What is well certification? Learn about the standards, grades and costs of well international healthy building certification
existepidemicAfter that, people-orientedSustainabilityThe concept began to gain attention.wellcertificationIt first launchedInternational Healthy Building CertificationIn order to provide clearer standards for healthy buildings, this article will introduce what is well certification, as well as the standards, grades and certification fees of well certification. It will also share the well healthy building certification inThe case of Taiwan.
How to create sustainable and healthy buildings is the goal of everyone's efforts.B-StudioWe have laid a solid foundation in architecture, interior design and space, and in addition to providing clients with designs that best meet their requirements, we are committed to building a more inclusive environment.
What is the well international healthy building certification?
What is well certification?
Well International Healthy Building Certification is the first building assessment standard that takes people as the basis, considers the interaction between people in the interior space of a building, and how to improve the health and well-being of building users in the building. After seven years of research and dialogue, it was established by experts from various fields around the world.well v2Through up to10 topicsEnsure the indoor health quality of building users. Today, the international community's concept of sustainable development has gradually moved from the green building era to the healthy building era, and the well certification is a building assessment certification based on people that complements the green building certifications that were not included in the past.
The establishment of well certification
Well certification was first proposed by Delos in 2013, a real estate service company based in New York. Later, well certification was transferred to IWBI for management. In 2014, GBCI began to serve as a third-party certification unit and launched the first version in the same year. Well v1 focused on seven major themes such as air, water, and light. The second version of well, which was officially launched in 2020, was affected by the epidemic era and the testing items were extended toTen themes, hoping to pay more comprehensive attention to human health and well-being.
What does the well International Healthy Building Certification 10 Standard focus on? Grades and costs?
The well v2 certification standard is divided into 10 topics: air, water, nutrition, light, movement, thermal comfort, acoustic environment, materials, spirit and community. The following will introduce the content of each topic test and the reasons for paying attention to it:
wellCertification Standard 1: Air
People spend about 90% of their time in a closed space. Indoor air pollution can also affect human health. Well v2 Air Theme not only focuses on air quality, ventilation system,Contaminant penetration managementAnd so on, which is also the basis for its rating.
Well certification standard 2: water
The quality of drinking water also affects the prevalence of infectious diseases. In addition to taking care of the drinking water provided to users, the heating and cooling systems, bathroom facilities and even the internalhumidity, all must be tested.
Well Certification Standard 3: Nutrition
Healthy eating habits have the potential to prevent diet-related diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension and diabetes. The food provided in the building is also a project for the well v2 certification audit. Can it allow building users to obtain a more balanceddietIntake is also the focus of healthy buildings in the new era.
wellCertification Standard 4: Light
Studies have shown that in office environments, bright light is closely related to employee performance. The brightness and location design of indoor lighting systems, or circadian rhythm lighting design, are key to making indoor spaces more comfortable.
Well Certification Standard 5: Sports
In recent years, people's lack of physical activity has also become a focus of public attention. Therefore, the architectural environment will also respond to this issue and build buildings into tools that can improve health and encourage building users to increase their physical activity, such as promoting exercise through architectural space planning and reducing static behavior, or providing places where standing and sitting can alternate.
well certification standard 6: thermal comfort
Thermal comfort refers to satisfying personal preferences for thermal environment through the design and control of heating systems.Improve work efficiencyAccording to research results, employees' work efficiency decreases by an average of 15% in an overheated environment, but in an overcooled environment, the average work efficiency also decreases by 14%.
well certification standard 7: acoustic environment
When the human body is overexposed toNoise environment, will increase the incidence of myocardial infarction. Even if there is not often excessive traffic noise in the building space, the noise of air-conditioning pipes, household appliances, and other residents in the building will also affect the user's comfort. How to design a comfortable sound environment space is a big challenge.
Well certification standard 8: materials
Whether in construction, decoration, operation or renovation, the materials used and the chemicals contained therein exist in the building, affecting users over the years and causing these toxic substances to accumulate in the human body, causing health problems for building users. Well v2 will also review the materials used in buildings and the management mechanism of indoor hazardous materials.
