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Guideline I.11: Promotion of Healthful Physical Activity

Intent

To promote spatial conditions conducive to incidental physical activity. Movement (like walking) between workplace destinations helps maintain cardiovascular fitness, mental alertness, and encourages synergistic staff interactions that improve morale and well-being.

Recommended Performance Criteria

Guidelines apply to all projects designated New Buildings and for Major Renovations.

  1. Provide an “open” or “enhanced” stair design that is visible and/or easy to locate connecting the main (entry level) floor with at least the next two floors above it and the first floor beneath it. This encourages and enables building occupants to safely and conveniently use the stairs to travel between floors in their daily building circulation.
  2. Encourage staff to walk to routinely used building service centers and interior destinations through design of circulation path and its amenities. Features that encourage physical activity include:
    1. Separation of restrooms and service centers (like mailrooms and refreshment dispensers and break rooms) from work areas.
    2. Enhanced daylight and views along a circulation path.
    3. Different routes to popular interior destinations.
    4. Interior circulation paths that allow round trips without reversal of direction.
    5. Interior circulation paths with adjoining meeting niches and nooks that encourage spontaneous staff interaction along the path lengths.
  3. Encourage casual and continuous use of stairs include by: positioning stairs in floor plan, opening stairway to surrounding interior views; providing rest and incidental meeting nooks along stairway length; reversing or curving of stairway to facilitate expanded user view of stair traffic; and designing proper stairway riser/tread ratios, surfacing, and grab handles to meet Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) design recommendations.

 

Implementation in the Design Process:

In Predesign and early design, look for opportunities in programming of building to encourage healthful physical activity by occupants. Include suggestions for activities and explicit performance criteria in programming documents.

Through the design process refine incorporated physical movement strategies in design of building. Include general layout and programming considerations for increasing occupant circulation as well as amenities that accommodate exercise activities during daily operations (e.g. inclusion of shower and locker room to accommodate lunchtime joggers). Call out explicit physical movement strategies in design documentation. Include necessary signage in design to encourage and direct circulation.

Test stair use for potential variety of users when project is completed. Check that signage and circulation amenities are present and installed correctly. Include a physical-movement-related question on scheduled staff surveys. Track improvements in staff health and organizational productivity related to better physical circulation and social communication, analyze and document results in the annual Guideline Report.

Design:

  • I.11A: Verification that design meets guideline requirements for open or enhanced stair design.
  • I.11B: Verification that design meets guideline requirements for encouraging staff walking to building service centers and interior destinations.
  • I.11C: Verification that design meets guideline requirements for encouraging staff interaction.
  • I.11D: Verification that design includes amenities to encourage stair use.

Final Design:

  • I.11A: Verification that design meets guideline requirements for open or enhanced stair design.
  • I.11B: Verification that design meets guideline requirements for encouraging staff walking to building service centers and interior destinations.
  • I.11C: Verification that design meets guideline requirements for encouraging staff interaction.
  • I.11D: Verification of design includes amenities to encourage stair use.

Tillman, Barry. 2016. Human Factors and Ergonomics Design Handbook, Third Edition, Barry Tillman. McGraw-Hill, NY.