Integrated Sustainable Design: Toward Human-Centered and High-Performance Built Environments
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Green Building".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 2666
Editors
Interests: sustainability; sustainable architecture; urban sustainability; integrated sustainable design; green building; energy-efficient design; BIPV (building-integrated photovoltaics); daylighting and light simulation; emotional and behavioral design; affordance-based design; neuroarchitecture
Interests: sustainable architecture; green architecture; energy efficiency in building; green building; urban sustainability; sustainability; building materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
As sustainability becomes a fundamental imperative in architecture, there is growing demand for integrated design approaches that connect environmental performance with spatial quality and human well-being. This Special Issue explores how sustainable architecture can evolve through a synthesis of technical, environmental, and experiential dimensions—starting with climate, light, and airflow as core design inputs rather than post-design modifications.
We invite contributions that address green building strategies, net-zero and energy-efficient buildings, and environmental building technologies. Of particular interest are studies that balance intuitive and analytical strategies—including data-driven design approaches—to enhance environmental quality and user experience, including climate-responsive planning, comfort-oriented spatial organization, and environmentally attuned design methods.
In parallel, this Issue welcomes explorations of emotional and behavioral design, affordance-based spatial planning, and human-centered sustainability, wherein spatial decisions support adaptable, healthy, and inclusive environments. We especially encourage submissions situated within scalable and user-responsive design contexts, from indoor environments to urban applications.
While existing research has extensively focused on performance metrics, material efficiency, and technological optimization, this Special Issue aims to supplement such work by integrating underrepresented dimensions—namely, human perception, spatial affordance, and climate-attuned intuition in design. In doing so, it seeks to advance the discourse on sustainable spatial performance evaluation, thereby bridging the gap between high-performance environmental design and the lived, sensorial experience of architecture and space. We invite interdisciplinary submissions from architecture, building science, environmental design, and social research to shape the next generation of integrated sustainable design.
Prof. Dr. Kyungsun Lee
Prof. Jiyoung Park
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- integrated sustainable design
- green building strategies
- net-zero and energy-efficient buildings
- environmental building technology
- daylighting and simulation-based design
- healthy and sustainable built environment
- emotional and behavioral design
- affordance-based spatial planning
- human-centered sustainability
- sustainable spatial performance evaluation
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