The Living Lab

Enhancing environmental citizenship and reducing

energy consumption through creative

engagement with building users

Monica Pianosi :: Supervisors :: Dr. Richard Bull :: Prof. Martin Rieser

The case study

• Queens Building in De Montfort University

• Probably expanding to DMU: Greenview project case study

• 5 buildings: Queens Building, Kimberlin Library, Hugh Aston, IOCT, Campus Centre

• 5 control buildings

Background

Theory

Methodology

Conclusion

The importance of the built environment

• The building sector consume 40% of total energy in Europe

• “Building don`t use energy, people do” (Janda 2011)

• Existing research into behaviour have focused into domestic consumption

• In the workplace context the concept of responsibility is central

Background

Theory

Methodology

Conclusion

Universities as a public good

• “Universities must function as places of research and learning for sustainable development” (UN DESD 2005)

• DMU has made a commitment to bring sustainability into the heart of its organisation- Concrete intervention on the built environment

- Transforming staff and students in responsible environmental citizens

Background

Theory

Methodology

Conclusion

Smart building or smart people?

Fully automated buildings

• Interactivity

• Combining real and virtual

• Reduce energy consumption

• Complex management system may act as a barrier rather than aids

Background

Theory

Methodology

Conclusion

Manually controlled buildings• People do not like living in

entirely artificial, controlled environment

• Users wish to alter the system

• Comfort arises when perceived level of control is high

• A flexible system

• Some control left to occupants

• Good interaction between occupants and management

Behaviour-change

• Behaviour has a fundamental role in defining the impact that humanity has on the environment

• Environmentally significant behaviours are defined by the impact they have on the environment

• There is a large range of factors that affect behaviour: personal motivation, collective practice, peer pressure, habits, subjective norms, social context

Background

Theory

Methodology

Conclusion

Is information enough?

• Traditionally attempt to change people`s attitude and behaviour have looked at an educational system

• Theories are based on an `information-deficit model` following the assumption that providing people with information would make them change behaviours

• Unfortunately, information by itself is inadequate to tackle behaviour-change issue

Background

Theory

Methodology

Conclusion

The participatory approach

• Originally applied to urban and territorial planning• Considered capable of helping society to change

their attitude and their actions toward a pro-environmental model

• Based on the idea that lay public should be involved in decision-making processes

• Establishment of a new relationship between experts and lay people comprehending of an issue

• Enhancement of democracy

Background

Theory

Methodology

Conclusion

Environmental citizenship

• Citizens have rights and duties not only towards other human beings, but also towards the biosphere

• The issue of control in the built environment is also an issue of democracy

• Looking for a long-term change in attitudes and behaviours

Background

Theory

Methodology

Conclusion

Web 2.0

• The term refers to web-applications that facilitate participatory information sharing, interoperability, user-centred design and collaboration on the Web

• This is the way today new lay knowledge is created

• Ordinary people have become ‘citizens-journalist’ using social media tools to tell the world their stories, in this way attracting the world’s attention and sometimes mobilising protests (Arab spring 2011)

Background

Theory

Methodology

Conclusion

Link between participatory processes and social media

Public participation process

• Bottom-up approach

• Citizen knowledge

• Access to information

• Equality

Background

Theory

Methodology

Conclusion

Social media

• Bottom-up phenomenon

• Everyone can participate in the online discussion

• Everybody have access to `instant` information

• Information is shared without geographical and demographical constraints

Visualising energy

• By its nature, ‘energy’ is an abstract and invisible force that is conceptualised or commonly defined in a number of different ways

• Feedback are essential because people lack the awareness and understanding about how their everyday behaviours affect the environment

• Effective feedback :– Comparison over various time– Frequently updated– Interactive– Appliance specific level

Background

Theory

Methodology

Conclusion

Philosophical assumptions

“Nihil est in intellectu quod prius non fuerit in sensu”

Thomas Aquinas

• Epistemological approach: Interpretivism

“The world... Is constituted in one way or another as people talk it, write it and argue it”

Jonathan Potter

• Ontological approach: Constructivism

Background

Theory

Methodology

Conclusion

Research methodology

• Action research– The researcher is actively involved– The research is a process linking theory and practice

• The Living Lab

– A living lab is a user-centred, open-innovation ecosystem

– The concept is based on a systematic user co-creation, exploration, experimentation and evaluation of innovative ideas, scenarios, concepts and technological artefacts

Background

Theory

Methodology

Conclusion

Methods

• Mixed methods– Baseline survey– In-depth interviews– Focus groups– Greenview web and mobile phone application

• The Living Lab

– Creation of DMU living lab (heterogeneous group of people)

– Engage them in focus group to talk about their views and attitudes

– Engage them through the use of a web and mobile phone application (Greenview) for visualising energy consumption

Background

Theory

Methodology

Conclusion

The Greenview app

• Theoretical background– Relevance of feedback to reduce energy use

(Darby 2006)– Stimulate competition and cooperation

between building users (Cowley et al. 2010)– Endangered species attachment (Dillahunt et

al. 2008)– Augmented reality: the possibility of showing

geographically located information (Layar and Empedia)

Background

Theory

Methodology

Conclusion

The Greenview app

Aims and objective

Aim:• Improve the understanding of behaviour-change strategies in the non-

domestic built environment contextObjectives:• To identify how individuals interact with energy in the workplace• To review the current methods of communicating and engaging

individuals in the workplace in energy reduction initiatives• To understand the influences on individual behaviours in the workplace• To trial and test a novel web 2.0 tool to deliver energy consumption

feedback to occupants in a UK non-domestic case study building• Understand the impact of building users on workplace energy reduction

and to discover a replicable model/principles for behaviour change strategies in the built environment, therefore to provide recommendations to inform the future deployment of energy-reduction strategies in UK non-domestic buildings.

• Ascertain the key features of a web 2.0 tool to enhance public engagement and behaviour-change initiatives in a UK non-domestic case study building

Background

Theory

Methodology

Conclusion

Original contribution

• Focusing on pro-environmental behaviours as they are performed in the workplace

• Applying insights from the Public Participation Theory to the task of energy reduction behaviours

• Creating the link between public participation theory and web 2.0 tools and social media

• Employing an action research methodology

Background

Theory

Methodology

Conclusion