Health and well-being. Buildings can have a large impact on peoples health and well-being. Every building user know this, and there is decades worth of scientific evidence to prove it. Yet many buildings, even new ones, are associated with health problemsboth physical problems, such as dry eyes and sore throats, and psychological problems, such as fatigue and stress. The best known, and most researched, health factor in relation to building design is indoor climate. Indoor climate is an umbrella term for a range of comfort aspects: thermal comfort, visual comfort, acoustic comfort and air quality. Each of these quality aspects is a frequent source of complaints in buildings. Think of noisy open-plan offices, stuffy meeting rooms that lack fresh air, or classrooms that get way too hot during summer. The clients brief plays an important role in avoiding such problems by stipulating stringent indoor climate requirements (see page 45 for examples). By relating those requirements to quality tests that need to be carried out during the design process, the brief enables verification of the set comfort levels. Another topic that relates to health and well-being is movement. The relevant term here is active design: design that promotes physical activity, for example by providing inviting staircases, attractive circulation routes, and the deliberate distribution of functions over different floor levels. Physical activity may be further encouraged by the provision of sports facilities inside and outside the building. Bicycle usage can be promoted by providing safe and secure bicycle storage and changing rooms. The brief should explain to what extent such measures should be applied in the project.The same goes for the topic of biophilia, which is a fairly new concept in relation to health and well-being. Literally, biophilia means love of life or living systems. The central idea is that people have a deeply rooted wish to be connected to nature and that we should move away from artificial environments (with air conditioning, artificial lighting and a sterile look and feel) towards more natural habitats (with abundant indoor and outdoor planting, ponds, natural light and outside views of nature elements). The assumption is that such environments lead to higher levels of user satisfaction and can even help to reduce peoples stress levels.Strategic brief-Explain the importance of user health and well-being as a major design factor.-Consider the relevance of concepts like active buildings or biophilic design.Functional brief-Investigate employee demand for sports and leisure facilities.-Consider the need/possibilities for green areas (roof garden, landscaping, et cetera).-Think about bicycle storage/changing rooms.Technical brief-Formulate detailed indoor requirements for room types and individual rooms, and develop a test plan to ensure that these requirements will actually be met in the design.-Formulate ergonomic requirements for furniture, equipment and fit-out elements or refer to relevant standards.