A lot of property developers and facility managers in Australia have been talking about the WELL Building Standard.
WELL launched less than two years ago, but there are already a couple of hundred registered or certified WELL projects across five continents. The number of projects in Australia is approaching 20 and, of these, Macquarie Bank’s platinum-certified 50 Martin Place is the flagship.
Another sign of WELL’s momentum is a recent partnership between the administrative organisations behind WELL and the well- established Green Star rating system.
So, WELL looks set to have a big influence on the construction and management of Australian buildings in the future.
How WELL Works
WELL focuses on how a building affects the well-being of the people that occupy it. The system is grounded in scientific and medical research, and organised into seven concepts, which comprise 100 features:
- air – indoor air quality (features 1-29)
- water – water quality and accessibility (30-37)
- nourishment – healthy eating habits (38-52)
- light – window and lighting requirements (53-63)
- fitness – physical activity (64-71)
- comfort – productive and soothing (72-83), and
- mind – mental and emotional health (84-100).
Each of the 100 features addresses a specific aspect of the health, comfort or knowledge of the building’s occupants. Each feature also relates to one or more of the human body’s systems, such as the respiratory system, and existing government or industry standards support many of them.
Each feature is one of two types:
- a precondition feature: which means that it must be addressed for a building to be WELL certified, and
- an optimisation feature: the level of optimisation determines the level of certification of the building – silver, gold or platinum.
In the assessment, each of the seven concepts is graded independently, and all applicable preconditions in every concept need to be met for WELL certification to be awarded. In addition to the seven concepts, projects can receive credit for up to five innovation features (101-105), which encourage development of novel wellness-related features that are not already covered.
So far, WELL has only been applicable to commercial and institutional office buildings – this is version one of WELL. However, there are pilot programs for other types, such as residential and retail. Assessment covers both the building itself and the tenancy, such as how companies treat their staff.
To recognise that not all features apply to all buildings, given different stages of development, WELL is organised into project typologies. There are three of these:
- new and existing buildings: applies to entire buildings, so this typology has the most opportunity to implement WELL features
- new and existing interiors: applies to projects that only occupy a portion of the building, or an entire building that is not undergoing major renovation, and
- core and shell: applies to construction projects seeking to implement fundamental features into the building for the benefit of its future tenants.
To keep their WELL certification, buildings need to be recertified at least once every three years. This ensures that building conditions are not allowed to deteriorate over time.
How WELL calls for green infrastructure
One way in which buildings can gain credit for some of the features is through green infrastructure, such as green roofs and walls.
Green infrastructure and biophilia
Most notably, green infrastructure satisfies features 88 and 100. These features are both categorised as biophilia, which refers to the innate affinity human beings have with the natural world.
In WELL, these features are listed under the mind concept, as a benefit to the nervous system. It recognises that a connection with the natural environment can have a positive effect on human health, stress and productivity.
Feature 88 is called Biophilia I – Qualitative. It is a precondition for new and existing interiors, and new and existing buildings, and an optimisation feature for core and shell. It takes its inspiration from the Living Building Challenge, which is a US certification program for sustainability in buildings.
To satisfy this feature, there is a need to conduct historical, cultural, ecological and climatic research and use it to guide design. Specifically, there are three parts that make up this feature, all of which need to be addressed to receive credit for it, and all require the development of a biophilia plan:
- nature incorporation: your plan must include a description of how the project incorporates nature through its environmental elements, lighting and layout
- pattern incorporation: your plan must include a description of how the project incorporates nature’s patterns throughout the design, and
- nature interaction: your plan must provide opportunities for human-nature interactions both within and external to the building. Feature 100 is called Biophilia II – Quantitative. For all three typologies, it is an optimisation feature. It calls for the provision of outdoor gardens and landscaped areas, and indoor design elements reminiscent of the natural environment, including water features.
Unlike Feature 88, it sets quantitative targets:
- outdoor biophilia: at least 25 percent of the project site area must feature landscaped grounds or rooftop gardens accessible to building occupants, with at least 70 percent plantings including tree canopies.
- indoor biophilia: potted plants or planted beds must cover at least one percent of the floor area (per floor), and there must be a plant wall on every floor (covering either a wall area at least two percent of the floor area or the largest of the available walls, whichever is greater), and
- water feature: there must be at least one water feature for every 9290 square metres, and it must be at least 1.8 metres in height or four square metres in area, with technology to address water safety.
Green infrastructure and nutrition
Green infrastructure may also enable satisfaction of the nutrition concept. Feature 51 (food production) calls for the cultivation of produce, with the aim of increasing access to healthy foods and encouraging engagement with food production processes.
It is an optimisation feature that is intended to benefit a few of the body’s systems: cardiovascular, digestive, immune, muscular and skeletal. It includes a requirement that a space of at least 0.1 square metres per occupant (up to 70 square metres) is allocated for a garden or greenhouse, or both.
It seems that there is considerable flexibility in the type of space that can be provided. For example, one possible solution is the type of rooftop community garden that has been successfully created by insurance company, GMHBA, on its head office building in Geelong.
Recommendations for additional green infrastructure use
A solid understanding of the value delivered by green infrastructure is critical to maximising its use in WELL. For example, the insulation benefits of a green roof may be applicable in the comfort concept. Knowing how your green infrastructure is innovative will enable you to receive credit in the innovation feature:
- consult a green infrastructure specialist who is familiar with WELL for a full account of how green infrastructure can increase your WELL scorecard.
To conclude, the arrival of WELL in Australia is a welcome development that will reward long-term performance of buildings. One of the likely consequences of WELL is that the way developers and facility management think about green infrastructure will change, not only in terms of design, but also in operations, management and maintenance.
Investing in maintenance and operational activities guarantees value from green infrastructure. The operational phase should also include programs to engage the building occupants, enabling it to realise the green infrastructure’s full potential.
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The author, Paul Richards, is an environmental scientist at Do it on the Roof, specialising in green infrastructure, landscapes, water, soils and ecosystems. He studied geography at Swansea University and has worked in environmental science in Australia for over 10 years.
