Key concepts in wellness real estate & healthy buildings

Heidis Garden Shop with biophilic design - check the moss wall installation!

What is a healthy building concept?

Healthy buildings refer to a structure that is designed, constructed, and maintained with the well-being of its occupants in mind. It is a space that promotes the physical, mental, and emotional health of the people who live or work in it.

Such examples of wellness real estate are designed to provide clean and fresh air, access to natural light, and comfortable temperature and humidity levels.

They also prioritize the use of non-toxic materials and incorporate features that enhance indoor air quality, such as proper ventilation systems and air filtration.

Additionally, well buildings often incorporate elements that support physical activity and wellbeing, such as designated spaces for exercise or access to outdoor areas.

Overall, a health-oriented building is one that supports the health and well-being of its occupants through thoughtful design and maintenance practices.

International well building institute ("WELL")

The concept of a well building has gained significant attention in recent years as people have become more aware of the impact of their built environment on their health.

The International WELL Building Institute has developed the WELL Building Standard, which provides guidelines and certifications for buildings that prioritize occupant health and well-being.

This standard focuses on several key aspects, including air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort, and mind. By following these guidelines, building owners and developers can create spaces that not only meet the needs of their occupants but also contribute to their overall health and well-being.

Typeform offices - an example of biophilic offices

What is 'salutogenesis'?

Salutogenesis is a concept that focuses on promoting health and well-being rather than solely focusing on the prevention and treatment of diseases. It emphasizes the factors that contribute to a person's overall health and their ability to adapt and cope with stressors.

In the context of the built environment, salutogenesis is closely related to the concept of healthy buildings or well buildings.

These elements of green buildings are believed to have a significant impact on the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of individuals.

By creating a conducive environment that supports health and wellness, healthy buildings aim to promote productivity, reduce absenteeism, and improve overall satisfaction among occupants.

The concept of salutogenesis aligns with the principles of healthy buildings by recognizing the importance of creating spaces that contribute to the well-being of individuals.

It acknowledges that the built environment plays a crucial role in shaping our health outcomes and believes that by providing healthy and supportive environments, we can enhance people's ability to live a healthy lifestyle.

Salutogenesis emphasizes the proactive approach of promoting health rather than simply addressing disease, and this aligns with the goals of healthy buildings.

By incorporating salutogenic principles in the design and operation of buildings, we can create spaces that prioritize the health and well-being of its occupants.

What is Sick Building Syndrome ('SBS')?

Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) refers to a condition in which occupants of a building experience a range of health issues that are believed to be caused by the building itself. This can include symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, eye irritation, and respiratory problems.

The term "sick building syndrome" was coined in the 1980s when an increasing number of people were reporting these symptoms in relation to their workplace or other indoor environments.

In recent years, there has been a growing focus on creating healthy buildings that prioritize the well-being of occupants.

These healthy buildings are designed with features such as good ventilation, natural lighting, and low levels of pollutants to minimize the risk of sick building syndrome and promote a healthier indoor environment.

The concept of a "well building" has gained traction, emphasizing the importance of designing and maintaining buildings that support the physical and mental well-being of its occupants.

What is the Harvard Healthy Buildings Program led by Joseph Allen at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health?

The Harvard Healthy Buildings Program, led by Joseph Allen at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, is a groundbreaking initiative that aims to improve the quality of indoor environments in buildings.

This program recognizes the significant impact that buildings have on our health and well-being, and seeks to create healthier spaces for occupants. By conducting research and providing evidence-based guidance, the program aims to transform the way buildings are designed, operated, and maintained.

Through the implementation of strategies such as improved ventilation, filtration, and lighting, the program aims to create healthier buildings that promote productivity, comfort, and overall well-being.

The Harvard Healthy Buildings Program is at the forefront of promoting healthy building practices and is making significant contributions to the field of public health.

What are the Foundations of a Healthy Building?

Inspired by the Joseph Allen model from the Harvard Healthy Buildings Program, here are a selection of foundations that contribute to creating a healthy building environment targeting enhancements to human health markers for the occupants.

These foundations include air quality, water quality, thermal comfort, lighting, acoustics, materials, ergonomics, biophilia, and health amenities.

Indoor air quality

Firstly, ensuring good air quality is essential for a healthy building. This involves proper ventilation and air purification systems to remove pollutants and improve indoor air quality.

Water quality

Secondly, maintaining clean and safe water is crucial for the health of the occupants. Regular testing and treatment of water sources are necessary to prevent the spread of waterborne diseases.

Thermal comfort

Thirdly, providing thermal comfort is vital in a healthy building. Proper insulation, temperature control, and access to natural light contribute to creating a comfortable environment for occupants.

Lighting

Fourthly, adequate lighting plays a significant role in promoting productivity and well-being. Natural light and proper artificial lighting should be incorporated into the design of the office building.

Acoustic performance

Moreover, addressing acoustic issues is important for a healthy building. Noise control measures should be implemented to reduce noise pollution and create a peaceful environment.

Healthy materials

Using sustainable and non-toxic materials in construction helps create a healthy indoor environment by minimizing exposure to harmful chemicals.

Ergonomic design & active design

Furthermore, ergonomic design principles should be applied to promote comfort and reduce physical strain. This includes adjustable furniture, proper desk heights, and ergonomic tools.

Biophilia design & nature

Incorporating biophilic design elements such as plants and natural materials can have positive effects on mental health and well-being.

Health facilities and wellness amenities

Lastly, providing health amenities such as fitness areas or wellness programs encourages occupants to prioritize their health and well-being.

wework coworking spaces go big on air purifying indoor plants

The role of Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ)

Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) refers to the overall conditions inside a building that can affect the health, comfort, and productivity of its occupants. It encompasses various factors including indoor air quality (IAQ), thermal comfort, lighting, noise levels, and ergonomics.

IEQ is a broader concept than IAQ as it takes into account all aspects of the indoor environment that can impact the well-being of individuals.

While IAQ specifically focuses on the quality of the air inside a building, IEQ considers a wider range of factors that contribute to a healthy building.

IAQ primarily looks at factors such as the presence of pollutants, ventilation rates, and humidity levels. On the other hand, IEQ includes not just air quality but also factors like temperature control, natural lighting, noise reduction measures, and ergonomic building design.

The distinction between IEQ and IAQ is important because it highlights the need for a comprehensive approach to creating healthy buildings. Simply addressing IAQ alone may not be sufficient to ensure a high-quality indoor environment.

A holistic approach to IEQ considers multiple factors and their interaction to create a comfortable and healthy space for occupants.

While indoor air quality is an important component of IEQ, it is not the only factor to consider. A holistic approach that addresses all aspects of indoor environment is necessary to create truly healthy buildings.

What are 'VOCs' and 'PM' in indoor air quality data?

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are organic chemicals that easily evaporate at room temperature and can be found in indoor air. They are emitted from a variety of sources, including building materials, furniture, cleaning products, and personal care products.

VOCs can have both short-term and long-term health effects. Short-term exposure to high levels of VOCs can cause eye, nose, and throat irritation, headaches, dizziness, and nausea. Long-term exposure to low levels of VOCs has been linked to respiratory problems, allergic reactions, and even cancer.

Particulate Matter (PM) refers to tiny particles suspended in the air that can be inhaled into the lungs. These particles can come from various sources, such as combustion processes, smoking, and outdoor pollution that seeps indoors.

PM can be categorized into different size fractions, with smaller particles being more harmful as they can penetrate deep into the respiratory and nervous system more. Exposure to PM can cause respiratory symptoms such as coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. Long-term exposure to high levels of PM has been associated with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, lung cancer, and premature death.

To maintain a healthy building environment, it is important to minimize the sources of VOCs and PM. This can be achieved by using low-emission building materials, choosing non-toxic cleaning and personal care products, and ensuring proper ventilation to reduce the concentration of indoor pollutants.

Regular maintenance and cleaning practices can also help in reducing the accumulation of dust and particulate matter. Implementing these measures can help create a healthier indoor environment for occupants and reduce the potential health risks associated with VOCs and PM.

What is the COGfx study into the benefits of healthy buildings on cognitive performance?

The COGfx research study is a groundbreaking initiative that investigates the impact of healthy buildings on occupants' cognitive function and productivity. Led by a team of researchers at Harvard University's T.H. Chan School of Public Health, this study aims to provide valuable insights into the relationship between indoor environmental quality and human performance.

By examining various aspects of the built environment, such as ventilation, lighting, and thermal conditions, the researchers seek to identify the factors that contribute to a healthy building. The ultimate goal of medical research is to develop evidence-based guidelines that can be used to design and maintain buildings that promote occupant health and well-being.

The COGfx research study takes a comprehensive approach to understanding the effects of healthy buildings on cognitive function. It involves conducting controlled experiments in office spaces where participants are exposed to different environmental conditions.

These conditions are carefully manipulated to simulate various scenarios commonly encountered in real-world buildings. By measuring cognitive performance using standardized tests, the researchers can assess the impact of different environmental factors on participants' abilities to concentrate, make decisions, and solve problems.

The findings of the COGfx research study have significant implications for the design and operation of buildings worldwide. By demonstrating the positive effects of healthy buildings on cognitive function, this study highlights the importance of investing in indoor environmental quality.

It provides valuable evidence that can be used to advocate for better building standards and policies that prioritize occupant health and well-being. Ultimately, the COGfx research study aims to promote a shift towards healthier buildings that enhance productivity, satisfaction, and overall quality of life for occupants.

The big picture view - what role does the anthropocene play in the healthy buildings movement?

The Anthropocene is a term used to describe the current geological age, in which human activities have had a significant and lasting impact on the Earth's ecosystems. It is characterized by the rapid evolution of technology and the widespread industrialization that has occurred over the past few centuries.

This has led to significant changes in the natural environment, including increased pollution, deforestation, and climate change. These changes have had profound effects on the health and wellbeing of both humans and other species.

The rapid evolution of technology and industrialization has brought about numerous advancements and improvements in our daily lives. However, it has also come at a cost to our health and wellbeing.

The increase in pollution from industrial activities has led to a decline in air and water quality, resulting in respiratory and other health issues for humans. Additionally, deforestation and habitat destruction have led to the loss of biodiversity, disrupting ecosystems and potentially leading to the spread of diseases.

Climate change, another consequence of human activities during the Anthropocene, has also had significant effects on our health and wellbeing. Rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and changing patterns of precipitation can lead to increased risk of heat stroke, vector-borne diseases, and food insecurity.

These changes disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, such as those in low-income communities or developing countries.

PRADO restaurant lisbon with biophilic design

the chemical revolution

The chemical revolution refers to the significant changes that occurred in the field of chemistry during the 18th and 19th centuries. It marked a period of intense scientific development and discovery, leading to advancements in various industries and the understanding of chemical processes.

This revolution brought about major changes in manufacturing methods, agriculture, medicine, and everyday life. The use of chemicals became widespread, leading to both positive and negative impacts on society.

