Why LEED alone will no longer be good enough
“welcome to the era where how a building impacts it's internal users is now a major design consideration”
So we have all heard about LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rated buildings right? It’s an internationally recognized green building certification rating system that verifies (by a third party) the building was designed and constructed using strategies and initiatives aimed at improving performance across the metrics that matter most: water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, energy savings, indoor air quality and stewardship of resources and sensitives to their impacts.
But enough technical babble.
Essentially its where the developer or owner of a building gets a big gold star for being ‘green’ and a pretty plaque to stick on the cornerstone at the entry.
Clap clap.
So we have a way to measure how our buildings impact the community and environment externally to itself, but who is looking at how the building impacts the internal users? I.e. The suckers that work or live inside the space?
This is where the new WELL rating system comes into play.
Developed by Delos in 2013, the WELL Building Standard® is the new rating system on the construction block. It is the world’s first building standard focused exclusively on human health and wellness.
Amazing that it took until now for something like this to come along, especially given we spend upwards of 90% of our time indoors.
According to the Delos website, “the WELL Building Standard is the culmination of seven years of research, in partnership with leading scientists, doctors, architects and wellness thought leaders.”
So what does this all mean? It means there’s a new standard of indoor living and we should all be aiming to reach it.
As an architect with a personal passion and focus on health and wellness, this is like god damn music to my ears. I have always been an advocate for a healthy home and this is finally justification for all my private thoughts about how our health starts at home.
I am sitting my WELL AP exam in April to further my knowledge and skill in this wellness focused arena and hope to bring even more wellness and holistic design approaches to my clients moving forward.
The study material is not light in statistics, focused information and specific understanding of complex topics, almost enough so for its own post (coming soon). I will write a blog about my exam experience and also any tips I found might be useful for others looking to sit the WELL exam in the future.
WELL rated buildings will be the new LEED as staff and apartment owners look for the next higher standard in living and working. No longer is it good enough to be in a shitty, dark and dank office building – people are demanding more and the best will no longer settle; and I say its about god damn time.
Wish me luck! I will need it