Well Certification Standard 9: Spirit
Mental illness has become a major health problem affecting people today. How the architectural environment can alleviate users’ mental stress through policies and design is also a project that needs to be considered. Creating a healthy and positive working environment can relieve employees’ anxiety andDepressionNegative emotions can also effectively improve the work quality of employees.
Well Certification Standard 10: Community
A community is a network of people gathered in a building space. In this network, people of different identities, genders and races are formed. How to provide an inclusive space and policy is the focus of this theme. For example, through a nursery or parental leave, a more supportive working environment is provided for parents.AEDFirst aid equipment such as emergency weapons are also very important for collective safety in emergencies.
How are the well certification levels divided?
Well v2 authentication is divided intoFour levels, respectively Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. Bronze is a new level added in v2. The 10 themes mentioned above are used as scoring standards. Each theme can get up to 12 points, and the total score is 100 points. In addition to the above themes, there is an additional creativity standard. This scoring system, except for the Bronze level, has a minimum score that must be obtained in each theme.
How to calculate the certification fee?
well certifiedSquare FeetTo do the calculation, you must first pay aMembership registration feeThe fee is $3,000. The membership can be maintained for three years. After that, it is calculated based on the evaluation area, and it costs $0.16 per square foot. If the building needs to be re-certified after three years, the fee per square foot will drop to $0.05. The reason why the well certification fee is higher is that its evaluation criteria must bePersonnel actually arrived at the siteInspection, and then provide it to a third-party agency for testing.
Why do Taiwanese buildings need the well-healthy building certification?
The purpose of well certification is not only sustainable development!
Sustainable development is no longer limited to green buildings. Human health and well-being is also a major principle that is valued today. Under the consideration of various topics, well certification can not only provide a more comfortable and healthy environment for working employees and customers using the building, but also increase the reputation of the building itself and enhance the building's value in the market.
Improve employee productivity
Many research reports point out that a comfortable working environment can help employees improve their work efficiency and enable the operating company to achieve higher achievements. A good environment can also enhance the corporate image.
Provide customers with a more comfortable and healthy environment
For long-term care and confinement centers, customers need to live in the building for a long time, and the quality of the environment will directly affect customer satisfaction. Through the well healthy building certification, customers will have more confidence in the quality of the service agency when making a choice.
Increase the value of the building in the market
When a building is well-certified,Enhance the value of the building itself, and in the marketIncrease rental rates, while also reducing the operating costs of the building.
WellHealthy Building Certification Ratio and Trend in the World
In 2016, well certification has been used by more than 200 projects across 21 countries. By 2024, as many as 130 countries have participated in the certification, and the number of buildings receiving certification has reached 74,000. In recent years, many buildings in Taiwan have also attached importance to well certification, such asTaipei 101In 2023, it obtained the platinum certification of well healthy building with the highest score, making its building always favored by enterprises in the fiercely competitive commercial office market in Xinyi District.
B-Studio|Building a sustainable and healthy future for you
B-StudioWith nearly 20 years of design experience, B-Studio has accumulated outstanding works in architecture, interior design and space design, and has won numerous international design awards. B-Studio takes nature, sustainability, health and green architecture as its design concept, and restores the appearance of life for users with simple and rustic design. It has a design team of floral art, landscape design, graphic design, etc., and also provides customers with the most comprehensive design services.
If you have any needs or questions,Welcome to consult and contact us!
B-Studio Advantages
- Sustainable and healthy design concept: The design concept of sustainable development provides a longer-term design vision for the building
- Integrated service: From building exterior, interior to furniture, providing unified window communication to simplify cumbersome construction processes
- Comprehensive design services: We have teams in floral design, landscape design and graphic design to provide customers with more complete and comprehensive designs.
Further reading:
Lighting and ventilation have many benefits. Here are six designs to create an anti-epidemic space.
Let Feng Shui bring you luck, seven designs to bring you good luck
References:
WELL Building Standard – Wikipedia
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