One negative impact of the chemical revolution is the role that harmful chemicals play in sick building syndrome. Sick building syndrome refers to a condition where occupants of a building experience acute health effects or discomfort due to the time spent in the building.

Poor indoor air quality, often caused by the presence of harmful chemicals, is a common factor contributing to this syndrome.

Chemicals such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from building materials, furnishings, cleaning products, and even personal care products can accumulate indoors and negatively affect the health and wellbeing of occupants.

These chemicals can cause respiratory problems, headaches, fatigue, dizziness, and other symptoms. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure proper ventilation and minimize the use of harmful chemicals in buildings to prevent sick building syndrome and promote a healthy indoor environment.

This context helps to explain how it came to pass that the buildings we inhabit for 90% of our lives (!) may in fact be having a negative impact on our wellbeing.

Only through some combination of new and existing buildings improving their building operations to impact human health in a positive sense, combined with efforts by the likes of US Green Building Council LEED and WELL certification for new buildings do we stand a chance of not just reducing the environmental impact of the real estate sector but converting it into a wellbeing contributor.

Green Healthy Places - healthy building consultants

Whether your concern be workplace wellbeing or health interior design, by integrating wellness features such as those described above, from monitoring features and a performance based system rating systems, to sustainable design, improve air quality, WELL building standard certification and efforts to improve air quality, followed up by post occupancy surveys, contact us at Green Healthy Places (part of Biofilico) to discuss how we can assist.

WELL Building Standard / a 5-minute guide

What is a healthy building standard?

In recent years, the concept of wellness real estate and healthy buildings has gained significant attention and the recent COVID pandemic further served to push the real estate industry towards a green and healthy awakening.

Healthy building standards aim to promote the health and wellbeing of occupants by creating a comfortable and healthy indoor environment, this is done through a combination of construction, architecture, interior design, mechanical and operational interventions.

One of the most widely recognized healthy building standards is the WELL Building Standard, the focus of this article.

In summary, this is a certification program that focuses on seven core concepts: air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort, and mind.

It provides a framework for building design and construction intended to promote improved physical and mental health of building occupants by leveraging the latest scientific research and global experts with taking into account the specific needs of different occupant groups, including children, elderly, and people with disabilities.

This is in contrast to other models for defining the concept such as that of the Harvard Chan School in Harvard University that inspired this article of our based on the nine principles of a healthy building. In the end, we are all pointing in the same direction, WELL is a certification, the 9 Principles is more of an intellectual framework.

Are healthy building standards green?

The short answer to this is 'yes but only indirectly', as it is not their main focus but concern is taken to factor in the other side of the coin, environmentally friendly building construction, interior design and management.

Green building practices, such as the use of sustainable materials and energy-efficient systems, are therefore integrated into the human health oriented standards wherever appropriate to ensure that buildings are not only healthy for occupants but also sustainable for the planet.

On this basis, a double certification process of say USGBC LEED or BREEAM in parallel with WELL is really the gold standard for many conscious property developers nowadays.

What is WELL accreditation and the International Well Building Institute?

WELL is a certification system that focuses on promoting the health and wellness in new and existing buildings. It is a performance-based system that evaluates buildings, communities, and organizations on their ability to promote human health and wellbeing.

The WELL certification is administered by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) and is based on a comprehensive set of criteria that cover seven core areas of wellness: air, to improve air quality, and water quality, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort, and mind.

In the context of wellness real estate, WELL certification is becoming an increasingly important factor in determining the value and desirability of a property. As awareness of the impact buildings can have on health and wellbeing grows, investors and tenants are seeking out properties that have been designed and built with wellness in mind.

What is the role of a wellness real estate consultant?

Getting there successfully is where a WELL consultant providing advisory services can be invaluable, no matter whether formal certification is being pursued or not. In the end our role is about to advance human health in buildings and interiors, nothing more nothing less.

This role requires being not just an expert in the WELL certification system itself but also creative solutions to integrating advanced human health design interventions that do not break the budget, whether that via innovative biophilic design solutions or leveraging the latest piece of medical research.

With the help of a WELL building consultant or accredited professional, property owners and developers can navigate the certification process, demonstrate compliance with the global benchmarks right up to the level of WELL platinum certification or the newcomer WELL health & safety rating, all the while backing this up with ongoing performance testing via a range of healthy building monitoring features.

Why was the WELL Standard for new and existing buildings introduced?

We believe the WELL Standard was introduced for several reasons. Clearly there is a growing demand for wellness-focused real estate. Over the years, there has been a significant shift towards prioritizing health and well-being in our daily lives, and this has carried over into the real estate industry.

Residential and office development projects in particular, whether existing interiors and a fit out project, or a new build project design, have the opportunity to leverage a host of wellness features geared for people's health. The WELL Building Standard is effectively the world's leading framework for designing single building and operating such spaces that prioritize human health and wellness.

Prior to the introduction of the WELL building standard, there was no clear-cut framework for creating wellness-focused spaces, the type of work we specialise in at Biofilico. This made it difficult for designers and operators to know what aspects of existing buildings to focus on to promote wellness.

Using the WELL building standard as inspiration and guidance only

The WELL Standard provides a comprehensive set of guidelines to ensure that all aspects of the built environment are taken into consideration. Again, it is worth reiterating that full certification is not obligatory and can simply be used as inspiration for smaller projects without the budget to pursue all of the WELL features with an accredited professional.

The introduction of the WELL Standard has also led to an increase in demand for well consultants, such as us. These are professionals who specialize in helping building owners and designers implement the standard, this work can be purely advisory with the team making recommendations to the project team and architects, or it can be more creative, with the consultants dipping into the design process with concept designs for specific spaces that are maximized for WELL features and point scores, for example biophilic recharge rooms or biophilic gyms, our specialty!

WELL, human health and healthy building materials

One of our favourite sections of the standard, and one that is especially applicable even to those merely aiming for silver certification, is the healthy materials guidance.

Here a design team really needs to work alongside the external healthy building consultants, if they do not have such expertise in-house, to come up with a range of design strategies addressing wellbeing issues found in sick buildings such as poor indoor air quality caused by toxic materials with Volatile Organic Compound (VOCs).

Here the WELL Building Standard encourages the project team and specifiers to think not just in terms of form and function but also well being and indoor air quality, minimizing human exposure to toxic materials, or eliminating toxic compounds indoors that could be introduced through material specifications.

The WELL certification process

WELL Building standard certification is possible in Silver, Gold, and Platinum (with the Platinum certification being a top achievement). A WELL-accredited building is a three-year process.

To get WELL Building certification, you need to enroll in the program by paying an enrollment fee of $2,500 [1][2]. After that, you need to pay a program fee of $0.16 per square foot, with a minimum of $6,500 and a maximum of $98,000 [1], or a maximum of $100,500 [2]. The exact program fee will depend on the size of your building. Additionally, you will need to pay required performance testing fees [2].

The WELL certification process involves several steps, including registering your project, submitting documentation, and undergoing performance testing. Overall, the cost of WELL certification can vary depending on the size and complexity of your project, but it can provide significant benefits and ROI in terms of improved health and employee wellbeing, for occupants.

References: [1] WELL v2 | Certification Pricing [2] What does WELL Certification cost? [3] WELL Certification Cost: What is the ROI of WELL?

What are the principles of well certification?

The principles of WELL certification are a comprehensive set of guidelines that focus on creating healthy and sustainable buildings. This certification is designed for wellness real estate, which aims to promote the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of its occupants.

A WELL consultant is an individual from a company like ours trained and certified to assess buildings and ensure they meet these human health and built environment principles.

There are several principles of WELL certification that are essential for creating a healthy and sustainable building. The first principle is indoor air quality, which focuses on providing clean and fresh air indoors via proper ventilation, air filtration, and minimizing the presence of harmful chemicals.

The second principle is water quality, which focuses on providing access to clean and safe drinking water. This includes filtration systems and testing for contaminants.

The third principle is nourishment, which focuses on providing healthy and nutritious food options for occupants. This includes priority access to nutritionally dense, fresh, seasonal food rather than packaged and processed options such as sweet snacks and soft drinks in vending machines or staff canteens.

The fourth principle is light, which focuses on providing adequate light levels and minimizing exposure to harmful light sources. This includes a militant focus on maximizing access to natural light, combined with sensitive lighting design, and minimizing the use of harsh artificial light after dark that might otherwise disrupt sleep patterns.

The fifth principle is fitness, which focuses on promoting physical activity and movement within a building be it residential, educational or office. This includes access to fitness facilities, bike storage, and walking paths as well as active design stairwells.

The sixth principle is comfort, which focuses on providing a comfortable and supportive environment for occupants. This includes ergonomic chairs, adjustable desks, and temperature control.

The seventh principle is mind, health and wellbeing, which focuses on promoting mental and emotional well-being. This includes access to meditation rooms, stress management programs, and mental health resources.

The eighth and final principle is community, a far wider scope concept related to human health but a critical one nonetheless as it focuses on promoting social connectivity and a sense of community within the building, which in turn will impact human health. This includes communal meeting spaces, social events, and volunteer opportunities, all intended to foster a sense of well being and connection amongst building occupants.

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Further Reading

• Well Building Standard: Mind M09 Enhanced Access To Nature

• Biophilic Design In The Well Building Standard

• Well Building Standards And Well Consultants - All You Need To Know

• Well Building Standard Movement V01 Active Buildings & Communities

• Well Building Standard Feature V03: Circulation Network

• Well Building Standard Movement V09 Physical Activity Promotion

• Well Building Standard: M07 Restorative Spaces

building wellness & sustainability with evalore spain

Talking green buildings & healthy buildings with Pablo Munoz, CEO of Evalore, Building Wellness & Sustainability

The ‘Green & Healthy Places’ podcast series takes a deep-dive into the role of sustainability, wellbeing and community in real estate, offices, hotels and educational facilities.

evalore building wellness & sustainability

In this episode we talk to Pablo Munoz, Co-Founder and CEO of Evalore, Building Wellness & Sustainability with offices in Barcelona and Madrid. Founded three years ago, it’s a team of engineers, architects and energy modelers with an entrepreneurial spirit that immediately caught my attention.

indoor air quality, wellness villas ands more

We discuss air quality strategies for indoor environments such as corporate offices, the integration of both green building and healthy building strategies in each project, their first timber office building in Spain called WittyWood that is currently under construction, active design strategies to promote movement in an office building, their healthy home strategies for a WELL Villa at PGA Catalunya residential golf resort in Spain, their own in-house Air First air purification certification and their Evalore Method intended to push the green & healthy building movement forward with a focus on Spain and accessible price points.

healthy & well become commoditized

We also look ahead to the next 12 months in our industry and Pablo highlights the risks of well-washing, whereby an increasing array of products and services are branded as being ‘healthy’, meaning a dose of skepticism is going to become increasingly important for those on the inside of the healthy building movement in order to protect its reputation.

air first rating system

One of the topics we touch on in the podcast is Evalore’s Air First air quality management system that sets out to offer a more accessible alternative to the more extensive and capital intensive certifications such as WELL and LEED.

