Indoor Environmental Satisfaction in Two LEED Offices and its Implications in Green Interior Design

Abstract

The green building movement is an attempt to address IEQ and occupant health concerns by providing healthier building environments. As improved IEQ is the stated goal of green design, we question how green offices are in fact performing in comparison to non-green buildings, from the occupants’ perspectives. The findings of this research showed there was no significant difference in the overall satisfaction with IEQ between the two LEED offices and conventional offices in the same city. The most influential IEQ aspect of overall satisfaction was lighting satisfaction. One LEED office had good satisfaction with the noise environment but poor satisfaction with the lighting environment; the other LEED office had good satisfaction with the lighting environment. The IEQ characteristics in the two LEED offices are discussed to generate design implications in green interior projects and IEQ improvements.