Perception of sustainable design strategies implementation in coworking hubs

Abstract

The integration of sustainable design strategies in coworking hubs offers the potential to enhance user experience while addressing environmental challenges. This study adopts an exploratory qualitative design to capture professional perceptions of sustainable design strategies in coworking hubs. Rather than measuring building performance, it aims to understand how sustainability principles are interpreted and prioritized by practitioners, providing a perceptual baseline for future empirical validation. The study examines the perceptions of ten LEED- and EDGE-certified sustainability experts, primarily from Nigeria, with additional perspectives from Egypt and Jordan, on the adoption, effectiveness, and user impact of sustainable strategies in coworking spaces. The interviews were semi-structured and thematically analyzed to identify key priorities, challenges, and regional considerations. Findings from this study reveal strong consensus on the importance of energy efficiency through passive solar design, renewable energy integration, and daylighting, alongside the use of locally sourced, low-carbon materials and strategies to improve indoor environmental quality, such as natural ventilation and biophilic design. Experts emphasized that these measures not only reduce environmental impact but also improve occupant comfort, productivity, and wellbeing. Variability emerged in the prioritization of water efficiency, innovation in design, and regional adaptation, reflecting differences in climate conditions, infrastructure capacity, and professional practice. While the study’s geographic representation is weighted towards Nigeria, its insights provide a valuable foundation for developing context-responsive sustainability strategies in coworking hubs. The research highlights the need for future studies to incorporate broader geographic samples, a mixed-methods approach, and performance-based evaluations to complement expert perceptions and strengthen generalizability.