Exploration of Healthy Building Concepts within Green and Sustainable Building Practises

The overall influence of building on its occupants and environment is immeasurable and as such has been a major point of revolution throughout human history. Within the built environment sector, the design and construction of buildings are constantly evolving and in recent times have led to the emergence of terminologies such as Green, Healthy and Sustainable building practises. These terminologies are used interchangeably by researchers and practitioners within the built environment even though, they are technically different. As such, this study presents an exploratory literature review of the three terminologies to identify the similarities and differences between them.

The result of the analysis shows that Green, Healthy, and Sustainable building concepts are the same in their approach to materials selection, with all three prioritising the adoption of materials with low embodied energy, consumed less energy and have fewer negative impacts on the environment and human health. Meanwhile, the distinct features are in their focus, metric tools, and philosophy. Green building is solely about the environment while Healthy building is about occupants’ well-being and health. Sustainable building is more holistic comprising green building and part of healthy building concepts in addition to other social and economic responsibilities. This study has contributed to the wider discussion of these three key concepts and will enable key stakeholders in the academia and construction sector to understand properly the main features of Green, Healthy and Sustainable Building practises. This will facilitate proper adoption of the strategies to provide the needed sustainable healthy built environment.