Environmental experience design research spectrum for energy and human well-being

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 outbreak has made us realize how important human experiences within built environments are to retain or enhance our physical and mental health and well-being. The environmental quality of physical spaces occupied by humans depends on personal judgments made through the spatial experiences that reflect their individual needs, desires, and expectations. Such spatial or environmental experiences influential in human activities and outcomes should be researched much further to sustain or improve the soundness of our society and economy under any circumstances of people's lives. The pandemic that first emerged in December 2019 had also been slowing down human activities over the following months. It unexpectedly contributed to reducing anthropogenic CO2 emissions that lead to global warming. According to the International Energy Agency, buildings account for 40% of global operational energy use. Built environments need to be delivered in a way that helps reduce or eliminate energy consumption, which negatively affects climate change. The built environment encompasses a system of energy and environment being occupied by the masses. To accommodate diverse needs and demands of individuals and societies, it needs to be customized or personalized. In parallel to studies on technological advancement, human-centric environmental experiences should be researched much further to ensure the delivery of socially, economically, environmentally, and humanly sustainable built environments that can be applied to privileged and unprivileged families, communities, and nations that are sharing our common future. In view of the global economic prospect, as well as the authors' expertise, this chapter selected China and Bangladesh as case studies to begin considering the emerging notion of environmental experience design and the research spectrum that impacts on the energy outlook and human well-being within built environments. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.