The WELL Rating System and How It's Changing the Game
With the recognition of the need to change our practices in order to improve our environment and societal well-being, also comes the need to create systems by which new buildings can be rated and improved upon.
The WELL rating system is very different to most rating systems for the built environment as it goes beyond merely rating the embodied energy of building material and day-to-day function, but also rates the building’s capacity to create productive, healthy and psychologically stable environments for its occupants.
To do so, buildings are assessed according to several categories including:
Poor air quality is currently the highest environmental cause of premature death. By improving air quality and in turn improving the respiratory health of a building's occupants, health care costs can be reduced and safe spaces can be created.
Water and hydration are essential to our cognitive function as well as our general health. Just a 2% decrease in hydration can result in poor cognitive function and lead to poor choices and lowered productivity. Increasing access to water sources will solve this issue.
This category concerns itself with the availability of healthy and unhealthy food choices within the built environment in an attempt to improve the overall health of the building's occupants.
A key concept when designing a comfortable and accommodating space - the goal of thoughtful lighting is to reduce and disruptions to the body's natural circadian rhythms and thereby, reduce the risk of chronic illnesses.
It's becoming increasingly difficult for individuals to maintain an adequate level of fitness. As a result, this category aims to improve the overall physiological and psychological health of a building's occupants by encouraging the use of training facilities through ease of access and prevalence of said facilities within the building.
By improving the comfort of a building, peak productivity can be maintained and mental health can be improved. Eliminating or minimising the presence of annoying features such as distracting noise and including ergonomic furniture in your indoor environment can go a long way. It can even save you money in the long run.
Psychological health is incredibly important and can mean the difference between losing or gaining a significant amount of capital for your company. To ensure that a positive impact is made, policies, programs and design strategies are encouraged to address the diverse factors that influence our state of mind.
WELL rating takes into account many variables in order to create a rating which demonstrates a building’s commitments not only to the greater environment reducing embodied energy and carbon emissions, but also commits to improving the occupants experience within the building, thus benefiting their health both physically and psychologically.
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NIGMS, (2016). Circadian RhythmsFact Sheet - National Institute of General Medical Sciences. [online] Nigms.nih.gov. Available at: https://www.nigms.nih.gov/Education/Pages/Factsheet_CircadianRhythms.aspx [Accessed 28 Feb. 2017].
WELL, (2017). Our Standard. [online] International WELL Building Institute. Available at: https://www.wellcertified.com/our-standard [Accessed 28 Feb. 2017].