Human-Building Interaction

 

Human-Building Interaction (HBI) is an interdisciplinary area of research that includes architecture, building science, ubiquitous computing, and interaction design. It lays at the intersection between comfort research from building science and human-computer interaction.

HBI considers users as completely immersed in an interactive object which is the building. The building influences users’ experience through multiple channels (heat, light, sound, space, and views). Users interact with the building to have better experiences, and their interaction could have repercussions at different scales, for example, in the operation of blinds to block natural light and increase energy consumption. With the increasing use of ambient intelligence for automatization, HBI approaches can help create new forms of interactivity for climate and human adaptive environments.

 

Human-Building Interaction at QUT

 

Being the first and only Human-Building Interaction research group in Australia:

Our vision is to understand, simulate, and design for the interdependent relationships and interactions between climate, humans, and the buildings they inhabit.

Our research examines the use of technology across the design, construction, and post-occupancy evaluation stages of the building lifecycle.

Our objective is to develop human-centered solutions to improve occupants’ experiences, health and well-being, and building performance for a net-positive built environment. Responding to new megatrends¹, our primary focuses include:

• Adapting to a changing climate. We need climate-responsive and adaptable buildings which can provide comfort to occupants without increasing energy
• Leaner, cleaner and greener. We need to pay more attention to how the choice of materials for construction and design will impact the operation of buildings.
• Escalating health imperatives. We need to emphasize the role of buildings as health promoters, sustaining inclusive design opportunities for people of all ages and abilities.
• Increasingly autonomous. We need human-centered approaches for the inclusion of automatization in buildings, as automatization in buildings is mostly motivated by energy efficiency but does not normally include or address human behavior.

 

¹ Naughtin C*, Hajkowicz S*#, Schleiger E, Bratanova A, Cameron A, Zamin T, Dutta A (2022) Our Future World: Global megatrends impacting the way we live over coming decades. Brisbane, Australia: CSIRO.

*Joint first authors #Corresponding author