Retrofitting buildings to increase natural light and fresh air can improve students’ grades, increase retail sales, and speed healing of hospital patients.
Panelists on eco-friendly cities at the Globe 2012 conference in Vancouver say studies have proven the way buildings are designed has a big impact on the people who use them.
“When schools are retrofitted to add natural light and fresh air, there is a direct correlation to a rise in grades,” said UK sustainability expert Pascal Mittermaier.
The benefits aren’t just limited to schools, says Mittermaier. Studies show that when skylights are added to retail stores, sales rise by up to 40 per cent.
At one retrofitted hospital in the UK, patients who looked out onto a green roof had faster recovery times that those who looked out onto a traditional tar roof.
Employee productivity is improved by the addition of natural light, clean air and plants, he added.
The panel says developers and cities are starting to realize that buildings of the future put people first.
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