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.