Natural light and views are optimized within CBRE Group?s offices in Vancouver, which were designed by Perkins+Will to adhere to the WELL building standard.
Canadians spend over 90 percent of their time indoors?either in buildings or in transit between them. While that?s been acknowledged ?by the design sector for some time, the health impact of spending ?so much time indoors has been relatively neglected. An emerging design trend is taking a hard look at how the built environment informs the health and wellbeing of building occupants. As a large and culturally diverse country with an emphasis on social justice, Canada has the potential to become a global leader in this health and wellbeing movement.
International Agencies
Numerous colleges and universities, including the University of Victoria, are developing graduate level programs that specifically focus ?on human health as part of the design process. Coinciding with these educational programs is the establishment of the WELL building standard in 2014. The WELL building standard follows USGBC designations and credentialing processes established for sustainability, but a different organization, the International WELL Building Institute, administers it. Designers can seek the WELL Accredited Professional credential (WELL AP), and buildings can achieve various levels of certification?from Silver to Platinum. The certification criteria focus on human biology and psychology, and the effect of the built environment in facilita...