For me, this looks like the first in what may be an entire new generation of such accreditation systems that adapt what works for corporate America to a more local context, in this case Spain and its commercial real estate sector.

The protocols cover Purification, Disinfection, Monitoring & Training tin protocols to enhance Indoor Air Quality.

GUEST / PABLO MUNOZ

• https://evalore.es/

• https://airfirst.es/

• https://www.facebook.com/EspaciosEvalore/

• https://twitter.com/Evalorewell

• https://www.linkedin.com/company/espaciosevalore/

In this episode we talk to Pablo Munoz, Co-Founder and CEO of Evalore, Building Wellness & Sustainability with offices in Barcelona and Madrid. Founded three years ago, it's a team of engineers, architects and energy modelers with an entrepreneurial spirit that immediately caught my attention.

Full transcript below…

===============

Matt Morley 0:14

Pablo, to get things going perhaps you could just give us a really quick introduction to who you are, and also to the business Evalore that you're CEO of here in Spain?

Pablo Munoz 3:05

Hi, Matt and thank you so much. It is a pleasure for me to be here with you today. My name is Paolo Munoz. I'm an architect. I was licensed here in Spain but I have worked for most of my career abroad. I first worked in London for a couple years where I worked for a small architecture company then I went in Europe for a Masters of Science in Sustainability in the urban environment. I worked for a pretty big consultancy firm in sustainability then at some point I had the opportunity to come back to Spain. I founded Evalore with two co-founders And this has been going on for three and a half years almost now.

Matt Morley 4:02

You've been up and running now with the business for about three years, as you mentioned, what does your team look like today? And I guess I have to ask this one - how how has your team had to adapt with your offices over the last 10 or 11 months during the COVID-19 crisis?

Pablo Munoz 4:36

Yes, we have a team made out of consultants, architects, engineers, and also energy modelers. For the type of services that we provide, we need to have to have a pretty diverse backgrounds for our company and for sure COVID has been a challenge for us, as well as for everyone. And we are right now working remotely for most of the time. But we also come to the office, there's a part of our work that's difficult to conduct when we are not connected. There's a piece of commitment that is renovated every time we see each other and we talk about our projects, so even though we're trying our best to not be at the office, there is part of our work that has to be conducted in person.

Matt Morley 5:57

Thinking about the indoor environment within the Office. Are you monitoring air quality For example? Have you had to install plastic privacy panels or desk dividers to break up your office space? What kind of changes have you applied using your knowledge of, for example, the WELL building standard and applying it to your own home office environment or your own corporate office environment?

Pablo Munoz 6:22

Right, so the first thing was the protocols. We had to set the way we use the office, and how often we go to the office, we try to not be all at the same time at the office. How's the schedule, and when people use the office, that was the first thing that we had to think about. But independently from that, we also adapted the office so that when we are using it, we are safe. The first part was ventilation. And this is all related to the importance of the air quality in the office. It is funny, we've been talking about it now for three or four years. That was the that that's sort of how about already started. And we started talking about the importance of taking care of the built environment we live in and the importance of the indoor spaces. And so one of the things that we do at the office is we measure the quality of the air we're breathing. So we try to ventilate and we have a system that ventilation is connected to sensors, we can make sure that ventilation is high, we also have space so that desks have separation from each other. The same thing happens in the main meeting room where we have physical barriers to separate from each other.

Matt Morley 8:34

Are your air purifiers integrated into the air conditioning HVAC system or are they standalone domestic air purifiers, like a Dyson system?

Pablo Munoz 8:49

So in our case, we have purifiers standalone on the floor, because the system we use for the air ventilation air system or a heating system did not allow for incorporating those systems.

Matt Morley 9:13

You mentioned the idea of there being more awareness now and if there is any positive change to come from what we've all been through over the last year it is an increasing awareness amongst a wider portion of the population about what indoor Environmental Quality is. Where are you seeing the growth or increase in interest for your products and services coming from?

Pablo Munoz 9:51

We have certainly seen growth in consultancy, we're seeing that people are finally more aware and more interested in the impact that spending time in buildings has, right, like, over the last year, we spent so many days, stuck in our apartments or in our homes, we all finally realized that it had an impact on our physical and emotional well being. And I think that's working in our favor in the way that finally not only clients that are people who want to buy a house or want to build their home for themselves, but also companies are integrating this thinking their projects. But also, I think we cannot forget that this is, at the end of the day, this is a sustainability crisis. In a way it is an environmental crisis. It's not very clear what the origin of the virus is. But most experts agree that it has to do with pushing too far the limit of where humans meet nature and getting to areas where we were not supposed to be. And so I think in a way, this is also helping us realize that we need to do something, we need to build in a better way, when it comes to my sector to architecture, okay, we need to be building a more efficient way for in a better way for the type for the environment.

Matt Morley 11:58

That relationship with nature can be positive, it can bring health benefits But clearly, as you say it can also bring huge risks if not treating or not respecting nature in the right way. Or we're taking it for granted that it will only bring good because clearly, you know there are certain situations such as certain animals and certain markets in China or wherever, where Yeah, we can put ourselves at risk. But to get into that the idea of of reconnecting with nature in in urban environments... I know that you'd be working on a timber built construction project in Barcelona, that's been getting quite a lot of press attention recently. Can you talk us through what that looks like and describe that project?

Pablo Munoz 12:53

Yes, for sure. This will be the Wittlewood building and it will be the first timber building of offices in Spain, a five storey building in the district of Poblenou where most new offices have been built. And it is a very cool project. We're very, very excited as it is not only going for LEED certification. )LEED is one of the most renowned green building standards in the world together with BREEAM the UK version, and USGBC is the US version). It looks into all aspects of sustainability and not only does it look into making sure that the building doesn't consume too much energy, we are using a district heating system And of course, solar panels for photovoltaic production will be available in the building. The building envelope is very sophisticated so that we can decrease the energy demand of the building for both the winter and the summer. We're looking at using sustainable materials. We're looking at using materials that do not come from very far away, and that are produced in a sustainable manner. And often we're looking into making sure that they are using the circular economy system for production. One of the really cool thing about this project is that there will be a water collection system, the water will be used for both irrigation and also for, for bathroom use. WELL is the most, in this case, the equivalent of LEED but in the health and wellness area, it is based on six years of medical and scientific research. And so the strategies that were proposed are not random, they are based on very, very specific parameters that have been proven to improve the health of the people that spend time in those buildings. And in this case, we're talking about the quality of the lighting, or making sure that the lighting doesn't interfere with the circadian needs of the people that spend time in the building. Once we've looked at in a very holistic way it also has to do with acoustic comfort, with thermal comfort, with biophilia, which is the strategy of integrating nature into the interior side of the building.

Matt Morley 16:57

How did you address the nutrition and fitness components of the WELL certification? There just might not be space for a fitness room or a gym facility or there might not be an on site restaurant facility, how have you have you addressed those chapters of the WELL certification process?

Pablo Munoz 17:23

That's, that's a challenge very often. But it is interesting, because people sometimes think that fitness has also has only to do with being able to integrate a gym facility into building, but sometimes it has to do with the way we move, for example, if we place the staircase, in an area where it can be seen then we are promoting the use of it, instead of using the elevators. Something that's appealing to people, let's say, with art pieces, or music, or with coral reefs, or even nature, we're helping people to be more active. And so that's one of the strategies that WELL addresses. Then the nutrition part is a little more challenging here as well, because there is no restaurant in this building. And in this case, one of the things that we are looking at is the vending machines, we're making sure that the food offered in the vending machine is only healthy food.

Matt Morley 18:59

Then when you're focusing on something like a single family home clearly there are even more restrictions there. However, you do both the commercial and the residential side. So if you when you're applying those WELL building philosophy or design concepts to a residential project that's maybe just made for a family such as the one you did, at the PGA Catalunya resort, what does the process of transferring that same knowledge to a completely different context where it's really more about one one family living together rather than lots of co workers spending eight hours in an office each day.

Pablo Munoz 19:49

Right, I mean the principles are the same. We need to take care of the people who work for us and that makes them more productive. And that's pretty much the main reason companies are integrating WELL into their daily lives, because they know it is profitable for them. But when it comes to us making decisions on where we decide to live, don't we want the same thing for our health? We want our family to live in a place that cannot really compromise their health. And so the same principles have been implemented in a pilot study that was the first time in the PGA Catalunya that the WELL standard was applied to a single family home. We need to make sure that the air quality is optimal, with air monitors, sensors, ventilation, high performance filters , optimal quality water We also looked at all the materials being used in the project and we were very careful to use materials that didn't have any ingredients that could be harmful for human health. People listening to us might be surprised like, oh, are there products that are allowed in our homes or in our interior that are bad for our health? Yes! I could talk for hours about that.

Matt Morley 22:45

One of the really interesting things about what you're doing is not just providing consultancy services, as architects and as experts in LEED and WELL but you seem to be taking quite an entrepreneurial approach to this whole scene. And in a way I think, genuinely making your own contribution to that. I was really interested to read about your Air First air purification certification, which seems to be inspired by the bigger players in the market, but perhaps adapting it for Spanish or local requirements. Where did you come up with that initial idea? And what was the the objective in presumably not just creating something to compete with existing certification systems, but perhaps something better adapted to the local market?

Pablo Munoz 23:51

Yes, we actually realized that there was a hidden demand that was not being satisfied. We know that there's a big demand for big health and wellness projects in Spain, in Europe in general, especially in the office building sector, but what about those smaller projects that cannot really implement those measures, because simply don't have the budget to do so? We thought, okay, how can we make it available to them too? How can we make it more simple for those smaller projects? Why can't we choose those strategies that make the most difference? And that's how Air First came about, it is a certification that looks at one of the things that nowadays is probably the most important topic - air quality. So yes it is based on WELL but while it's an open standard, that said, it has been proven to work. So let's make sure that those authorities are available to everyone right, it is a way to democratize those standards for everyone.

Matt Morley 26:08

So then a separate piece of intellectual property compared to what you describe, is your Evalore Method, is that just your process? Or is there more to it?

Pablo Munoz 26:31

It is a way of working, we have set a very clear way of first communicating with a client, making sure of understanding what would they need and what are the goals of the project. And then working together through the process to make sure they they reach those goals through the strategies that we propose. And then helping them communicate those strategies that they have implemented at the end of project, that's the method or first would sort of be one of the forms that the Evalore method can take. Imagine that could be an office project, or it could be a building project for for a residential project or it could be a school and also a co-working has been one of our projects.

