Human Performance as a Building Design Requirement

Evidence for the vision guiding schematic design and MEPT documentation

A building establishes conditions that people live with for hours every day. Its light reaches their eyes, its mechanical systems move the air they breathe, its surfaces and equipment shape what they hear, and its controls determine how much attention basic activities require. Research shows that some of these conditions can alter sleep, alertness, task performance, respiratory comfort, physiological responses and reported mood. These effects are relevant to the project vision because the decisions that create them begin with layout, envelope, materials, service space and system selection.

A design requirement the team can act on

The resulting design requirement is concrete: identify the human activities the project should support, translate them into measurable environmental conditions, assign responsibility across disciplines, and verify those conditions in operation.

The important distinction is between a condition the project can deliver and a human outcome it hopes to support. A team can commit to tested airflow, controlled nighttime light, defined acoustic performance, moisture management and usable controls. It cannot responsibly guarantee a percentage increase in cognition, a particular sleep stage, freedom from headaches or a clinical recovery time. This distinction makes the work accountable without stripping it of its purpose.

What this means for the project

For Blend, the opportunity is to make human requirements explicit across the project: which exposures are relevant, which decisions influence them, how competing systems will be coordinated, and how the result will be measured. Acoustic modeling, environmental sensing and control design become useful through that connection. Their value is the condition delivered to the person using the room.

Read the complete research paper

The linked paper develops the evidence across human outcomes and environmental domains, then translates it into schematic decisions, MEPT deliverables, performance schedules and verification. It includes study limitations, source notes, and links to the research. It is an evidence review and design proposal, not a clinical validation of a complete Blend installation.

MEPT means mechanical, electrical, plumbing and technology in this paper. Architecture, interiors, envelope and acoustics remain essential participants. The main applications are residences, hospitality and workplaces. Human Performance as a Building Design Requirement