It would appear to be rather obvious: having plants in an office is what you would expect in a ”green” building. But now studies are showing that plants really do have a big impact on office productivity.
”The aesthetic impact is clear, but plants can be functional in terms of air quality,” said the corporate sustainability principal at Schiavello, Mark Thomson, who delivered a paper on healthy and productive buildings to a recent forum held by the Victorian division of the Property Council of Australia.
His focus was on Fujitsu Australia’s head office at The Gauge in Docklands, whose design and fitout were by Schiavello, Woodhead Architects and Umow Lai. The office is a 6 Star Greenstar certified project.
”We can look at three years of data. It’s one of the first instances where we are seeing that green really does deliver,” he said. ”Fujitsu is managing the green space in a way they are getting maximum value from it. There is a lot of green marketing, but the real test of green is when you see it fulfilling its purpose.”
Mr Thomson said the fresh, spacious and naturally lit atmosphere was credited with helping lower staff absenteeism by 42 per cent. Electricity consumption over three years from 2008-09 to 2010-11 fell by 18.6 per cent, while in the first half of 2011-12, it had decreased by 42.5 per cent compared with the same period in 2008-09.
From 2008-09 to 2010-11, water use fell by 10.7 per cent, and in 2010, 63 per cent of waste was recycled compared to 58 per cent in 2009 and 2011.
Fujitsu has a green wall of plants, designed to be both visually appealing and to improve the workplace’s indoor environment quality. The wall is bolstered by rows of potted plants.
Mr Thomson said the role of plants in the workplace was first shown in Germany by a BMW car plant. ”They had an issue with volatile organic compounds coming from the car parts. The cost of airconditioning was outrageous in such a big space,” he said.
”A German architect convinced them to put plants in the factory so that it would help take compounds out of the air. Not only did it do that, it improved the productivity of the factory. The factory became a pleasant environment to work in. That’s old news, but it takes time to learn from these things.”
Mr Thomson said a three-year study by Professor Margaret Burchett of Sydney’s University of Technology analysed tests conducted before and after plants were installed in offices.
The results were big falls in various categories: 37 per cent fall in tension/anxiety, 58 per cent in depression/dejection, 44 per cent in anger/hostility, 38 per cent in fatigue, and 30 per cent in confusion.
Mr Thomson said many people did not understand that plants were only effective when healthy. ”If you have old plants, they might as well not be there,” he said.
The next movement in green was bio-filtration, ”getting plants working in a way they are purifying the air … the combination of the plants, the soil and the lighting that makes the real difference”.
Mr Thomson said the acoustics in Fujitsu’s open office were incredibly good because there were acoustic panels integrated into the walls. ”We noted how quiet it was. The ambient noise level is calming, despite the large number of people there,” he said. ”It’s a good example of integrating Green Star principles - getting the acoustics and lighting right.”
From a psychological point of view, Mr Thomson said it was important to get the balance right between natural and artificial light. ”With computers, glare can be a problem, and some people have tried to avoid natural light, but research shows more natural light is better for productivity,” he said. However, direct sunlight ”is not ideal”.