Matt Morley 28:45

It really looks to be about democratizing that knowledge and the scientific backing behind this whole approach to creating healthy buildings. But in a sense, it's almost like the next generation coming through now where the parents will be LEED and WELL, now there's the new generation, taking that knowledge and moving it forward and adapting it to new markets and new demands. I know you mentioned before we started talking today that you're also working on a modular homes project, perhaps you could is that is that also a healthy home concept that you're developing?

Pablo Munoz 29:45

Yes, yes. What you said about the parents being LEED and Well, all those standards in fact, what we've seen over the last few years is that codes created by the administration are little by little catching up and getting closer to our standards. And the main purpose, in my opinion, the main value of those standards, is to set a very high standard for those codes to catch up to, and so this is very, very interesting to me. And those standards are not a goal in itself, they are a tool to take buildings to the next level. And so that's the way we like to work, we don't make projects just to reach those standards, we make projects to reach certain levels of excellence. Right?

Unknown Speaker 31:00

So what about the modular homes project?

Pablo Munoz 31:15

Yes, this is a new project we're working on at the moment, we're working with a partner that create modular homes made out of silver concrete, which is a very, very interesting product, because it has really high benefits, it is a high performance material, because it can be used as a structural material, but same time, it has very high insulation benefits, both on the acoustic side and also on the thermal side. And it allows us to work in a modular way. So this is sort of like a research project we have started recently, but it is one of the new things that we have started to work on and together with this company that usually builds concrete homes, we are integrating all those health and wellness and sustainability measures. We are very excited to see that come to light.

Matt Morley 32:48

It feels like there's just so many different small niche corners of the real estate market that have yet to be touched by this kind of sustainable and healthy building approach. Right? There's just still so much to do. It sounds like you guys are really innovating and pushing the boundaries and hustling hard, which is great to see. If you were to look a year down the line into the future, what do you see as being the key trends?

Pablo Munoz 33:36

Well, I think one of the main trends is that wellness in general is going to be much more integrated in projects all over the world. It happened with sustainability and green building. Actually we reached a point of greenwashing in which everyone and everything and every product was 'green'. And then that was when the standards took on greater importance. I think a similar thing is going to happen with wellness and we need to be careful not everything is going to be labelled 'healthy' in the future. Every product is not going to take care of your health, it's not going to kill Corona.

Matt Morley 34:27

Amazing. Well, best of luck with the next year and I'm sure you have a very bright future with the business! Where can people find you online?

Pablo Munoz 36:02

Well, they can find us in our website, which is Evalore.es and also on social media and on Twitter and LinkedIn. So thank you very much for the time Matt it's been a pleasure for me to be here with you.

well building movement V02 ergonomic workstation design

a consultant’s insight into ergonomic workstation design for the WELL building certification Movement V02

What is the WELL Building Standard?

The WELL Certification process for WELL V2 is now widely established as the leading healthy building and wellness real estate standard in the world today. It is essentially a series of guidelines backed by rigorous scientific research, that when taken together, will guide a real estate project, whether new build construction or refurbishment and fit-out, towards a final product that is aligned with human health and wellness.

Sections of the V2 standard are dedicated to Air, Water, Nourishment, Light, Movement, Thermal Comfort, Sound, Materials, Mind, Community & Innovation.

What is WELL consulting?

A WELL AP or WELL consultant is there to assist a project team through the certification process, ensuring maximum points are scored along the way by offering expert advice not just on how to lock-in points but also the principles that lie behind them. As a result, the project has every chance of becoming a model of health and wellness in the built environment.

Additionally, a WELL consultant’s skill set might include wellness interior design, biophilic design, knowledge in healthy buildings and consideration for sustainability / green buildings, a WELL building’s close cousin, as well as expertise in health and fitness, or as WELL like to call it ‘Physical Activity’, ‘Movement’ and ‘Nourishment’.

What feature of a healthy building does Precondition V02 focus on?

Projects here need to show that they have provided ergonomic workstation furniture to all users of the building as well as practical guidance to ensure the furniture is used to maximum effect. Why does this matter? Get this one wrong and a workplace will likely suffer increases in absenteeism and a reduction in worker productivity.

In blue collar jobs especially there are physical risks at play whenever there is a manual component, such as lifting or loading whilst in white collar workplaces extended periods spent hunched over a screen and a keyboard can, if not positioned correctly, equally lead to pain and injury.

There is no one size fits all response to this but in general ergonomics in the workplace are designed to encourage movement during the day while avoiding awkward, uncomfortable positions. Adjustable furniture plays a large part in resolving the issue but education and knowledge sharing has also been deemed crucial by the WELL Certification.

For details on ROI to show to the ever vigilant company CFO, see here.

For a separate article we have written about ergonomic furniture in workplaces designed for worker wellbeing see here.

part 1: Visual ergonomics in WELL standard V02

WELL are looking for adjustable desktop monitors that avoid neck pain, you’ll need monitors arms or specific adjustable stands for this one. Laptops should also have an external keyboard and mouse to allow for more of an upright stance, additionally a stand for the laptop will prevent the head tilting down at an awkward angle and shoulders hunching forward. We want office workers to sit straight and or stand tall whenever possible to save their backs!

part 2: height adjustable work surfaces in well standard V02

A quarter of all workstations need to be height adjustable so that workers can sit or stand at will, whether it be manual or electric adjustment. Additionally, desk extensions can be included if a dedicated sit-stand desk is not an option, for example due to budget restrictions. We have written in more detail about this subject here in relation to WELL feature V07 Active Furnishings. For example, the photo above shows the standing desk set-up in Casa Biofilico, using a standard home office desk with an adjustable extension placed on top of it.

part 3: adjustable office chairs for WELL standard V02

Most new office chairs will come equipped with some form of adjustment options, in our experience providing office furniture for a luxury coworking office interiors project, spending a little extra brings additional ergonomic benefits from a workplace wellness perspective, and the office workers in question will thank you for it eventually!

WELL have some specific criteria here that your WELL Consultant would need to check with the office furniture supplier prior to making an order. If you are looking for options, we recommend ACTIU, a Spanish brand that specialises in workplace wellness furniture solutions.

part 4: provide support at standing stations for well standard v02

For anyone who is a regular user of a standing desk, it soon becomes clear that some additional support is needed to make this a comfortable experience after the first hour or two standing. WELL specify anti-fatigue mats, recessed toe space, a footrest and or a leaning chair. Only once you have spent a day working like this will you truly understand how important these small details are to the whole active furnishings debate! We usually work with a brand like FULLY for these smaller details.

part 5: provide workspace orientation for well standard v02

This one is an easy win, simply ask your WELL consultant or HR department to arrange in-person training or a video education session on the importance of ergonomics, demonstrating how to get the best out of the chosen office furniture and other resources for further reading on the subject.

To discuss how we can help you create a healthy workplace or healthy building project with WELL certification, contact us here.

Active Stairs: Well Building Standard Movement V03 — Biofilico Wellness Interiors

A consultant's response to the WELL Building Standard Feature: Movement V03 / Circulation Network and Active Design Principles

What is the WELL Building Standard?

The WELL Certification process for WELL V2 is now widely established as the leading healthy building and wellness real estate standard in the world today. It is essentially a series of guidelines backed by rigorous scientific research, including active design principles and active design strategies, that when taken together, will guide a real estate project, whether new build construction or refurbishment and fit-out, towards a final product that is aligned with human health and wellness.

Sections of the V2 standard are dedicated to Air, Water, Nourishment, Light, Movement, Thermal Comfort, Sound, Materials, Mind, Community & Innovation.

What is WELL consulting?

A WELL AP or WELL consultant is there to assist a project team through the certification process, ensuring maximum points are scored along the way by offering expert advice not just on how to lock-in points but also the principles that lie behind them. Building owners play a crucial role in promoting physical activity through active design strategies. As a result, the project has every chance of becoming a model of health and wellness in the built environment.

Additionally, a WELL consultant’s skill set might include wellness interior design, knowledge in healthy buildings and consideration for sustainability / green buildings, a WELL building’s close cousin, as well as expertise in health and fitness, or as WELL like to call it ‘Physical Activity‘, ‘Movement‘ and ‘Nourishment’.

What healthy building issue is WELL Feature Movement V03 addressing to encourage physical activity?

In this feature of the WELL building certification we are dealing with, wait for it… staircases! As consultants specialising in the field of wellness real estate, we admit to getting quite excited about stairwells as they represent an often neglected corner of an office or residential building that in a sense has physical activity built into it, however far too often they are not decorated with anything beyond whitewash and basic directional signage.

A healthy building needs to switch its priorities to make the stairwells a feature that regular occupants want to use, even enjoy using. To do that, WELL encourages projects to think about aesthetics, visibility and signage prompts.

The underlying problem is, once again, physical inactivity and sedentary lifestyles. The solution is more movement during the work day and that means, amongst other things such as physical activity spaces and physical activity opportunities), climbing stairs more often and designing spaces that encourage physical activity.

Where did this WELL movement feature draw its inspiration?

The researchers went looking for ‘active design’ case studies from airports, healthcare facilities, universities and offices, all leading them to the conclusion that an enhanced stairwell experience combined with subtle but effective prompts nearby in the form of permanent signage, all have a tangible impact on overall movement and activity levels in the workplace. The concept of 'active living' and 'promoting physical activity' through architectural principles and urban design also served as inspiration for these strategies.

What do we mean by ‘enhanced aesthetics' in this WELL healthy building feature?

For us, this is about being creative with a minimal budget. The reality is that projects are unlikely to apply huge budget per floor, imagine a 10 story building for example, even at a 3,000 euro budget per floor that still adds up to 30,000 euro in total just for active design stairwells. So how do we recommend using what minimal budget is on offer?

Options include flooring, wall decor, lighting, plats or biophilia in general, music speakers even artworks or motivation vinyls on the walls. It’s about making the stairwells bright, visually pleasant and dynamic areas rather than cold, heartless corners of the building. Incorporating visually appealing stairs and feature stairs can significantly enhance the aesthetic appeal and promote physical activity.

Artworks need not be originals, prints will do here. Wall decor can be blocks of brightly coloured organic / low-VOC paint, or large format vinyls. Flooring needs to be extremely hard wearing for obvious reasons but it could be brightly coloured, or have a biophilia, nature-inspired pattern such as the one in our concept design above for a corporate headquarters with a healthy building objective in Switzerland. Bright and or coloured LED lighting can also bring life to a dark stairwell with no natural light.

If the option is available, a WELL AP should lobby the master-planners and architects on a new build construction project to position stairwells in a location that makes them visible and easily accessible to all regular building occupants. It’s all about an active design approach, placing stairs not as a Plan B but as a preferred option, or Plan A,… within reason!

