Movement dynamics in office environments
Stamatina Th. Rassia, Simon Hay, Alastair Beresford and Nick Baker. Movement dynamics in office environments. In Proceedings of the 3rd CIB International Conference on Smart and Sustainable Built Environments (SASBE 2009).
This research explores the relationship between the indoor environment and physical activity and sets out to highlight how motion inside buildings can be described as a dynamic system that may be prescribed by design. Our work builds on an exploratory study carried out in a cellular workplace at the Computer Laboratory of the University of Cambridge in order to identify the energy cost of movement in different office spaces. Movement has been recorded using an accurate indoor location system and analysed alongside measured energy expenditure. Our goal is to show that it is possible to estimate human energy expenditure at the design stage without the need for specialised medical equipment. Based on our existing knowledge of the importance of environmental-behavior interaction on productivity we believe that increases in movement duration and intensity may have a beneficial effect on both the office organisation and occupant health and wellbeing.