A Survey on Building Well-being of Malaysian Adolescent Occupants in Juvenile Institutions

Abstract

Good health and well-being have been established as one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) criterion by the United Nations. Since this designation, the well-being of building occupants has garnered increased attention within the discourse of the built environment. While User-Centered Design (UCD) contributes to the well-being of building occupants, the application of this approach across varying types of facilities remains an area for further investigation. Recognising that juvenile institutions are home to a vulnerable population of adolescents, this study attempts to gauge their satisfaction as building occupants using Building Well-Being Scale (BWBS). A cross-sectional survey was carried out at the entire juvenile institutions in peninsular Malaysia, comprising seven Probation Hostels (Asrama Akhlak-AA) and six Approved Schools (Sekolah Tunas Bakti-STB). It was discovered that a quarter of the respondents reported experiencing negative well-being while residing in Malaysian juvenile institutions. This equates to 26% of the responses suggesting dissatisfaction with the current built environment settings in the affected institutions. This discovery implies that certain aspects of the building design or environment are not conducive to the well-being of Malaysian adolescent occupants residing in the juvenile institutions.