The rapid growth of the global population and urbanization has led to environmental degradation, resulting in a worldwide energy crisis. In response, the quality of architecture has evolved to prioritize energy efficiency, impacting indoor human health in the process. Green buildings have emerged as a solution to this problem, aiming to improve indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and human well-being while minimizing negative environmental impacts. This comprehensive review focuses on the role of green buildings in enhancing indoor human health and energy efficiency. It examines the published research on the effects of green buildings on IEQ and occupant health, highlighting sustainable architectural practices that promote good health. The study concludes that green buildings provide healthier environments for their occupants by creating healthy indoor environments, and minimizing negative environmental impacts. The study also explores the link between sustainable architecture and health promotion, with a focus on IEQ. It presents evidence-based and biophilic design strategies that can impact treatments and health promotion in the built environment. Overall, this review emphasizes the critical role that green buildings can play in addressing the global energy crisis while promoting the health and well-being of building occupants.

Building-applied photovoltaics (BAPV) offer a practical retrofit pathway for the prefabricated social housing estates of Central and Eastern Europe. This study assesses the solar and photovoltaic potential of post-WW II housing districts in Poznań, Poland, through a multi-scale workflow spanning the city, district, and building levels. Measured municipal rooftop data for 336 residential buildings in four districts were combined with tree-inclusive parametric solar simulations, calibrated against the rooftop solar cadastre (normalized mean bias error of +0.4% after calibration), to select South Winogrady and two representative buildings. Three PV design scenarios were then evaluated in roof, facade, and combined configurations using a techno-economic model that incorporates manufacturer-warranted degradation, maintenance, inverter replacement, and a ±25% electricity price and installation cost sensitivity envelope. Roof configurations pay back in 6.6–7.2 years (30-year return on investment of 286–321%), facade systems are economically defensible only on the best-exposed surfaces (8.9–13.8 years), and all configurations remain profitable even under the pessimistic bounding case. ENVI-met simulations of the same scenarios show localized pedestrian-level reductions in the Universal Thermal Climate Index of up to 2.41 °C near the PV-equipped buildings, persisting under 2050 climate projections. The results provide a transferable evidence chain for prioritizing BAPV retrofits in standardized post-war housing stock.