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FROM THE EDITOR
Of all the tenets of a high-performance building, and there are many, arguably the most important is a building’s ability to enhance its occupants’ health, safety, and productivity. Truly, a high-performance building can only be considered such if the people who live, work, and play are high-performance as well. In total, a high-performance building must enhance its occupants’ wellness.
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To that end, the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) will release a new rating system this fall — on October 20th at the organization’s WELL 2014 symposium in New Orleans. (Note the “Mindful Pause” on the conference’s agenda. This is an organization that practices what it preaches!) The rating system, called the WELL Building Standard, endeavors to “demonstrate the connection between the buildings where we spend more than 90 percent of our time and the health and wellness impacts on us as occupants.” It addresses seven areas: air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort, and mind.
Before you scoff at this as some new age hooey, note that IWBI has partnered with the Green Building Certification Institute — the U.S. Green Building Council’s certification arm — to provide third-party review and certification of its standard. And USGBC president and CEO Rick Fedrizzi is one of they keynote speakers at WELL 2014. The point is, having USGBC in its corner adds significant credibility to a new rating system.
IWBI also notes that its WELL Building Standard will work in complement with other green building rating systems, like LEED and the Living Building Challenge. Though the details on exactly how this will work are a bit scarce at this point, it’s another indication that the Well Building Standard means to be a significant player in the industry, not just a fringe standard only a few use.
The WELL Building Standard will be applicable to several building types including existing buildings. WELL buildings will also be required to do a re-audit every three years to maintain certification. Several pilot projects are already in the works.
Cheers,
Greg Zimmerman, editor
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