WELL certification system: WELL Building Standard™

WELL certification system: WELL Building Standard™

WELL v2™ pilot

The next version of the WELL Building Standard™

People have always been dependent on their environment – for food, structure and well-being. Awakening with the sun, fertile soil for cultivation, constructions of stone and wood for shelter. Humans need water, air and light to survive – and good water, good air and good light to thrive. People built structures to protect themselves – from nature and other forces. And they spend more and more time in these structures. People today spend more than 90% of their lives indoors. Buildings were built to provide safety and protection from wind and weather. But many of these formerly protective places are compromising health by separating people from the original power of nature that has always kept them alive. Nature has long been a major contributor to well-being and health. Through conscious design, buildings can also offer this added value. Thanks to an ever-evolving and growing evidence base, the relationship between our environment and our health is understood more than ever before. We know how to create spaces that support health and wellbeing rather than detract from it. We can measure and improve the quality of air, water and light. You know how to design environments that energize people, keep them moving, inspire them to work better and enable a good night’s sleep. With the WELL certification system, the International WELL Building Institute helps to turn this knowledge into action. WELL is based on a holistic view of health: human health is not only a state of freedom from disease – which is indeed a fundamental component of health – but also the enjoyment of a productive life from which one derives happiness and satisfaction. Healthy spaces protect against what can make you sick, encourage practices that can make you healthier, and give people the opportunity to connect and live together. WELL strives to advance healthy buildings for all. That’s been the mission since WELL launched in 2014, but today they know how to do it even better. WELL has continued to learn alongside customers, early adopters of the healthy buildings movement, and bold pioneers in human-centered design. A lot of research and listening went into creating this new version of WELL. WELL has sought to bring all of this together in a system that is more accessible, adaptable and equitable, while being based on the latest scientific and medical evidence.

WELL v2: Fair, local, dynamic

WELL v2 builds on the foundation of WELL v1 and is based on the accumulated knowledge from the community of users and practitioners, health and building researchers and experts from around the world. One of the main goals in the development of WELL v2 was to establish fairness and equity as part of the standard. Barriers to entry were to be removed while maintaining WELL as the leading quality standard. It should offer more choice while maintaining accuracy. To create a single version of WELL that can adapt to the requirements of all building types in all parts of the world. To achieve this, the scientific evidence for effective health interventions through built spaces and organizational methods was reviewed and validated. Based on this, the essential requirements for a healthy building were filtered out and additional opportunities to make buildings even healthier were specifically sought. WELL is already a global tool that is used in more than 50 countries. In order to make WELL v2 more suitable for people and projects around the world, the goal of globalization was approached by recognizing local characteristics: Taking into account regional health issues, cultural norms and market realities. This new version of WELL is regularly and proactively adapted to changing contexts and constructs, making it even more relevant and applicable to projects around the world. It is the special dynamic of WELL v2 that makes all this possible. A system has been built that can continuously evolve and improve. Moving away from a strict scorecard provides the opportunity to focus on the values and outcomes that are most important to the project and the community. This flexibility also means that new options and pathways can be regularly established in the individual areas of the system to make WELL better and more suitable for all buildings everywhere.

Powerful ways to promote health

Designers, engineers, builders, operators and owners of buildings can also contribute to increasing collective well-being and create spaces that promote this. Only together can spaces that inspire be created. Spaces that are inclusive; spaces where people can thrive; spaces that help make people happier and healthier. With each new WELL project comes a unique opportunity to turn built spaces into a catalyst for better health and wellbeing.

Principles of WELL v2

The development of WELL v2 is based on the following characteristics: WELL v2 is … …equitable: provides the greatest benefit to the greatest number of people, including all demographic and economic groups, and with special attention to groups with the least advantage or vulnerable populations. …global: Proposes interventions that are feasible, achievable and relevant for many applications around the world. …evidence-based: Supported by strong, validated research that leads to conclusions that are likely to be accepted by the scientific community. …technically robust: Draws on industry best practices and proven strategies and provides consistent results across all relevant areas or disciplines. …customer-centric: Defines program requirements through a dynamic process with multiple opportunities for stakeholder engagement and by leveraging the expertise of established leaders in science, medicine, business, design and operations. …resilient: Responds to advances and insights from science and technology and continuously adapts to and integrates these new insights.

