Design accordingly to WELL Building Standard. Dynamic. Resilient. Validated.

According to the WHO, health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not simply the absence of disease. The word wellness refers to the process through which a person begins to make decisions in favor of a healthy life and a higher level of well-being. 
We spend more than 90% of our time indoors, so the spaces in which we live, work and relax greatly impact our health, well-being and productivity. The WELL Certification is a dynamic scoring system for buildings and communities that allows to identify, measure and monitor the characteristics of the built spaces that impact on the health and well-being of the occupants. It is the first certification focused exclusively on the health and comfort of users. It is based on performance and not prescription. Grounded in medical, scientific, and building system research, WELL Building Standard focuses on innovations to promote health and wellbeing through the quality of the physical environment and by facilitating healthy lifestyles.

Since WELL adds an extra dimension (human health and wellness) to existing green building standards, it integrates exceptionally well with them. So well, in fact, that WELL is third-party certified by the Green Business Certification Incorporation (GBCI), the organization responsible for administering the LEED certification program. The WELL Building Standard is based on 7 core principles, which are:

The WELL air concept is concerned with overall indoor air quality. It established baseline air quality standards and examines/monitors a wide variety of factors including ventilation effectiveness, air filtration, microbe & mold control, and moisture/humidity management. The water concept looks at the overall access to and quality of a building’s water supply. It measures factors ranging from the implementation of proper filtration techniques to testing schedules. Other areas of focus include contaminants, water treatment, and the promotion of drinking water.


The WELL building standard includes provisions for the promotion and availability of proper nutrition. It measures performance on the availability of fresh foods and the promotion of healthy eating habits. This section looks at, among others, availability of food and vegetables, contamination & safe preparation, and the overall food environment. Recognizing the importance of the body’s circadian rhythm, the light concept examines natural light availability, visual lighting design, electric glare control, light color quality, night lighting, and others.


The movement section looks at how facilities promote fitness and the provision of opportunities to maximize physical movement. These include the availability of fitness programs, fitness facilities, injury prevention, and structured fitness opportunities. WELL also includes design requirements to increase confort, by creating productive and comfortable indoor environments that reduce distractions as much as possible. Areas of focus include sound and noise management, accessibility, thermal comfort, and low-impact materials. Thereby, WELL supports strategies to reduce exposire to jazardous chemical substances in case of uncontrolled or accidental release and contaminated sites and to limit use of chemicals in landscaping and outdoor structures.


Finally, WELL strives to maximize mental health (cognitive and emotional) through integrative design principles designed to promote health and wellness awareness, workplace support, stress and addiction treatment opportunities, access to green spaces and overall aesthetics. As well as the community section support health impact assessment, policies that address the social determinants of health, health promotion programming, policies that foster social cohesion, community identity and empowerment through environmental design, policies and planning for community disaster and emergency preparedness.