The WELL Building Standard® is a performance based system for measuring, certifying, and monitoring features of the built environment that impact human health and wellbeing, through air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort, and mind. WELL is managed and administered by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), a public benefit corporation whose mission is to improve human health and wellbeing through the built environment.

Jason McLennan coauthored the WELL Building Standard and was the driving force behind the International Living Future Institute and Living Building Challenge & Declare Database. Heron Hall is his Living Building home on Bainbridge Island, Washington, completed in 2017. 

Declare is the nutrition label for products, so that consumers and designers are aware of where a product comes from, what it is made of, and its end-of-life options.

Through submitting materials in the Declare database, manufacturers can be transparent about their products and earn a Red List Free label– materials safe for the environment and inhabitants.

For Designers, Declare offers a free and simple-to-use database to make specifying products easier, and an easy way to establish trust between suppliers and consumers.

Acoustics, Fitness, Safety

Background noise is a productivity killer whether reading, writing, or collaborating. Over 70% of offices are now open plan. Many of these modern spaces have hard surfaces which cause sound waves to reflect, rather than be absorbed.

Acoustic fixtures, paneling, screens, and paneling can boost points towards a Well-certified project. In regards to Wellness, sound absorption methods are listed in the Comfort criteria, specifically features 74, 75, 78, 79, 80 and 81.

As stated in the Wellness Mind criteria : “A Beautiful and meaningful space in which design aesthetics are expressly considered can have a positive impact on occupant morale and mood. Elements that provide visual complexity, balance and proportion can impart a sense of comfort, ease and potentially mitigate stress.”

In addition to adding beauty to a space, placing lighting fixtures in stairwells can also apply for the Wellness Mind criteria by encouraging occupants to take the stairs. The same concept applies to fitness rooms, walking paths and hallways.

Biophilic design is also a consideration for the Well rating.  According to a Human Spaces report in 2018, “offices with natural elements can increase productivity by 8% and well being by 13%”. David Trubridge Design produces unique lighting fixtures on the more figurative side of Biophilia, which reference nature in each model with a message of “Bringing Nature Indoors”. 

Sola 800, David Trubridge Design, illuminating a stairwell. 

What is hanging from your ceiling that you are electrifying and sitting under for 90% of your life? Can you trust the materials and the electrics? Transparency is another factor for Well rated spaces. Look for product EPDs (Enviornmental Product Declarations) and material listings in green-oriented databases such as Declare, Energy Star, and Mindful Materials. There can be so much more to lighting than illumination- although quality ambient lighting is also listed in the Wellness Standard!

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