The architecture of a new standard

A uniform standard: WELL

WELL v2 combines previous iterations and versions of the system into one WELL that is applicable to all project types. The system is designed to increase in specificity and specialty over time, adapting to different project types and regions and responding to new knowledge and ever-evolving public health needs.

Dynamic scorecard

WELL Online guides project teams through the development of a unique scorecard. The digital platform recommends a selection of features based on project-specific parameters that can be further defined and refined by the project team.

The ten concepts

There are ten concepts in WELL v2: Air, Water, Food, Light, Movement, Thermal Comfort, Sound, Materials, Spirit and Community.

• Concept 1: Air
• Concept 2: Water
• Concept 3: Nourishment (food/nutrition)
• Concept 4: Light
• Concept 5: Movement (movement/fitness)
• Concept 6: Thermal Comfort
• Concept 7: Sound (sound insulation, acoustic comfort)
• Concept 8: Materials
• Concept 9: Mind (mental health)
• Concept 10: Community

Each concept consists of different criteria with different health intentions. Criteria (features) are either minimum requirements or optimizations. An overview of the concepts and features is shown under WELL criteria.

One system for all room types

All parts of WELL v2 are intended for specific room types. Room types in WELL refer to rooms within a project. These room types do not refer to the entire project. Many areas in WELL are labeled “all rooms”, which means that this part for all project types must be applied to all rooms within the project. Some features list different criteria for certain room types. These additional requirements can either be required in addition to the requirements for all rooms or can be used instead of the requirements listed for all other rooms.

WELL Core

WELL Core certification is a clear path to success for Core and Shell projects that want to implement basic features in the base building for the benefit of tenants/occupants. All building types can register for WELL Core as long as at least 75% of the project area is occupied by one or more tenants/occupants and/or serves as a common space in the building that is accessible to all tenants/occupants. Residential buildings must meet one of the additional requirements to register for WELL Core:

1. There is a minimum equipment requirement for the residential units, which is defined as meeting at least two of the following requirements:
   1. Developer does not install kitchen cabinets.
   2. The developer does not install ovens, stoves or refrigerators.
   3. The developer will not install showers/baths, toilets or sinks in the bathroom or kitchen.
   4. The developer does not install HVAC terminals.
2. The project cannot grant access to residential units for performance testing. Projects must provide evidence as to why they cannot test in residential units (e.g. residential units are already occupied).

Mixed-use buildings where WELL Core is appropriate for at least 60% of the gross floor area may register the entire building for WELL Core. Project owner operated/occupied spaces are considered “non-leased space” (see Scope and Applicability below). Mixed-use buildings where WELL Core is appropriate for less than 60% of the gross floor area should register one or more portions of the building as individual projects for WELL Certification or WELL Core Certification.

Scope

At least 2.5% of the total building area must be available for performance testing. The available test area must include all common areas and spaces directly under the control of the building management team. If common areas and spaces under the control of the owner are less than 2.5% of the total building area, the project must be supplemented with tenant spaces to meet this threshold. Testing in leased space in these cases can occur before or after tenant occupancy. Some performance-based optimizations specifically state that testing in leased space is required for award. The project is responsible for identifying GBCI and the WELL Performance Testing Agent and communicating which spaces are available for testing.

Applicability

WELL Core requires, at a minimum, the achievement of certain features directed at public areas and spaces under the owner’s control. Some features must be achieved for the entire building in order for the WELL Core project to earn credit. WELL Core projects can earn additional points for achieving the same features for tenants/occupants, whether by directly providing benefits to tenants or by sizing for tenant capacity. For more guidance on the applicability and additional earning potential for WELL Core, please see the Core and Multifamily Residential Appendix.

Certification levels

WELL Core projects must fulfill all minimum requirements as well as a certain number of points in order to receive different certification levels:

• WELL Core Bronze: 40 points
• WELL Core Silver: 50 points
• WELL Core Gold: 60 points
• WELL Core Platinum: 80 points

For WELL Core certification, projects must earn at least one point per concept. Projects may not earn more than 12 points per concept. Source: International WELL Building Institute pbc