COVID-19 outbreak has instigated a new paradigm shift in the way new buildings are designed and existing buildings are maintained, shifting the focus to resilient, healthy and clean interior environments for occupants.
Buildings designed focusing on the well-being and health of its occupants help reduce the risk of spreading infectious diseases such as the COVID-19 and at the same time, it provides building operation managers and occupants with tools to better protect themselves at the interior of the enclosed space.
WELL is a standard developed by the International WELL Building InstituteTM (IWBITM) which explores how design, operations, and behaviors within the places where we live, work, learn and play can be optimized to advance human health and well-being. In this case, WELL-certified buildings or spaces pursuing such certification are implementing features that are key strategies to reduce the risks of contracting a bacterial or viral disease (e.g. COVID-19) within the enclosed building. Some of these key strategies embedded in the WELL certification are:
Hand washing
WELL-certified projects encourage hand washing by providing appropriate handwashing amenities, aspects that are addressed by Feature W8: Handwashing which is at the same time, one of the main recommendations of the WHO to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Clean air
Healthy buildings promote and supply cleaner air to their occupants by providing constant fresh air through effective mechanical or natural ventilation techniques (Feature A3: Ventilation effectiveness, Feature A6: Enhanced Ventilation and Feature A7: Operable Windows). By doing so, there is a lower risk of having contaminated air and pollutants, which may carry the virus inside a building. Moreover, WELL encourages the use of air filters in HVAC systems and disinfection techniques such as the use of UVGI (Feature A12 and A14) to prevent harmful particles from coming into the building and deactivate any possible harmful microorganisms or virus within occupied spaces.
Cleaning protocol
Buildings aiming for a WELL certification are encouraged to implement acceptable cleaning practices (Feature X09: Cleaning Products and Protocol) by implementing an effective cleaning protocol that involves the identification of high-touch surfaces, robust cleaning schedules for thorough cleaning and disinfection. According to the Interim Recommendations for U.S. Households with Suspected or Confirmed Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), it is recognized that COVID-19 can spread person-to-person through respiratory droplets or by contaminated surfaces. For this reason, buildings having good cleaning practices, following the WELL building standard feature, can reduce the risks of spreading promoting a safer environment for its occupants.
Mental health
The current situation amid coronavirus can cause stress considering that it has caused an impact on lifestyles. WELL promotes mental health to the people within the space through various features (M01: Mental Health Promotion, M05: Stress Support, C01: Health and Wellness Awareness). By providing stress management support programs, occupants can relieve stress and maintain their mental health. WELL-certified building also keeps all the occupants informed through its Health and Wellness Awareness feature which gives access to all the occupants with a physical and-or digital library of reliable resources to help them preserve mental and physical health amid coronavirus.
Emergency management
Feature C15: Emergency Preparedness is also part of the WELL building standard which requires projects to have an emergency management plan in place for responding to any emergency such as the one the world is currently facing at the moment. WELL-buildings containing this feature have enhanced communication, improved coordination and reduce confusion during an emergency. By doing so, buildings can support the well-being of its occupants during emergencies.
BEE WELL Experience
BEE Incorporations is an IWBI Keystone Member and has auditors on staff. Being the leader in the green building industry, BEE has significant WELL certification and corporate wellness consulting experience. All of our engineering staff are fully bilingual WELL APs, specializing in and highly experienced in a diverse portfolio of WELL projects across the world.
