The data is out and it’s appalling. An independent study has revealed that in 2015, over half of Australian offices have no natural light and over a quarter have no windows at all.
We are all aware of the evidence connecting our work office conditions to our health. So how and why are we designing our offices to fail the basic needs of the human condition. Even simple things that can make a positive difference to employee health such as natural greenery is hardly accounted for in Australian office buildings. Over 65% of offices across Australia do not even have a single pot plant.
We are designing our offices based on the fixed term cost of the asset rather than looking at the long term effect of office related health problems on our bottom line. With high demand, high costs, and an increasing lack of space, we are fitting more into less and sacrificing natural light, plants, and ultimately our well being. Recent trends including activity based workstations and open plan offices aren’t doing us any favours either. Open plan offices allow businesses to cut costs by fitting twice as many workers per square metre, all in the name of collaboration.
A report by Human Spaces believes that an appropriate solution is to incorporate biophilic building designs. The aim is to bring the natural world into the office as much as possible. This is unlikely to become a trend unless government creates policy that forces commercial property developers and business owners to take a biophilic and sustainable approach to commercial building and office design moving forward.
