Healthier and Better Living Space

There is only one Earth: the home of all people, animals, and plants known to humankind. Some scientists are researching for other habitable planets; are they thinking about moving to different planets and starting a brand new living style? Does moving from the Earth to another planet solve the problem of having too much waste in the landfills? Will going to an Earth-like planet change people's lifestyle? Moving from one place to another is avoiding the problem because people do not want to face the issues.

A few years ago, green design rose in popularity to counter people throwing away too many items, usable and non-usable. The waste are slowly causing side effects in people, animals, plants, and natural resources. People and animals are getting ill; plants cannot grow fast enough to offset the environmental harm; and natural resources such as air, water, and soil are polluted. Everything on Earth forms a life cycle; everything is connected.

Concept

Now the new trend of healthy living is not just increasing the cleanliness of the environment but also improving users' physical and mental thinking about the space. The concept of "WELL buildings" is to achieve superior indoor air, water, and light quality; encourage healthy eating habits, physical activity, and comfort; and support mental and emotional health.

Investment

Creating a healthy working environment is important because the investment cost of a building is overwhelmingly made of personnel costs as can be seen in the figure below. In an analysis of the 30-year costs, the personnel costs in a WELL-concept commercial building features a meaningful investment.

Source: Osso, Annett. Sustainable Building Technical Manual. [Online] 1994. Public Technology, Inc. 16.

Why WELL 

WELL buildings not only provide a physically healthy working environment but also promote mental well-being, happiness, and productivity in employees. If the working environment can shape habits and choices, regulate sleep-wake cycles, effect healthy choices, and passively improve health through high-quality surroundings, the chance of higher performance will increase. 

Additional Value

Health and wellness are impacting the industries' and consumers' growing demand. A WELL-certified project has the potential to add measurable value to the building occupants and generates increased efficiency and productivity. 

Source: CBRE Global Corporate Headquarters. Los Angeles, CA. Workplace 360 Study. 2014.

Medical research suggests humans spend more than 90 percent of their time in buildings. Thus, it is important that these buildings are of the highest quality possible to improve the well-being of its occupants. The WELL standard is a guideline for high-quality buildings. For this reason, the well-being of buildings and human health and wellness are connected. It is a part of Earth's life cycle.

Reference:

International WELL Building Institute. (n.d.). Retrieved from International WELL Building Institute PBC: http://www.wellcertified.com/

U.S. Green Building Council. (2016). Retrieved from USGBC: http://www.usgbc.org/