Does designing for wellbeing contribute to more sustainable buildings? Part 2

Part 1 of this blog post explored how designing for good wellbeing in our buildings can contribute to better, more sustainable buildings and even towards achieving Net Zero Carbon targets. Whilst good wellbeing design doesn’t necessarily equal good sustainability, it is one of many components which are required to be considered at the outset if we want to build well used buildings with longevity.

Part 2 explores the technical aspect; how do we design for good wellbeing from the offset, track it throughout the design, construction process and lifetime of the building, and ultimately how do you even measure it?

The WELL Building Standard (WELL) and other wellbeing certifications are the obvious answer to this. WELL provides a robust, scientifically and research backed standard that provides the practical methodology and the evidence based targets in designing for good wellbeing, with an internationally recognised certification. It was the first standard of its kind, launched in 2014 when wellbeing within the built environment was largely intangible and difficult to measure. WELL v2 was launched 4 years later in 2018 and provides a route very similar to BREEAM or LEED, where the project is registered at the start, a target is set and the design team can start using the principles (up to 108 of them) over 10 concept areas (Air, Water, Nourishment, Light, Movement, Thermal Comfort, Sound, Materials, Mind, Community, Innovation) to inform the design and track progress. At project completion, the project is assessed by a third party and certification awarded (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum), with ongoing monitoring required and recertification every 3 years to ensure the building is still maintaining its wellbeing offering. 

However, WELL and other certifications aren’t the only way and they certainly don’t tick all the boxes for every project wanting to provide a great wellbeing offering.

Achieving WELL certification on your project can be expensive and that needs to be considered across the construction phase and lifetime of the project. Fig. 1 demonstrates the approximate costs a for a UK project of 1000m² under WELL v2 certification.

Item	$USD	£GBP
Enrolment fee	$2500	£1860
Program fees	$6500 ($1.208/ft2)	£4835 (£0.90/ft2)
Performance testing	$7250	£5395
Total	$16,250	­­­£12,090
Construction uplift	+ $4-11/ft2	+ £3-8/ft2

Furthermore, the commitment and constraints can be overwhelming and might not be suitable for all projects. I also believe that WELL misses out detail in other important wellbeing aspects such as social value and inclusivity, therefore a more holistic view could be much more beneficial.

So to answer ‘how can wellbeing be integrated at first principles, and successfully implemented throughout in order to meet the wider sustainability goals’? WELL very much provides that in a nicely packaged solution.

However, if you didn’t want to go for a certification or didn’t know what was best for your building and your goals, what are your options? How can you bring in some dedicated expertise, track meaningful wellbeing implementation and provide a real, evidence-based wellbeing offering in your building, whilst also meeting the wider sustainability targets?

To help visualise this, the flowchart below demonstrates how and when you could engage with wellbeing at first principles to ensure a good wellbeing offering.

So how does one implement good wellbeing at first principles, in order to contribute to a sustainability designed building? As shown in the flow chart I believe there are 2 paths available – WELL and other wellbeing certifications or a more fluid, holistic wellbeing brief. Both have clear benefits in improving the wellbeing offering of buildings, however being able to choose from multiple approaches allows flexibility on how that is implemented and what those specific focuses are.

Part 3 of 3 will go into more detail on how a wellbeing brief could provide the outstanding wellbeing offering, without the need to use WELL.