International WELL Building Institute Continues to Get Its Props

Rick Fedrizzi will be IWBI’s new CEO

WASHINGTON, DC–The International WELL Building Institute and its WELL Building Standard, introduced last year, is rapidly (for a new movement) making inroads in the commercial real estate space. Or perhaps better put, it is making news more often.

Its latest public appearance is in an article in Transwestern’s new edition of Insights. The article looks at WELL and its 100 performance metrics that capture how a building’s air, water and light impacts people’s health and productivity.

The metrics are based on science and medical research but in many cases translate into common sense design strategies. For example, according to Transwestern, medical studies had shown that giving employees the freedom to sit in different places from day to day allows them to be more creative and productive. Or, because humans are hardwired to connect to nature, another metric calls for lighting, artwork, paint and carpeting that reflect the outdoors. “WELL suggests placing artwork or an outdoor view at the end of every long hallway to capitalize on this attraction to nature,” Transwestern writes.