupant wellbeing the only way to ensure that it will be designed into, rather than out of, the value engineering process?

Chair: Andrew Scoones – ngenuity Ltd, the Edge & Feeling Good Foundation board

Speakers:

• Richard Francis, The Monomoy Company, Feeling Good Foundation board and World Green Building Council’s chair of wellbeing report Metrics Group – Summary of the WGBC report “Health, wellbeing and productivity in offices: measuring impact and sharing best practice”

• Elina Grigoriou, Grigoriou Interiors and Feeling Good Foundation board – Summary of the FGF white paper “Wellbeing Matters: Assessing views on the impact of the built environment on wellbeing”

Expert Panel:

• Professor Derek Clements-Croome, Feeling Good Foundation/University of Reading

• Lynne Sullivan, Sustainable BY Design, the Edge

• Elanor Warwick, Affinity Sutton, the Edge

• Charles Seaford, New Economics Foundation

If you would like to attend please register here. Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come basis.

Venue: Davison Highley, Lower Ground Floor, The Old Brewery, 16 Brewhouse Yard,
Clerkenwell, London EC1V 4LJ

Timing: Debate 6.30 - 8.30 pm followed by networking and a glass of wine

Downloads:

Edge Debate 64: Flyer

Further Reading:

Adaptation Sub-Committee (2014) Managing climate risks to well-being and the economy:ASC progress report 2014

Affinity Sutton & HACT (2014) Measuring the Social Impact of Community Investment: A Guide to using the Wellbeing Valuation Approach

NEF (2010) Good Foundations: towards a low carbon, high well-being built environment report

Pilkington et al. (2013) Engaging a wider public health workforce for the future: a public health practitioner in residence approach Public Health vol.127 (5), Pages 427–434

Shrubsole et al. (2014) 100 unintended consequences of policies to improve the energy efficiency of the UK housing stock, Indoor and Built Environment vol. 23 (3). Pages 340-352

UCL’s HEW project (2011-2016) Integrated decision-making about Housing, Energy and Wellbeing