WELL / movement V03 / Part 1: Design Visually Appealing Stairs (1 point)

There is no limit to how far this creativity can be pushed clearly but in terms of securing a point for this WELL healthy building feature, the certification standard is looking for at****least one staircase with a minimum of two****features from the list below on each floor. Central stairs and those in educational and auditorium spaces are prime examples of where these design elements can be applied:

1. Music

2. Artwork

3. Light levels of at least 215 lux when in use

4. Windows or skylights that provide access to daylight

5. Natural design elements (e.g., plants, water features, images of nature)

6. Gamification

WELL / movement V03 / part 2: signage prompts (1 point)

This is where a WELL AP and consultant team need to align with the signage consultants, or indeed take ownership of this element of the overall signage plan whilst integrating the design and production with the rest of the project's signage style.

At least on staircase servicing all floors needs point-of-decision signage near the main entrance or reception desk , at the elevator or escalators, and at the base / entry points of the stairs. The objective here is to grab the attention of building users just before they commit to taking the elevator or escalator instead of taking the stairs.

We want to nudge them in the direction of the stairs, this could be done in a very simple, neutral tone or indeed with something more playful that challenges the users to ‘burn some extra calories while you work', or ‘hit those quads and hams', as long the messaging is positive, not negative.

Finally, additional wayfinding signage may be required if the stairs are not visible from the location of the signage prompts, to ensure users do not get lost and change their mind!

WELL / movement V03 / part 3: promote visible stairs for improved employee health (1 point)

As a WELL consultant, we find this to can be a challenging point to win, as it requires at least one staircase servicing all floors that is open to regular occupants of the healthy building and located before elevators or escalators.

Why is this a challenge? Quite simply because we are rubbing up against the requirements or the building engineers and architects, so ‘active design’ requirements often have to take a back seat. Additionally, considerations such as building codes and mental health must be factored into the design of visible stairs. That said, the point is there for the taking if the project’s stairs happens to fit within these requirements.

If you are interested in our services helping you create active design stairwells on your real estate project for WELL Movement V03,contact us here.

WELL building standard movement V07 active furnishings

A consultant’s response to the WELL healthy building standard feature ‘V07 active furnishings’

our standing desk at Casa Biofilico, Barcelona, Spain - an example of active furnishing

What is the WELL Building Standard?

The WELL Certification process for WELL V2 is now widely established as the leading healthy building and wellness real estate standard in the world today. It is essentially a series of guidelines backed by rigorous scientific research, that when taken together, will guide a real estate project, whether new build construction or refurbishment and fit-out, towards a final product that is aligned with human health and wellness.

Sections of the V2 standard are dedicated to Air, Water, Nourishment, Light, Movement, Thermal Comfort, Sound, Materials, Mind, Community & Innovation.

What is WELL consulting?

A WELL AP or WELL consultant is there to assist a project team through the certification process, ensuring maximum points are scored along the way by offering expert advice not just on how to lock-in points but also the principles that lie behind them. As a result, the project has every chance of becoming a model of health and wellness in the built environment.

Additionally, a WELL consultant’s skill set might include wellness interior design, biophilic design, knowledge in healthy buildings and consideration for sustainability / green buildings, a WELL building’s close cousin, as well as expertise in health and fitness, or as WELL like to call it ‘Physical Activity’, ‘Movement’ and ‘Nourishment’.

What problem does WELL Movement V07 active furnishings address?

In this Movement feature of the WELL Building Standard, the credit is focused on sit-stand desks and treadmill desks. The example from Casa Biofilico above shows a desk that can be used at variably heights, either seated or standing.

In reality, I tend to spend most of the morning standing and then alternate more between sitting / standing in the afternoons as my legs became a little more tired.

That said, I train for 90-minutes every morning before work so by the time I hit my desk, I have been pretty ‘active’ already and am ready for my first caffeine hit!. WELL are mostly concerned with pathologically sedentary behavior and those who spend 8 hours or more in a seated position five days per week, for years and years on end.

This has a direct correlation with obesity levels, Type 2 diabetes and premature mortality. We are simply not wired to spend our lives like this. Frequent ‘movement snacks’ during the day are essential to break up the workday and integrate modest amounts of movement at frequent intervals.

What are active furnishings?

Active workstations are those that offer multiple height options, allowing a worker to sit or stand, easily changing the height of the desk whilst maintaining a comfortable position, head up, shoulders back, not slouched in a chair.

Standing has been shown to burn more energy than being seated but that is not actually the point here, we’re looking to mix it up during the day, not just sitting, but not just standing either. We want workers to move around every hour or so, change position, stand for a bit, then sit, or take a break.

Treadmill desks are more common in the US than the UK or Europe but they are a valuable addition to a workspace, albeit a relatively expensive one. Certain tasks are better adapting to a treadmill desk than others. Deep work is not going to happen here, in my opinion, but lighter loads such as basic admin or responding to emails can certainly be done whilst walking slowly on a treadmill desk.

What do projects pursuing WELL certification need to do for 2 points in this movement feature?

Employers need to invest in active workstations for a minimum of 50% (1 point) or 90% (2 points) of the workforce. This does not mean that all those workers need to spend their time working standing up, far from it and in any case, it would be impossible to police that in practice.

The feature only specifies simply that the desks or workstations need to be provided, how they are used by employees is not reflected in the WELL score, that part then comes down to signage prompts, positive peer pressure / acceptability of working while standing or walking on a treadmill, and so on.

What type of active workstations are suitable for WELL V07 active furnishings?

In our home office, we currently use a manually adjustable desk, leaving it in a standing position permanently and then pairing it with an office stool rather than an office chair. This combo works well for us and encourages more standing than sitting.

Electrically powered sit-stand desks are of course more convenient and better suited to shared desk areas where a variety of different workers will use the desk each week, requiring a corresponding range of heights.

In the photo above from our Casa Biofilico project you can see what the WELL healthy building standard refers to as a ‘supplemental solution’, allowing “all or part of the work surface and all input devices (monitor or screen, keyboard, mouse) to be raised or lowered to seated or standing heights”. Effectively it is an extension of an existing desk, this works out to be a cost-effective solution.

Additionally, WELL also recognises treadmill desks, bicycle desks and stepper machine desks, although for us these would not replace a standard sit-stand desk, rather being supplement to the former.

We hope this article has proven useful! Contact us here to discuss how we can help you with workplace wellness programs and the WELL Building Certification process

WELL Building Standard: V06 Physical Activity Opportunities

We specialise in group training classes to meet the certification of WELL Building V06 Physical Activity Opportunities for workplaces and schools.

What is the WELL Building Standard?

The WELL Certification process for WELL V2 is now widely established as the leading healthy building and wellness real estate standard in the world today. It is essentially a series of guidelines backed by rigorous scientific research, that when taken together, will guide a real estate project, whether new build construction or refurbishment and fit-out, towards a final product that is aligned with human health and wellness.

Sections of the V2 standard are dedicated to Air, Water, Nourishment, Light, Movement, Thermal Comfort, Sound, Materials, Mind, Community & Innovation.

What is WELL consulting?

A WELL AP or WELL consultant is there to assist a project team through the certification process, ensuring maximum points are scored along the way by offering expert advice not just on how to lock-in points but also the principles that lie behind them. As a result, the project has every chance of becoming a model of health and wellness in the built environment.

Additionally, a WELL consultant’s skill set might include wellness interior design, biophilic design, knowledge in healthy buildings and consideration for sustainability / green buildings, a WELL building’s close cousin, as well as expertise in health and fitness, or as WELL like to call it ‘Physical Activity’, ‘Movement’ and ‘Nourishment’.

What is the WELL certification looking for in Movement V06?

In short, the focus here is “no-cost physical activity opportunities led by a qualified physical activity professional” but as ever the devil is in the detail so let’s look at exactly how mied-use real estate, workplace and school projects can secure maximum points for this particular credit of the WELL healthy building standard.

Why is physical activity at work or school important?

It is well known that gym membership rates in most countries hover around 10-15%, and that is just membership, not even usage! WELL reference the fact that around 25% of the global population is considered physically inactive.

On the positive side, a more active workforce or student population has been shown to reduce healthcare costs and absenteeism whilst improving productivity.

Biofit carried out one study into the benefits of indoor green exercise on mental wellbeing showing similarly encouraging results as well as a similar study focused specifically on the mental health benefits of spending time in a green ‘Vitamin Nature’ restorative space (no physical activity this time) during a workday, again with highly positive results. See the results of those studies here.

The role of workplace wellness programs in WELL V06

Simply put, the workplace and businesses in general are are powerful platform from which to reach the adult working population, just as schools are for the younger generations.

There are various factors at play here such as giving ‘permission’ to take time out during a paid work day, the positive benefits of peer pressure and collective group activity (rather than trying to train solo at home in for example).

Employers also have the opportunity of sponsoring gym memberships, providing onsite physical activity spaces with equipment at the workplace (whether indoor or outdoor) and promoting physical activity programming.

What do we mean by Physical Activity Opportunities in the workplace?

Firstly these need to be free of charge for employees and regular occupants of the workplace. The type of activity on offer should also match the demographics of the target audience.

Group physical activity classes should also take place either on-site or within 650ft walking distance from the project boundary and last for at least 30-minutes but ideally for 60-minutes for a total of up to 150 minutes in total of the physical activity programming each week.

Examples of Physical Activity Opportunities for WELL standard V06

So, for example that might equate to a free weekly 45-minute yoga class in a dedicated recharge room or restorative space within the building, at no cost to participants.

Or it could be a bi-weekly natural fitness group class held in an adjacent park or indeed on a vacant rooftop of the building, using bodyweight only for simplicity an to make it accessible to all, again with those costs covered by the employer and the class lasting for 60-minutes.

The WELL standard specifies that classes need be given by a qualified professional, be that a certified yoga instructor, a certified Biofit training coach or someone with a REPS Level 2 or higher qualification in the UK (or local equivalent for group fitness classes in other countries).

NB: the training can also be delivered virtually, via a large screen and Zoom, for example, if there are issues bringing in a qualified teacher to the workplace due to health concerns, availability, etc.

Finally, the above needs to be verified for WELL Certification of MOVEMENT V06 Physical Activity Opportunities with a company policy or an operations schedule.

We hope this article has proven useful! Contact us here to discuss how we can help you with workplace wellness programs and the WELL Building Certification process

WELL Building standard Movement V09 Physical Activity Promotion

a WELL consultant’s perspective on HEALTH PROMOTION PROGRAMS IN THE WORKPLACE FOR WELL feature V09 MOVEMENT

a Biofit outdoor class in mindful movement for the Second Home co-workin community, Lisbon, Portugal

What is the WELL Building Standard?

The WELL Certification process for WELL V2 is now widely established as the leading healthy building and wellness real estate standard in the world today. It is essentially a series of guidelines backed by rigorous scientific research, that when taken together, will guide a real estate project, whether new build construction or refurbishment and fit-out, towards a final product that is aligned with human health and wellness.

Sections of the V2 standard are dedicated to Air, Water, Nourishment, Light, Movement, Thermal Comfort, Sound, Materials, Mind, Community & Innovation.

