There is plenty of research on the built environment. Most of it is manufacturer marketing that looks like research. Academic papers are too slow and too abstract for a decision. Generalist newsletters are too thin. And much of the web is now machine-generated, fluent but empty. The Built Review sits in the gap. The work is independent and evidence grounded, written by one person, and it sits close enough to the decision that you can use it.
Three spans from independent or industry-disclosed sources. The lab maximum of +101 % cognitive function from Allen 2016 is not shown here. It is a sponsor-anchored upper bound and belongs in the report body with its caveat, not in a headline.
Sources · Wargocki and Wyon, 2017 · Sadikin, Turan and Chegut, 2021 · MacNaughton et al., 2015
Latest report · Issue 01
Four design variables that move cognitive performance and who pays for them
The EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive recast sets a path to zero-emission buildings. The political frame is energy. What the directive does not regulate, except by implication, is what the building does to the person inside it. Four design variables move measurable cognitive performance: air quality, acoustics, daylight and circadian regulation, and view of nature.
Read report| Factor | Named studies | Funding independence |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality | Wargocki and Wyon, 2017 (DTU); Satish, 2012 (LBNL / EPA); Allen et al., 2016; MacNaughton et al., 2015; Cedeño Laurent et al., 2021 | Mixed. Direction supported by independent work (DTU, LBNL). Headline magnitudes (+101 %, ~$6,500/yr) anchored in United Technologies / Carrier-funded studies. |
| Acoustics in open-plan | Banbury and Berry, 1998; Haapakangas et al., 2017; Pejtersen et al., 2011; Jahncke et al., 2011 | Largely independent. Field samples in real offices, no single product line behind them. |
| Daylight & circadian | Figueiro et al., 2017 (US GSA); Boubekri et al., 2014; Brown et al., 2022 (PLOS Biology consensus) | Federal-funded core (GSA). The Brown 2022 consensus panel has substantial industry entanglements (Lutron, Velux, Signify, View Inc.). |
| View of nature | Thatcher et al., 2020 (against-sponsor null); Nieuwenhuis et al., 2014; de Vries et al., 2023; Aries et al., 2010; Bringslimark et al., 2007 | Largely horticulture-industry funded (Productschap Tuinbouw, Topsector Horticulture). Strongest independent field reading (Thatcher) is null. Two academic anchors (Aries, Bringslimark). |
Four design variables that move cognitive performance and who pays for them