Ergonomics of Built Environment i.e. How Environmental Design Can Improve Human Performance and Well-Being in a Framework of Sustainability

Abstract

Ambient conditions in buildings are called to assure a delicate balance between environmental pressure and a so
variable human response, the first expressed by the level and the combination of different environmental stimuli
from physical factors, the second elicited by a wide range of individual capacities activated by people to cope and to
elaborate those stimuli. Ergonomic /Human Factors approach is crucial in design of a physical space intended as an
environmental support for users performance and comfort, since it provides theoretical principles, data and methods
for understanding the interactions among humans and other elements of whatever system, and for identifying how
conditions are able to make that system really fitting its users' needs and expectancies. Starting from an overview
about effects on occupants of buildings physical factors, the paper summarizes principles of ergonomic design of built
environment, for tending to sustainable and really supportive living environments for people.