What is WELL consulting?

A WELL AP or WELL consultant is there to assist a project team through the certification process, ensuring maximum points are scored along the way by offering expert advice not just on how to lock-in points but also the principles that lie behind them. As a result, the project has every chance of becoming a model of health and wellness in the built environment.

Additionally, a WELL consultant’s skill set might include wellness interior design, biophilic design, knowledge in healthy buildings and consideration for sustainability / green buildings, a WELL building’s close cousin, as well as expertise in health and fitness, or as WELL like to call it ‘Physical Activity’, ‘Movement’ and ‘Nourishment’.

What is the WELL certification looking for in Movement V09?

WELL are interested in a joined-up approach here for Movement V09, one that recognises that workplace wellness can be a complex beast given that everyone reacts differently to the promotion of physical activity at work. Some will be early adopters, some will have their own routine outside of the workplace, while still others will struggle to engage at all. For this reason, it is advisable to combine environmental design with behavioral strategies.

We recommend starting the process with an understanding of the building occupants, the end users or target audience for the physical activity promotion in other words. It can be useful to develop 3-5 hypothetical user profiles for example, that describe a number of character types who will each respond to a different type of physical activity promotion best.

Physical Activity Incentives for WELL feature V09

Physical activity incentives such as what WELL refer to as ‘conditional incentives’ have been shown to have a respectable success rate. For example, if a business owner were to offer a reduced gym membership to all staff yet this came without any ‘ask’ in return, it is likely to have less long-term success that pinning that subsidy to X number of visits per month for example. With a wearable in the mix, we could imagine setting a monthly target of calories burned, steps walked and so on in exchange for the gym subsidy, almost like a form of gamification in fact.

Schools and Physical Activity Incentives in WELL Building Standard

Student populations are particularly relevant to this feature as early uptake of a physical activity regime can set a young person on a path to a lifetime of fitness, potentially, just as the opposite is equally true. Schools might include Physical Education classes with basic bodyweight exercises, calisthenics and group games. After-school activities such as specific sports are an even bigger opportunity to encourage physical activity as team sports and competition can tap into deep-rooted psychological needs in all of us, if pitched correctly.

We also recommend schools focus on reducing sedentary hours via the use of standing desks for example and generally promoting movement as part of the school day via any means possible. Eight hours crouched over a desk or laptop is not going to help anyone, especially not when a project is aiming for WELL Feature V09.

What type of physical activity programs does the well building standard ask for?

At least two of the following physical activity promotion programs to eligible employees:

1. Rewards for physical activity engagement (imagine the HR team creating a league table amongst departments with monthly or annual rewards)

2. A subsidy towards physical activity costs incurred by employees (perhaps a free weekly group fitness studio class to test out something new, or a subsidized small group fitness / personal trainer who coaches staff at a convenient hour in their schedule)

3. Reductions in health care premiums based on physical activity engagement.

4. Flexible work hours to accommodate physical activity (an extended lunch hour to allow time to change out of work clothes, run/swim/train and shower, as well as eat)

5. Paid time off for physical activity with a minimum of four days per calendar year (perhaps for a fitness holiday, to attend a race or for a full-day workshop deep dive into a fitness subject of particular interest)

Additionally, this feature asks for proof of employee utilization, such as one of the following:

1. The project monitors utilization of incentive programs and demonstrates an annual utilization rate of 50% (this would need to be monitored by the HR team or Office Manager for example)

2. The project demonstrates an annual improvement in utilization of at least 10 percentage points (this shows there are external efforts underway to continue the health promotion efforts, ensuring an increase in uptake over time, rather than letting the initiative slowly fade out due to lack of promotional effort within the workplace)

We hope this article has proven useful! Contact us here to discuss how we can help you with workplace wellness programs and the WELL Building Certification process

WELL Building Standard: Movement V08 Physical Activity Spaces & Equipment

DESIGNING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY SPACES WITH EQUIPMENT FOR WELL / MOVEMENT / FEATURE V08

What is the WELL Building Standard?

The WELL Certification process for WELL V2 is now widely established as the leading healthy building and wellness real estate standard in the world today. It is essentially a series of guidelines backed by rigorous scientific research, that when taken together, will guide a real estate project, whether new build construction or refurbishment and fit-out, towards a final product that is aligned with human health and wellness.

Sections of the V2 standard are dedicated to Air, Water, Nourishment, Light, Movement, Thermal Comfort, Sound, Materials, Mind, Community & Innovation.

What is WELL consulting?

A WELL AP or WELL consultant is there to assist a project team through the certification process, ensuring maximum points are scored along the way by offering expert advice not just on how to lock-in points but also the principles that lie behind them. As a result, the project has every chance of becoming a model of health and wellness in the built environment.

Additionally, a WELL consultant’s skill set might include wellness interior design, biophilic design, knowledge in healthy buildings and consideration for sustainability / green buildings, a WELL building’s close cousin, as well as expertise in health and fitness, or as WELL like to call it ‘Physical Activity’, ‘Movement’ and ‘Nourishment’.

How we can help you create a physical activity space in your real estate project

We create physical activity spaces with functional fitness equipment, a.k.a gyms and fitness studios, aligned with green and healthy building certifications such as the WELL Building Standard (ref: Movement V08).

We specialise in designing green fitness spaces, such as the one shown above, that secure additional points within the WELL certification for MIND M07 Restorative Spaces and MIND M09 Enhanced Access to Nature (using biophilic design that brings the outside world in).

This equates to a total of 4 extra points on top of the 2.5 points on offer in V08 Physical Activity Spaces & Equipment!

What are the requirements of WELL Movement V08 Physical Activity Space & Gym Equipment?

WELL are looking for evidence that there is a gym or fitness facility available at no cost for regular building occupants to. use, either in the building itself, nearby or in a nearby outdoor space such as a park.

Does this mean you have to provide a fitness room if there happens to be an outdoor gym in the adjacent public park? Clearly not but not every project is going to be that fortunate, nor is it always an entirely satisfactory solution, for example in northern hemisphere locations with a lot of rainfall, or adverse weather conditions for six months of the year.

Creating an indoor physical activity space for WELL V08

The specifications for an indoor gym space are as follows:

• The space includes at least two types of exercise equipment (e.g., free weights, treadmill) in quantities that allow use by at least 5% of regular occupants at any time.

• The space includes at least two types of exercise equipment (e.g., free weights, treadmill) and is at least 270 ft2 plus 1 ft2 per regular occupant, up to a maximum of 10,000 ft2.9

So WELL are looking for a combination of strength and cardio machines in other words but in projects where budget is limited, we would recommend specifying a spin bike or rowing machine instead of a treadmill where it is far better to spend a little more for a good quality machine that will not cause damage to the knee joints for regular users.

Good quality spin bikes and rowers are comparatively far cheaper ‘physical activity equipment'‘ choices, usually in the £1.5k - £3k price range, whereas a treadmill is more like £5k - £10k, yet the former two still offer a solid cardio training experience. In many cases, it is far better to go run outside when weather allows anyway!

Additionally, a dumbbell rack of 5kg-25kg and perhaps some kettlebells in 12kg-16kg-20kg, an exercise bench or two and perhaps some medicine balls 6kg-8kg-10kg. There is really no need for isolation strength machines that take up a lot of space, cost from £5k up and will only ever help with one movement.

If available budget and space allow, a multi-gym strength machine is a far more efficient approach, combining upper and lower body training options. We. would also recommend a pull-up bar, barbell, weight plates and a squat rack, as a bare minimum. Add in some exercise mats and a foam roller or two and you are good to go!

The off-site physical activity space option for WELL V08

• The project provides regular occupants access to a fitness facility within a 650 ft walk distance of the project boundary at no cost.

This might be an existing gym, YMCA, health club or group fitness studio for example. In order for occupants to have free access to a private facility however, the project owner would obviously need to arrange for a corporate agreement with the nearby facility, making a bet on rates of uptake by occupants.

This is unlikely to work out cheap in the long-term if the occupants are remotely interested in using the facility, suggesting that the option of creating a small on-site fitness facility, or physical activity space with equipment, might be a smarter solution in response to WELL V08.

An outdoor physical activity space in response to WELL V08

Two points are available here so this is worth looking at in detail. At least one of the following should be within a 0.25 mi walk distance of the project boundary and available at no cost to regular occupants:

1. Green space (e.g., park, walking/biking trail).

2. Blue space (e.g., swimming area).

3. Recreational field or court.

4. Fitness zone that includes all-weather fitness equipment.

5. For projects with child occupants, play space geared toward children (e.g., playground).

This is all dependent on the project location and is beyond the control of the project owner so is likely either to be a quick win in points terms, or remain frustratingly out of reach if none of the above conditions can be met.

If you are interested in our services helping you create a physical activity space / equipped gym for WELL Movement V08, contact us here.

---

Further Reading

• Key Concepts In Wellness Real Estate & Healthy Buildings

• Design Consultants For Leisure Spaces, Wellness Facilities & Gyms

• Mental Health & Wellbeing In Healthy Buildings

• Benefits Of Combining Biophilia And Fitness (A.K.A “Green Exercise”)

• Top Wellness Residential Real Estate Developments In The USA

well building standard: mind M09 Enhanced Access to Nature

biofilico well building consultants & nature design experts respond to mind feature M09

Introduction to Biofilico: WELL Building Consultants

Biofilico is a green building, health and wellness advisory based in Barcelona, Spain and London, UK. We offer creative design and consultancy services for mixed-use real estate developments and hospitality brands.

Our experience is in delivering small-scale projects independently as well as working within a team on larger buildings and master-planned communities. Our mission is to have a positive impact on People and Planet through the built environment. 

What is the WELL Building Standard?

Among many green building standards and certification systems, the WELL standard completely re-wrote the rulebook of human-centric green building certification, going further than both LEED and BREEAM in its quest to promote healthy buildings. As a result, it pairs well with LEED or BREEAM as it goes deep into the health aspects of a building rather than its environmental impact per se.

Credit categories cover air, water, nourishment, light, comfort, fitness, mind and innovation with WELL Associated Professionals (a.k.a “APs”) playing the role of project lead, ensuring that the stringent demands of the standard are successfully implemented while Performance Verification is completed by an authorized WELL Performance Testing Agent (a.k.a an Assessor).

Why does MIND Feature M09 require enhanced access to nature?

We have long promoted the mental and physical health benefits of access to nature, whether that be outdoors or indoors, through plants, trees and other natural elements. This MIND feature in the WELL certification explains that connecting with nature can reduce stress and anxiety levels, restore concentration levels, boost feelings of vitality and purpose, and generally make the day just that little bit more pleasurable. In summary, this concept is generally referred to as a biophilia - man’s innate connection to and love of the natural world.

What contribution has Biofilico made to this biophilia thesis with its own research?

