Building Dialogue

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36 / BUILDING DIALOGUE / JUNE 2015
I magine buildings that are de-
signed to help you thrive, where
the indoor environment is tuned
to take care of your body and mind.
Imagine human comfort being taken
to the next level by designing buildings
as complete sensory environments, with
not only improved thermal comfort, but
also deliberate focus on lighting and visu-
al quality, acoustic quality, olfactory quality
and ergonomic quality.
Not only is this environment optimized
around comfort, but also it boasts air quality
better than the outside air, and water quality
better than any brand of imported bottledwater.
Further, materials with toxic chemicals and dan-
gerous off-gassing are eliminated in the construc-
tion of the building, as well as in the cleaning and
maintenance of the building.
Imagineaworkplace thathelpskeepyoufit through
seemingly simple opportunities for physical movement
throughout the day and where fresh, healthy food is
more tempting and accessible than junk food from a
vending machine or the fast-food restaurant across the
street. The quality of light and daylight throughout the
cycle of the day supports our natural circadian rhythm,
helping to maintain overall health and well-being.
The WELL Building Standard
Fortunately, this level of healthy building soon canbe-
come the new standard for design and construction. Just
as LEED transformed the building industry around sus-
tainable building practices, the newly launched WELL
Building Standard will transform the industry around
best practices and metrics for health and well-being of
building occupants. The WELL Building Standard is a
third-party rating system based on a series of required
and optional well-being features in a range of categories
including: air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort
and mind. Three levels of certification – Silver, Gold and
Platinum – can be achieved by both new construction/
major renovations and tenant improvement projects.
Core and shell projects can achieve WELL Compliance
to aid future tenant improvements in achieving certi-
fication.
Worldwide, there are approximately 8 million square
feetof spacecurrentlyregisteredor certifiedunderWELL,
and its growing fast. In Colorado, the firstWELL-certified
project is the LYFE Kitchen in Lone Tree. Colorado’s other
registered projects include Sloan’s Lake Residential, be-
ing developed by NAVA Real Estate Development, and
Google’s Pearl Place Offices in Boulder, currently being
designed by RNL and MKK Consulting Engineers.
The Cost and Benefits of WELL
Because WELL building addresses both physical and
mental health, the impact is not only on lower health
care costs, but also on higher cognitive functioning
and greater productivity. Since we spend 90 percent of
our time indoors and the fact that people-related costs
represent 90 percent of most businesses’ costs, there are
deep economic benefits.
There have been several studies in the last decade by
groups such as RMI, Johnson Controls and U.S. Green
Building Council that have tied productivity gains of 5 to
16 percent to green buildings. Buildings under theWELL
Building Standard could see high return on investment,
especially with the generallymodest cost of implement-
ingWELL. The fees associated with the certification pro-
cess are typically around $100 per employee for offices.
One of the first case studies forWELL-certified projects is
CBRE’s Los Angeles office, which reports a cost premium
of only 1.73 percent of the overall construction budget,
or an estimated $3.60 per square foot.
WELL Building certainly can be a great tool to attract
tenants and employees in this healthy lifestyle focused
state. Colorado building owners and businesses have
a great opportunity in front them and can use WELL
Building as a smart investment in people. Just as Col-
orado has been a national leader in green buildings, it
is poised to play a leading role in this WELL Building
Revolution. \\
Tom Hootman,
AIA, LEED
AP BD+C,
Provisional
WELL AP
Architect
and
Engineer,
MKK
Engi-
neering
TRENDS in Healthier Buildings
Ron Pollard Photography
Google Boulder