Our Vitamin Nature / mindfulness space in Canary Wharf, London went deep into this concept, looking at the effect exposure to nature and mindfulness combined can have on our mental wellbeing. The results were reassuringly positive and scientifically backed by a research team at the University of Essex.

What are the requirements of WELL MIND M09 in regards to nature access indoors?

The WELL Certification specifies 75% of all workstations and seating in conference rooms, lecture halls and classrooms offer a direct view of nature, plants, a water feature or trees outside. Alternatively, those same spaces need to be located within 33ft of an element of indoor nature such as a vertical garden wall, or water feature. Either one of these points will need to be verified with a Technical Document by WELL upon submission.

Unsure what an example of the indoor nature might look like? The restorative green space we installed in the lobby area of a corporate headquarter building in Switzerland (see photo above) would be an ideal answer to that question, although smaller and less capital intensive interventions are equally as suitable, depending on requirements. For example, this wellness interiors interior project of ours called Casa Biofilico shows what can be done on a more modest scale:

What are the requirements of WELL MIND M09 in regards to nature access outdoors?

WELL Feature MIND 09 specifies that an outdoor space ought to be equivalent in size to minimum 5% of the project interior area with at least 70% of it from a bird’s eye view above covered in plants or other natural elements?

Alternatively, access to an existing nature space, be it green nature such as a park or blue nature such as a lake, needs to be located within 650m walking distance from the project boundary, with free access for all regular building occupants during opening hours. The total combined green space needs to be at least 1.25 acres in size.

This outdoor restorative green space we designed, also for the corporate office project in Switzerland shows the type of outdoor space that responds effectively to MIND 09 Enhanced Nature Access thanks to its dense greenery and landscaping as well as the incorporation of a small water feature and plenty of natural materials such as sustainably sourced wood in the furniture and pergola to create a verdant outdoor oasis geared for workplace wellness.

WELL asks for a verified technical document for this part of the credit.

Finally, outdoor nature access needs to be verified with a professional narrative stating that building occupants are able to, even encouraged to access outdoor nature via signage, maps or the availability of nature breaks during the workday.

An example of this in action would be with our work for Black Mountain Partners in London. Their offices are 100m from a royal park, meaning the location is one of the city’s most desirable but with space at a premium, we needed to encourage staff to feel empowered to take a 15-minute nature snack in Green Park next door as a way to restore concentration and energy levels. Instead of reaching for caffeine or sugar, we recommended outdoor nature access as a company policy.

How do Biofilico respond to WELL Feature MIND M09 Enhanced Nature Access as consultants?

We start with a quick discovery phase including a project briefing, relevant stakeholder meetings, a review of the project plan and any concept designs for the development as a whole, establish the WELL Certification project’s overall wellness and sustainability priorities, then identify user or occupant profiles so we know who the end users will eventually be. This all helps to keep our priorities on track.

For the indoor nature access component, we work with project architects and interior designers to review the space plans, checking for views of nature and/or propose creative ways to integrate biophilic design, plants and other natural features into the interior design as a way to boost its nature credentials.

Biophilic design is our specialty and requires a coordinated effort that factors in not just the interior architecture but also landscaping and operations / maintenance factors.

For the outdoor nature access component, it is more a case of checking local area maps and if possible walking the neighborhood in person to identify suitable nature spots that building occupants could be directed to for a dose of Vitamin Nature during their work day.

To discuss how we can help you secure maximum points in your WELL certification, contact us here.

well community: AIR / Fundamental Air Quality

biofilico well community standard consultants: specialists in healthy indoor air

What is the WELL Building Standard?

The WELL Certification process for WELL V2 is now widely established as the leading healthy building and wellness real estate standard in the world today. It is essentially a series of guidelines backed by rigorous scientific research, that when taken together, will guide a real estate project, whether new build construction or refurbishment and fit-out, towards a final product that is aligned with human health and wellness.

Sections of the V2 standard are dedicated to Air, Water, Nourishment, Light, Movement, Thermal Comfort, Sound, Materials, Mind, Community & Innovation.

What is WELL consulting?

A WELL AP or WELL consultant is there to assist a project team through the certification process, ensuring maximum points are scored along the way by offering expert advice not just on how to lock-in points but also the principles that lie behind them. As a result, the project has every chance of becoming a model of health and wellness in the built environment.

Additionally, a WELL consultant’s skill set might include wellness interior design, biophilic design, knowledge in healthy buildings and consideration for sustainability / green buildings, a WELL building’s close cousin, as well as expertise in health and fitness, or as WELL like to call it ‘Physical Activity’, ‘Movement’ and ‘Nourishment’.

What does WELL Community Fundamental Air Quality require from you?

The WELL Community standard has some fairly stringent air quality standards that, for those unfamiliar with air quality data standards, such as RESET Air for example, may appear initially intimidating. This is what they look like:

• Annual average PM2.5 less than 35 µg/m³.[5]

• Annual average PM10 less than 70 µg/m³.[5]

• Annual fourth-highest daily average 24-hour concentration (99th percentile) PM2.5 less than 75 µg/m³.[5]

• Annual fourth-highest daily average 24-hour concentration (99th percentile) PM10 less than 150 µg/m³.[5]

• Highest 8-hour average ozone less than 240 µg/m³ (122 ppb).[5]

• Highest 8-hour average carbon monoxide less than 14 mg/m³ (12 ppm).

(Sourced from https://v2.wellcertified.com/community/en/air/feature/1)

What basis questions do you need to ask yourself for WELL Community Air Feature AQU?

Existing quality of outdoor air in the project location is a good place to start. We can safely assume urban mega-city vs a remote, or rural location will makes a huge difference in the baseline quality of outdoor air intake and how much work the filters will have to do. Natural ventilation with operable windows may be a terrible idea in a city like Shanghai for example!

Indoor air quality monitors

Have commercial grade indoor air quality monitors been specced, as well as a suitable monitor deployment plan, correct installation and cloud data storage with alerts and maintenance protocols?

HVAC filters & Recirculation filtration

Has the MEP consultant or engineering team specified suitably high-grade HVAC filters in each building? MERV 13 are the new gold standard so remember that name if you can. Consider recirculation filtration units in-ceiling rather than the portable versions.

Green Procurement Policy

A green, low-VOC and non-toxic procurement policy for building materials & fit-out materials will then ensure that there are limited if any off-gases present inside the building post occupancy.

Identify sources of combustion

If there are possible sources of combustion (carbon monoxide) near the buildings in question, that might well create an air quality problem, specifically heavy industrial, commercial kitchens or car exhausts / car parking areas.

Green Cleaning Policy

Post-occupancy, an enhanced green cleaning policy should be obligatory in each building, delivered by via the facilities management, as some cleaning materials contain harmful chemicals, believe it or not.

Green walls for air quality

Finally, we always recommend designers integrate the strategic use of 'living machines' such as vertical gardens / green walls with a high plant density (especially the root systems and soil, we need that to purify the air) to have a tangible impact on IAQ in certain locations - a pot plant in the corner of a conference room will not change much unfortunately. Remember to aim for 1 x air-purifying plant per 8 regular occupants in each enclosed room as a baseline.

How do we approach this WELL community feature as project consultants?

We start with a project briefing and stakeholder meetings, review the project plan & concept designs as well as the overall wellness & sustainability goals before agreeing on some occupant / user profiles to understand who will be using the community once completed. Specifically to address the possible features for additional points:

Feature SGR / Integrate Streetscape Greenery

We advise on required masterplan landscaping adaptations for spacing / density of urban greenery, environmental equity and population density / existing tree cover, document installation and species selection in line with local code, document maintenance plan for tree plantings

Feature GRE / Restorative Green Spaces

We advise on required masterplan landscaping adaptations for access to green spaces, entry points and draft recommended signage content & locations for green spaces and finally minimum planting requirements in green spaces, suggestions on how to offer respite while encouraging voluntary attention.

Feature VEG: Urban Vegetation & Built Spaces

Here we make recommendations on location & density of tree shading, identify outdoor spaces for evaluation and advise on vegetation coverage strategies. We then advise on required masterplan landscaping adaptations for spacing / density of urban greenery, environmental equity and population density / existing tree cover, document installation and species selection in line with local code, document maintenance plan for tree plantings

Feature BLT: Restorative Built Spaces

We identify qualifying restorative places in existing masterplan and recommend necessary adaptations, draft entrance signage content for each space and draft content on respite voluntary attention elements.

For more info on our healthy building strategies see here.

To discuss how we can help you with the WELL Community standard, email us here.

well building standard: Mind M08 Restorative Programming

Biofilico well building standard consultants: specialists in health & fitness programming

What qualifies Biofilico to deliver the WELL MIND M08 Restorative Programming?

Company Founder Matt Morley advises on wellbeing and sustainability for the real estate and hospitality sectors. He is a certified green building professional and a natural health & fitness expert with a specialism in creating biophilic, nature-inspired spaces.

Biofilico is his wellness interiors consultancy offering expert advisory, creative interiors and green / healthy building certification services but in this instance it is his experience creating Biofit Health & Fitness that is perhaps even more relevant.

Biofit has its own natural fitness courses online as well as a growing tribe of certified coaches around the world promoting this unique combination of functional fitness, mindful movement and mobility.

Additionally, Matt’s brother, Charlie, is a bestselling author and teacher of mindfulness, lucid dreaming and shadow integration making him ideally placed to advise on this MIND feature of the WELL Building Standard on Restorative Programming.

Charlie was “authorised to teach” within the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism by Lama Yeshe Rinpoche in 2008. Since then he has written four books which have been translated into 15 languages and has run mindfulness workshops & retreats in more than 20 countries.

He’s spoken at both Oxford and Cambridge Universities, the Ministry of Defence Mindfulness Symposium, The Houses of Parliament (on Buddhism & youth culture) and the Mindfulness Association Annual conferences.

In 2018 he was awarded a Winston Churchill Fellowship grant to research PTSD treatment in Military Veterans and continues to teach people with trauma-affected sleep a set of practices called Mindfulness of Dream & Sleep. 

What is the WELL Building Standard MIND M08 feature?

WELL are looking for ongoing programming for building occupants that gives them access to classes in, for example, mindful movement, meditation or yoga. Why? As a response to workplace stress and poor mental / physical health in the workplace. A stressed office worker is less productive, creates negative energy and is going to burn out eventually.

The role of Mindfulness in MIND M08

Mindfulness has become a buzz word of late but it’s principles are sound. We approach this theme by taking inspiration from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition of mindfulness, being present in the moment, as it is happening.

This can be brought on via mindfulness meditation or indeed by practicing a form of mindful movement such as walking slowly barefoot outdoors or, practicing yoga or forms of mindful movement fitness such as Biofit.

The results are likely to include less stress, less anxiety and an improvement in mood.

Our Vitamin Nature / mindfulness space in Canary Wharf, London went deep into this concept, looking at the effect exposure to nature and mindfulness combined can have on our mental wellbeing .

What are the requirements of WELL Feature MIND M08 Restorative Programming?

WELL are specifically looking for two or more of the following to be on offer for regular building occupants and the services should be fully subsidized or by 50% at a minimum to ensure equitable access to all.

• Mindfulness training course either online or in person

• Guided meditations or yoga classes, either in-person or online

• Digital mindfulness programs such as an app combined with a dedicated space for self-practice

  All of this must then be verified by a Policy or Operations schedule for certification.

How do we deliver WELL Feature MIND M08 Restorative programming as consultants?

We start with a quick discovery phase including a project briefing, relevant stakeholder meetings, a review of the project plan and any concept designs for the development as a whole, establish the project’s overall wellness and sustainability priorities, then identify user or occupant profiles so we know who will the end users will eventually be.

We would then research and select a suitable mindfulness training course, or propose one of our own if language-appropriate. We research, select and pre-screen a local yoga and/or meditation teachers, or provide a mindful movement program ourselves as Biofit. We also research and select suitable digital mindfulness offerings for the local market, such as an app, whilst ensuring that there is a designated space within the WELL project boundary for self-practice.

Finally, we deliver a restorative programming plan, contacts and recommended budget to cover two or more of a mindfulness training course, weekly mind-body program and digital mind-body offerings to secure the maximum available point score in WELL MIND M08 Restorative Programming.

To discuss how we can help you secure maximum points in your WELL certification, contact us here.

WELL Building Standard: M07 Restorative Spaces

Biofilico designs restorative spaces for the WELL Building Standard (MIND M07)

Introduction to Biofilico: WELL Building Consultants

Biofilico is a green building, health and wellness advisory based in Barcelona, Spain and London, UK. We offer creative design and consultancy services for mixed-use real estate developments and hospitality brands.

Our experience is in delivering small-scale projects independently as well as working within a team on larger buildings and master-planned communities. Our mission is to have a positive impact on People and Planet through the built environment. 

What is the WELL Building Standard?

Among many green building standards and certification systems, the WELL standard completely re-wrote the rulebook of human-centric green building certification, going further than both LEED and BREEAM in its quest to promote healthy buildings. As a result, it pairs well with LEED or BREEAM as it goes deep into the health aspects of a building rather than its environmental impact per se.

Credit categories cover air, water, nourishment, light, comfort, fitness, mind and innovation with WELL Associated Professionals (a.k.a “APs”) playing the role of project lead, ensuring that the stringent demands of the standard are successfully implemented while Performance Verification is completed by an authorized WELL Performance Testing Agent (a.k.a an Assessor).

What is WELL MIND M07 Restorative Spaces?

WELL are looking for restorative environments that promote mental wellbeing by reducing stress and mental fatigue. They reference workplaces primarily as this is where most of our mental challenges will take place in a typical day.

Recharge rooms are a response to the phenomenon of workplace tiredness and stress. Biofilico designed one for a project in Switzerland working for the Hero Group’s Chief People Officer, see our case study here.

Nature interaction has been shown to boost recovery and productivity, whether indoors through the use of biophilic design or outdoors with direct nature contact.

See our project video here:

Nature-based restorative Spaces with biophilia

We have also previously delivered a scientific research study into exactly these benefits of exposure to nature, or Vitamin Nature as it has been called. Another topic specifically references in WELL MIND M07.

This explainer video shows more about that restorative space project we created for residential real estate development The Wardian by Eco World Ballymore in London.

Our response to WELL MIND M07 Restorative Spaces

So having established Biofilico’s experience in delivering exactly the type of restorative space that the WELL certification is looking for, how do we typically approach a project for this WELL feature?

We start with a Discovery process that involves a project briefing, a number of stakeholder meetings, we review the overall project plan and any existing concept designs for the rest of the development, agree on the project’s wellness & sustainability goals, then finally review occupant / user profiles, or work with the project team to define these if not already available.

We then move into the Development phase in response to WELL MIND M07 Restorative Spaces. Having agreed on a suitable location, we propose various possible uses or functions for a WELL MIND Restorative Space.

Once agreed, we begin work on the layout and floor plan, identify suitable healthy building materials and start to incorporate those into a restorative space concept design integrating biophilia / nature and wellness design features that match the WELL Building Standard feature precisely.

Wellness design features for WELL MIND M07 Restorative Spaces

These include wellness lights, calming sounds, thermal comfort, seating, nature, colours & privacy.

Finally, we provide content for the required signage and/or educational materials that WELL look for in the finished restorative space to help communicate its many wellness design features.

Delivery

What details are important in this WELL Mind feature?

At least one designated restorative space needs to be made available for all regular occupants, whether indoor or outdoor, whether one space or multiple smaller spaces.

It needs to be designated for this purpose, or at least not also used for work at certain times of day. Its dimensions need to be minimum 75sq ft but ideally closer to 2000 sq ft is feasible.

Dimmable lighting, nature sounds, shade from direct sunlight, biophilia or nature incorporation, comfortable seating arrangements that encourage relaxation, we recommend a relaxing colour palette of natural hues and textures, combined with enough visual privacy to ensure that an occupant can make full use of the space without concern of colleagues looking on from outside.

Finally, all of this has to be verified by Technical Document for the WELL certification process.

To discuss Biofilico’s WELL building design and consultancy services, contact Matt here.

Well Consultant: WELL Building Standards and All You Need to Know — Biofilico Wellness Interiors

The WELL standard in the building industry has completely changed the rulebook of human-centric building certification, going further than both LEED and sustainability quests to promote healthy buildings and architecture. As a result, WELL standard paired with these contemporary assessments, dig deep into human health aspects and their wellbeing as tenants in a building.

The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) plays a crucial role in approving organizations for WELL Performance Testing, ensuring that the verification process is thorough and reliable.

A lot of factors can largely affect human health, happiness and productivity within the building walls, especially since multiple pieces of research have shown an increased amount of time spent indoors, especially in urban areas.

Staying semi-immobile for eight hours or more, inhaling poor quality air, stressing over work, combined with improper food choices and bad posture etc. make a built environment that shapes and influences our lives in the long run.

The WELL building standard is a useful tool for making and improving the health and wellbeing of the tenants inside the buildings. And how does it work?

What is a WELL building standard by the International WELL Building Institute

For those willing to get started with the WELL concept, the first thing to know is that you need to focus on things that directly and indirectly affect human behaviour and health. We can say that the WELL building certification concept is a holistic approach to health in the built environment, acting through architecture, design and later - maintenance of the building.

The WELL Building Standard is a system based on measurements and monitorings of air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort and mind performances in a built-in environment. The certification process is crucial in achieving WELL certification, involving key stakeholders, evaluation of design documentation, and the role of WELL Consultants in aiding clients through the entire process.

WELL Building Standard enables teams to classify intentions and benefits of each WELL standard feature and develop comprehensive strategies to improve and protect different sets of body systems, such as cardiovascular, immune, digestive, endocrine, respiratory, muscular and all the others. Performance verification is necessary to ensure that buildings meet the standards set by the WELL certification, involving rigorous testing of parameters like acoustic performance, water, and air quality.

Clean water supplies for every tenant

The WELL building standard promotes clean and safe water consumption, through the implementation of filtration techniques and testings. In his way, our building occupants and employees are protected from accidentally drinking dangerous materials non-visible to the eye.

Proper nourishment to concur diseases 

Wrong eating habits combined with stress are resulting in a great percentage of overweight or obese people, especially within the younger population. Poor nutrition is also one of the primary contributors to all of the chronic diseases. The WELL building standard prescribes fresh and wholesome food, limiting the highly-processed ingredients.

Lighting as a way to connect with nature

Accessibility of natural light can add to better productivity, and it has been proven in multiple pieces of research. Bad and misconducted ventilation and lighting makes a big impact on the body's circadian rhythm, leading to, once mentioned chronicle diseases.

Air purifiers and filtration

A great percentage of premature deaths all around the world are caused by air pollution! The confrontation of pollutants can be two or even five times bigger on the inside than on the outside, which makes WELL certified projects more than ever needed to establish building requirements and filtration systems that minimize sources of indoor pollution

A WELL building standard provides illumination guidelines to minimize the disruption of the body's circadian systemenhancing productivity and supporting good sleeping quality.

Fitness options in an everyday life

Individuals who are insufficiently active have a higher risk of mortality compared to those who meet the health care organisation advises. A WELL standard promotes the integration of physical activity in everyday life by supporting the building and office owners to incorporate gyms - for an active lifestyle of their employees and tenants.

Factors that are of great comfort to people 

Designing ergonomically safe and comforting surroundings can be of great help in the prevention of many physical stresses and disorders. A WELL consultant considers thermal, ergonomic, acoustic and olfactory options to comfort and optimize indoor working and living quality.

A mind that sees a better tomorrow

Environmental characteristics have direct impacts on mental health and well-being. Crowd, noise, poor lighting or humid and starchy odours can be the cause of febrile mental, neurological disorders leading to depression and different disabilities worldwide. 

By implementing the WELL standard in building, you can optimize cognitive and emotional health through design layout, technology picking and healing, treatment strategies.

WELL certificate and WELL accredited professionals

A WELL consultant is a professional of significant knowledge in human health and wellness environment, with multiple participates in the WELL building. A WELL consultant can certify building with a WELL certificate. The WELL exam assesses abilities at three cognitive levels: Recall, Application and Analysis. Consulting services related to the International WELL Building Standard include advising, integrating design strategies, and organizing the preparation and submittal of documentation for certification.

A WELL certificate proves that your wellbeing consultant has abilities to recall factual information, identify a solution for a given problem or a scenario and analyze the relationship or interaction between multiple elements of the rating system. Consultants will advise and work with the building owner and design team from inception through construction and occupancy to obtain WELL Certification.

Any type of facility except single-family homes can pursue the WELL certification for health safety, including offices, hotels, grocery stores, warehouses, theatres, gyms, restaurants and schools, among others.

Be part of the WELL community with Biofilico

A WELL certificate is a credential that demonstrates professional mastery of the human and architectural health approach and ability to utilize materials and contribute to a better understanding of the WELL system strategies. Measuring, certifying, and monitoring features of the built environment to improve human health and wellness is crucial.

Biofilico provides a WELL consultant with thorough knowledge and rich experience in WELL certified projects and well building. Do you consider yourself a leader in your industry? Then it’s time to take another step forward. Medical research is essential in understanding the interactions between humans and the built environment, particularly in the context of the WELL Building Standard.

By contracting Biofilico as a WELL consultant or becoming one yourself, you are aiming for the long term health of your building and your employees, ensuring maximum performance and high-quality human experience in every niche.

Contact us to discuss WELL certification for your green building, office or gym. Biofilico combines several building certifications, creating new-age real estate developments and interior design that suits your tenants equally as it suits the natural environment.